Form on the elliptical

tomatoey

That's a weird-feeling machine that I have to use. How can I make it feel less weird? Where are you supposed to hold your centre/torso?

I feel like when I keep myself centred exactly between the pedals, I feel a pulling sensation at my knees. What I mean is that this way, I keep my hips and torso in the middle of the pedals (the middle of the machine) and my knees are moving at a bit more of a diagonal angle in relation to the pedals. It's not painful, just awkward and I don't like it. I feel like the pedals are too far apart to be comfortable.

So what I do sometimes is shift my centre and weight to the pedal I'm actively "ellipting" on so that my hips are over my working knee the way they are when I walk. I.e. if I am using my right foot, I shift my hips/torso a bit to the right. Same for when my left leg is working (I move my hips a bit to the left). That way, my active knee is moving more in a straight line over my ankle. This looks a bit like a subtle "skiing" motion (because I am shifting left and right). Is this a dumb or smart thing to do? It feels better.

Also, I place my feet at the very top edge of the pedals. I do this because otherwise, I feel that the poles don't go far back enough, like I have to lean forward to stay in balance.

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Tonight, instead of going for speed or resistance, I really tried to be aware of which muscles were doing what. I went a bit slower and actively engaged particular muscle groups, trying to keep my posture straight and shoulders relaxed. (I did the "leg shaper" program on the machine, which asks you to go forward for a minute, then backwards, with toes up bending your knees, then forward on your toes, then backward with knees bent. So I tried really hard to make sure hams, glutes, quads whatever were working.)

note: I'm saying "pedal" but I mean whatever you call the thing your foot is on.

tomatoey

(Soft bump )

blankiefinder

I definitely shift my weight a bit from side to side but I also maintain a lot of speed on the elliptical so I need the extra force. The other thing I do is drive the pedal down with my heel. I also keep my feet on the inner, frontmost part of the pedals.

Cherimoose

Use it however feels comfortable. I tend to bounce from side to side. The pedals are too wide on most elliptical machines.

sofaking6

I go side to side as well - I'm short, too so I think that makes a difference in how far I can stretch without straining.
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Also I do try to keep my feet NOT at the far front because I've gotten bruised toes before. Mostly they just slide forward and then every once in a while I take a little step back. I don't use the poles though - again with the short thing, and I have a bad shoulder so I don't like it getting pulled on. I find that it's a lot easier to have a natural posture that way.

tomatoey

Hey neat! Thanks for your thoughts, everyone!

feeling validated