Home elliptical machines are perhaps one of the gentlest machines in the gym. All you have to do is put your feet on the pedals and walk or run with it. Because your feet never come off the pedals, you don’t have to endure the repetitive impact of each step on a treadmill. Training with an elliptical machine is both quieter and more comfortable. If you like the elliptical enough to pay for a quality machine, you can take home many of its benefits. But what benefits?
Function
One of the main functions of the elliptical machine and probably the most important one is to put pressure on your cardiovascular system. Like any other muscle, your heart responds to appropriate levels of stress by getting stronger. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that you should get at least 150 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous cardiovascular exercise each week to achieve the health benefits. Workouts designed by real trainers and heart rate monitoring on some ellipticals help you track and control your workout intensity.
Used muscles
Elliptical machines work on quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings. The muscles in the back of your leg are also used, but to a lesser extent. If your elliptical machine has an adjustable incline, you can emphasize the back of your legs by setting the incline to a steeper angle. Most mid-level and high-end ellipticals have movable handles that you can move back and forth for an upper body workout. They also allow you to pedal backwards for variety.
Weight Loss
As you work all of your major muscle groups, including your core, on the elliptical, you’ll also burn calories. According to Harvard Health Publications, if you weigh 80 kilos, you can burn about 800 calories per hour on the elliptical machine. But since you control both the speed of your pedaling and the resistance of the machine, you determine the intensity of your training. Harder workouts mean more calories burned. Burning 3,500 calories more than you consume, in different training sessions and for the duration you like, will help you burn 0.5 kilos of body fat.
Advantages
Do not confuse a total body workout on an elliptical machine with strength training. Exercising on an elliptical machine will definitely help you build muscle strength and endurance, which means you’ll be able to carry out your daily activities with greater ease. Riding an elliptical machine can also help reduce mineral loss in your weight-bearing bones. Regular cardio exercises also reduce stress, improve your mood, boost your immune system, and reduce your risk of obesity-related diseases.
considerations
Some elliptical machine users report foot and ankle numbness after prolonged elliptical workouts. To deal with this problem, elliptical machine manufacturers have started producing machines with a very slight inward slope in the pedals.
No matter how much you love your elliptical, give yourself at least one day a week to rest. This recovery time will reduce the risk of overtraining which can lead to further injury and other symptoms such as insomnia and irritability.
