An elliptical trainer or cross-trainer is a stationary exercise machine to stair climb, walk, or run without causing excessive pressure to the joints, hence decreasing the risk of impact injuries. For this reason, people with some injuries can use an elliptical to stay fit, as the low impact affects them little. Elliptical trainers offer a non-impact cardio workout that can vary from light to high intensity based on the speed of the exercise and the resistance preference set by the user.
Using an elliptical instead of a treadmill, or running outside will put significantly less impact on your joints, while completing a similar motion to running. While an elliptical session can burn fewer calories than a treadmill workout of equal intensity, the difference is typically minimal.
With attached arms, ellipticals keep your upper body moving as well as your lower body. Make sure you distribute your weight evenly by mindfully pumping your arms with just as much intensity as your legs. When done right, getting the arms involved can burn just as many if not more calories than a treadmill workout. Another tip is to try taking your arms off the handles from time to time. This forces you to use your balance more and engages your core.
The elliptical allows you to improve balance, something that’s often overlooked but needed for all ages and fitness levels. While exercise bikes are another good option for low-impact cardio, they do not force you to use your balance as much.
Elliptical training has the potential to burn a lot of calories. Similar to any cardio workout, the amount of calories you burn depends of the level of intensity. Ellipticals have great options in terms of increasing resistance levels and sometimes incline to promote higher calories burned.
Ellipticals allow for a focus on specific areas of the body. For example, changing up the resistance and/or incline of your foot pedals works all your leg muscles from the glutes and quads to your calves and hamstrings. Some more advanced ellipticals may also have the option to change the range of motion, or rest your lower body and only workout your upper body.
With an elliptical you have the opportunity to build muscle and improve your cardio-vascular endurance. It just depends on what your goals are. If training for stamina, try using a pre-set program to push you to work harder for longer. If your trying to tone muscles, try some Hiit style training and utilizing the tools to target specific areas.
For years ellipticals have been a top choice in fitness equipment for cardiovascular exercise whether it be in the home gym or at your favourite gym facility. There are many great brands of elliptical machines. Some of the brands we love include Matrix, Precor, Octane, Horizon and True.
Whether you want to shop online for the best price or purchase a machine from the store, we recommend that you try it out in person if you can. You might notice a problem with the ergonomics that you can’t detect by sight or user reviews alone—maybe your knees keep bumping against the elliptical’s framework or the machine just doesn’t move to your liking. Stride will feel very different on each elliptical machine. That being said, if you're not able to try your model in person one of our equipment consultants should be able to find the right elliptical machine for you by communicating over phone or email.
On average, ellipticals are about 6 feet long by 2.5 feet wide, but the length can range from 50 to 84 inches. Keep in mind that during operation, the pedals may extend out beyond the length of the machine. This is something that is often overlooked when measuring out the space needed for your elliptical machine. You’ll also be more elevated than you would on a treadmill, so make sure you have a space with a sufficiently high ceiling. We’ve measured step-up heights between 5 and 15 inches, with pedals reaching up to 25 inches above the floor at the apex of the elliptical cycle. You’ll also need a minimum of 20 inches of free space on at least one side and either the front or the back for safety. Most elliptical machines should list all specifications, including the step up height.
Unlike a treadmill, which allows you to move free-form, an elliptical constrains you to its movement. Pay special attention to how comfortable you feel when using an elliptical. You should be able to maintain an upright posture when holding on to the moving handles. Moving handgrips should be easy to reach and not force your wrists into an awkward position. The elliptical path should feel comfortable. For most people, pedals should be as close together as possible. And the moving handgrips and fixed frame components should not interfere with your arms, shoulders, or knees.
The type of stride, as well as the stride length will vary between elliptical machines. For example, an Octane elliptical machine tries to mimic the stride of a human running. The step up height is lower and while you can adjust the incline, it's not as wide of a range as other elliptical machines. Some elliptical machines offer more of a circular stride motion and some move more up and down.
All elliptical machines have variable resistance. Make sure that the lowest resistance setting is easy to pedal and that it becomes challenging to pedal at about 75 percent of the highest setting. This will provide some room to grow. You should feel a significant but incremental change whenever you increase or decrease the resistance. Some elliptical machines come with an adjustable incline, which will further increase the intensity of your cardio workout.
Exercise equipment in general is becoming more and more connected to the cloud to provide workout tracking, a competitive environment, social networks, and access to a library of exercise programs. Elliptical machines can have built-in wireless connectivity, or Bluetooth that connects to an app on a mobile device. Some allow you to use a USB drive to move workout data to a web-based tracking feature accessed via a laptop. Having Bluetooth connectivity opens up your options to many different fitness apps.
Exercise programs can make your workouts varied and less boring, which might get you on the machine more often. But don’t pay for frills that you don’t care about. You can get by with a few basic programs that address specific types of workouts. Programs may be called different things by different manufacturers, but essential offerings might include Manual, Random, Hill Climb, Interval, Long Slow Distance, and Target Heart Rate. Custom programs allow you to create your own resistance profile. Programs will automatically take you though different workout intensities, such as resistance and possibly incline if that's an option on your elliptical machine.
An elliptical machine can be inherently dangerous for children, who could get pinched or trapped in the moving parts. People with children at home or as visitors should make sure that the little ones can’t access the machines (by locking the room) and employ safety features.
