An elliptical machine or a cross trainer is one of the most used and misused equipment at your gym. It can help you lose weight and need less stress on joints while conditioning your heart as well as lower body.
Moreover, elliptical or cross trainer gives you a low impact workout, without any bone-jarring experience you would get by running or walking on the treadmill. If your machine as arm handles, then you can work out for your entire body which means you burn more calories while getting a little more bang for your buck.
How to Get Good Workout on Elliptical Machine
So, to maximize your time on the elliptical, here are some of the workouts that you can use on the elliptical’s multiple settings to target your whole body. Well, you have to integrate at least one exercise into your weekly routine, or if you use the elliptical multiple times during the week or even you can try a couple of them.
So, without wasting any time let’s quickly get to the best workouts which you can do on Elliptical Machines:-
1. High-Intensity Short Intervals
Initially, you need to select the machine’s short interval program. Now, in case you didn’t have an automatic machine, then simply use manual mode and control the resistance yourself: set incline or the ramp at low to moderate. Alternatively, you need to adjust the resistance so that you can change the intensity.
2. Hill Climber
In this workout, you have to choose the ‘Hill’ program that gradually increases resistance as well as incline height over two to five minutes and then take a rest. Now, most of the cross trainer machines offer you four to six hill repeats per workout.
You need to continue up the hills until you reach about 40 minutes of total exercise time. Once you have a workout for 40 minutes, cool down your body for five minutes.
3. The Ladder
The next workout which can help you get rid of calories is the Ladder. Initially, you have to increase the intensity by adjusting the ramp and resistance manually.
Once you have done your workout on elliptical cool down your body with 5 minutes of smooth strides, and do let your arms swing free. If you’ve any energy left, then you can knock out 25 more body-weight squats once you get off the cross trainer.
4. Mid-Intensity Long Intervals
Mid-intensity or long intervals or popularly known as ‘Mile Repeats’ will increase your intensity by adjusting the ramp and your RPM’s. Now, again cool your body with an easy three to five minutes of easy strides.
How Elliptical Machine Can Help You?
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Lower down Joint Stress
An elliptical machine can help you lower your point stress as compared to running. A study has found that working on best elliptical machines utilizes low oxygen, lactic acid formation, heart rate, and yes RPE as compared to the treadmill.
They also find that cross trainer was almost identical to the treadmill exercise in every respect; however, the elliptical trainer created far less joint impact.
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Fix Weak Muscles
As compared to any other equipment workout, the elliptical trainer produced significantly higher quadriceps utilization.
Using the elliptical trainer machine can help you balance your muscles if you’re a frequent runner or a cyclist.
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Maximise your Training Effects
Earlier, we have discussed that when you increase the length of stride on an elliptical trainer, more calories will be burned without you actually feeling like you’re working hard.
Although an elliptical can be close enough to the treadmill in terms of actual calorie burning, an elliptical which has a longer stride than treadmill can ensure you’re truly maximizing calorie burn.
Precautions Taken While Using Elliptical
Using an elliptical machine is an easy task; however, getting results from this can be hectic and sometimes you might injure yourself. So, here we have mentioned some of the common precautions which you must take while you were on the Cross Trainer.
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Cardio Exercise
Well, it is said that low-impact cardio exercise is quite helpful to reduce the health risks and therefore, helps you to maintain the physical conditioning.
So, before going to work out on the elliptical machine, one should consult his/her doctor for any illness, injuries, or whether the person is on medication and your workout might affect your heart rate.
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Start with Shorter Workout
When you try the elliptical machine for the very first time, you’ll likely feel it the most n your lower body, especially your quads muscles.
Now, again, it is pretty often to feel a burn as your muscles work, and one must try to start the workout for 10 to 15 minutes. Gradually, increase your workout period once you build more endurance.
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Choose the Easiest Way
All the workout you are doing on the elliptical machine should be monitor by you, and the easiest way to do this is going along with your rating perceived exertion, i.e., also know as RPE.
Simply scale the different levels of intensity from 1 to 10 and find out how hard you’re working. You can also make adjustments throughout the workout to stay at a moderate intensity.
The Conclusion
Elliptical is a workout killer. All you need to do is focus on the workout, not on the plotline.
So, whether you’re a beginner, looking for a high-intensity interval workout, or just wanted to challenge yourself for different types of muscles groups there’s always a cross trainer workout which you can do!
Undoubtedly, an elliptical trainer is an excellent tool for both fitness as well as fat loss, and it is always recommended that one must include it in their fitness routine even if you’re a runner or a cyclist. However, before going to incorporate with a plethora of different workouts, you should concern your family doctor as well.
