Exercise Spotlight: The Elliptical
10 Benefits of the Elliptical
1. Boosts your stamina and cardio capacity
Aerobic exercise, also known as cardio, is a key part of a balanced exercise routine. When you do aerobic exercise, your heart and lungs need to work harder to provide your muscles with more blood and oxygen. The elliptical machine allows you to get a good aerobic workout, which can strengthen your heart, lungs, and muscles. This, in turn, can help build your stamina and endurance. On an elliptical machine, you can perform both high intensity interval training and steady-state cardio workouts.
2. Burns a lot of calories
If you’re looking for a way to crush your calorie burn in a short amount of time, jump on the elliptical. Depending on how much you weigh, this cardio machine can burn about 270–400 calories in 30 minutes (1). The lower end of the range represents a person weighing 125 pounds (56.7 kg) while the higher end is for someone weighing 185 pounds (83.9 kg). Burning more calories than you consume can help you lose weight. To boost your calorie burn, consider increasing the intensity of your elliptical workouts.
3. Puts less stress on your joints
When the elliptical hit the cardio machine scene back in the 1990s, runners with achy joints and overuse injuries rejoiced at the thought of being able to train their cardiovascular system while relieving some of the pressure on their joints. Your knees, ankles, hips, and other joints can take a beating when running or doing other high impact cardio exercises. Since your feet never lift off of the pedals with an elliptical, this machine offers a low impact cardio workout. A 2014 study showed that an elliptical workout is significantly less weight-bearing than other cardio exercises like running, jogging, and similar workouts (2Trusted Source). In other words, with an elliptical, you can continue training without the wear and tear that comes with high impact exercise.
4. Serves as both an upper and lower body workout
An elliptical machine with handles is one of the few cardio machines that can provide you with both an upper and lower body workout. The key to maximizing its upper body benefits is to distribute your weight and resistance evenly. In other words, pump your arms just as fast as you’re moving your legs. When done correctly, the elliptical can target your glutes, hamstrings, quads, chest, back, biceps, triceps, and core muscles.
5. Burns body fat
Given that the calorie burn associated with an elliptical is higher than that of some other cardio machines like the stationary bike, it can help you lose body fat in a shorter amount of time. This is especially true if you focus on interval work. To maximize fat burning, try to focus on the intensity and duration of your workouts. One study found that while both high and medium intensity workouts helped with fat loss, high intensity intervals allowed you to accomplish more in a shorter amount of time (3Trusted Source). Consider adding interval training to your elliptical workouts with a 2-to-1 ratio, e.g., 30 seconds of high intensity work followed by 15 seconds of recovery, or 60 seconds of high intensity work followed by 30 seconds of recovery. Do not stop moving your legs during the recovery periods. Continue to move the pedals, albeit at a slower pace.
6. Targets specific leg muscles
You can change both the resistance and incline of the foot pedals on an elliptical. By doing this, you can target different muscles in your lower body, including your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. By increasing the incline, you may feel the backside of your lower body more. If you adjust the foot pedals lower, you may feel your quads working harder. Plus, since the foot pedals also move in reverse, you can change the direction of your stride and focus more on your hamstrings and glutes.
7. Improves your balance
Weight-bearing exercise can not only help strengthen your bones but also improve your balance. If you stand up straight and let go of the elliptical handles, you can target your core muscles and work on your balance. Just ensure that the resistance and incline are set at manageable levels so you can use the elliptical machine safely without using the handles.
8. Maintains fitness after injury
If you’re nursing an injury and can’t participate in your regular physical activities, working out on an elliptical can be a great way to build or maintain your fitness. Since it’s a low impact exercise, the elliptical puts less stress on your joints than high impact workouts like running, jogging, or jumping. Working out on an elliptical after an injury may help you regain full range of motion. It can also help strengthen your muscles and joints while taking the stress off of the injured area.
9. Provides a variety of options
Elliptical machines usually offer a variety of preprogrammed exercise routines that mimic hill climbing, interval training, and other customizable options that help you get the type of workout you want.
10. Straightforward to use
One of the advantages of an elliptical is that it doesn’t take long to learn how to use it. Although the learning curve with this machine is fairly easy, you may want to ask a personal for guidance if you haven’t used one before. A trainer can give you tips on how to use it correctly and the type of workout that may be best for your fitness goals. When first getting started on the elliptical, you may want to only use the foot pedals. Once you get used to the movement of the machine, you can add the handles.