I’ve found when I use low-impact cardio machines at the gym like the elliptical, CrossRamp, recumbent bike, etc. I don’t get nearly as winded as I do on the treadmill. I can be moving at the same pace on each type but the treadmill will just whip me! I can do a 2-2 interval on the elliptical and be panting, but by the 1 minute point on the treadmill I’m overwhelmed and have to dial it back and I’m not moving as fast as on the elliptical. Is there a factual reason why this happens, or is it just a ‘your body is weird, girl!’ thing?
Impact is fatiguing.
Also, on the treadmill, you do more lifting of bodyweight than on the low impact machines.
I noticed the same thing. I just assumed it was because I wasn’t working as hard. How fast you are moving is much less important than how much effort it takes to move.
It’s only on the treadmill that you are truly moving your body weight. On the other machines, part of your weight is being supported so you’re not working out as hard.
An equal speed does not mean an equal workout on different machines. This is true even in real life. Biking at 10mph is much easier than running at 10mph (a six-minute mile). You can get an equivalent workout, but you need to be sure to increase the resistance so it’s harder.
One thing that is a ‘girl’ thing is that you typically won’t have as much muscle mass as a boy. This means you may struggle more with activities that require more strength. So you may be able to pedal very quickly on the bike, but when the resistance is increased it may get very difficult quickly. A typical boy might not find the increase in resistance as difficult since he has more muscle mass to push with. But that’s only a factor of how you’re starting. If you continue to work out hard, you will get stronger and be able to use more resistance.