BLOOMINGTON - January and February are busy months in sporting goods stores.

"Everyone wants to keep their New Year's resolution and lose weight," said Wayne Grant, store manager of MC Sports in Eastland Mall, Bloomington.

People who turn to cardiovascular equipment for a home workout may choose from among three categories of equipment: treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationary bikes.

Which type is best depends on each person's health history, physical condition, exercise experience, preference and fitness goals - as well as on the equipment itself, said Grant, Central Illinois fitness professionals Eileen Kilborn and Chris Weittenhiller and Illinois State University exercise physiologist Dale Brown.

The best piece of cardiovascular equipment for you is the one you will use safely, Brown said.

Having said that, the experts agree recumbent stationary bikes may be best for people out of condition who are beginning an exercise program; treadmills are best for people who like to walk or run; and elliptical trainers are best for people who are in OK condition but whose joints can't take the pounding of running.

Brown advised that any exercise program should build cardiovascular strength, muscular strength and endurance and flexibility.

But Brown knows that many people starting or resuming exercise want to begin with cardiovascular training.

Treadmills, which require walking or running, remain the most popular category of cardio equipment because most people are familiar with them and can use them with ease, Grant said.

But elliptical trainers are gaining favor, Grant said. The elliptical motion allows exercisers to use an up-down and forward-backward motion that is easier on the knees than walking or running, Brown said.

In fact, elliptical machines combine the best of two pieces of cardio equipment that are declining in popularity: the up-down motion of stair-steppers and the gliding motion and arm motion of stationary skiing machines, Grant said.

"The advantage of the elliptical is that there is less impact on the knees, hips, ankles and back because you are doing a smooth, gliding motion," said Weittenhiller, associate executive director of the Bloomington-Normal YMCA. "Because your feet are always in contact with the surface, there is no pounding."

Generally speaking, older adults prefer treadmills and upright stationary bikes because they are familiar with them; people who want to use a stationary bike but have lower-back problems or need more back support prefer recumbent stationary bikes; and younger adults prefer elliptical trainers because they know about them and because they may provide more of a full-body workout than a treadmill or stationary bike, Grant said.

"The more muscle mass that is involved, the greater the calorie burn," Brown said.

Calorie burn and weight loss are what many people focus on.

The problem with monitoring those two numbers is they often frustrate new exercisers, Brown and Kilborn said.

Generally speaking, the typical exerciser burns 100 calories in 10 minutes, or 600 calories in an hour. People who exercise more intensely, men and people who are in better condition tend to burn calories faster.

"You're going to get out of it the effort that you put into it," said Kilborn, group fitness director with The Workout Company in Normal.

People who are in better condition burn calories more efficiently because their body's metabolism is better, she said.

Still, new exercisers may become frustrated at how hard and long they need to work out to burn off calories from a meal and may become even more frustrated when the weight comes off slowly, Brown said. But weight may be coming off slowly because, even as they are losing fat, they are gaining muscle from exercise.

Brown prefers that people focus on other, more important benefits of exercise: improved heart function, improved lung response, more muscular strength, better muscular endurance, increased flexibility and enhanced mood. Those benefits begin almost immediately with an exercise program, he said.

No matter what piece of equipment is chosen, the benefits depend largely on the person exercising, not the equipment.

"It's your determination and will and desire," Grant said. "As with anything in life, if you stick with it, you'll see the results."

Paul Swiech can be reached at pswiech@pantagraph.com.