Elliptical machines - tips for new user

amy19355

It could well be that the elliptical is not a suitable piece of workout equipment for me. BUt before I give up, I wanted to describe my experience and ask if anyone has ideas that I've not considered.

the gym i attend has four different models of elliptical; three with moving arms and one without.

i've tried one with moving arms and the one without and I have the same issues with each:
a) lower back pinch, that can be somewhat and sometimes relieved with tightening glutes; I can't seem to do much posture adjustment and still grab the arms/handles; and,
b) feet won't stay in one place, and keep moving around on the foot pad; and
c) i cannot ellip without holding on.

my questions:
a) could this simply be the result of weak back muscles?
b) should my heels be planted firmly? or should I be doing a specific movement with my foot that lifts it off the foot pad and puts it back down again? How about my toes, what should they be doing? and,
c) i think if there are handles I am supposed to use them; i see others who ride with no hands on.

input welcome!
thanks

lorrpb

Good for trying out new things. I always hold onto handles lightly for balance. Don't move your feet around on the pads, unless you need a minor position adjustment. Check yourself for good posture.
Keep the resistance light until you get these issues resolved.

MelanieCN77

I found the elliptical VERY strange and unintuitive when I first started, but it becomes more natural. I always use the moving handles, holding on lightly, and try to keep my feet in the middle of the pads. Try not to be lifting your heels or toes as you go, keep a very light resistance setting until you get used to it. I know what you mean about feeling it in the back, it's almost like you're trying to move in a crouch at first, is what it felt like to me. It gets better feeling!
It's my go to cardio these days in between running which is too hard on my knees and hips to do every day.

UltraRunnerGale

I have a weird problem with elliptical machines. I don't know if it's the distance that the pads are from each other or what.... but it makes my arches ache like crazy. Five minutes and I am DONE!! That being said, all machines are not right for all people. You just may be better off with a dreadmill, like me. LOL!! Good luck!!

Chef_Barbell

It's something that always seemed to feel awkward for me no matter how much I adjusted. I use the treadmill for my cardio. High incline usually.

heymossy

I like the elliptical a lot since it's easy on my knees and agree with what others said about starting on a low resistance level. I hold on to the handles, but do not need them for balance. It sounds like you might be picking up your feet, I couldn't keep my balance if I did that. Thinking about the movement, here's what I came up with:

My feet never fully lose contact with the foot pad. If I try to do the leg movement without being on the machine, it is simply a knee bend alternating between each leg, kind of like a tiny little march with my toes glued to the ground. To try it out, stand with both feet on the ground, then alternate bending each knee just a little bit. Your bent knee should pop forward in this movement. You can do this small movement without lifting your toes or heels, but it should feel like you want to pull your heel up to make the movement bigger and bring your knee forward even more. Then, make it a little bigger and try bending your knee and moving it forward enough on each "step" (although your toes aren't coming off the ground or moving) that your heel lifts. Do that on alternating legs and that's basically the movement to run the elliptical on light resistance. Ha, I'm having a really hard time trying to put a simple movement into words, but hopefully you can make some sense of it.

I'm not sure about the back pinch. I used to get tingly toes after about 20 minutes on the elliptical and thought it was related to the machine. I changed shoes and that problem went away. It wasn't an intuitive solution since I had no issues with those shoes while doing other exercises. If you want to keep trying on the elliptical, you might also try changing shoes.

amy19355

heymossy wrote: »

I like the elliptical a lot since it's easy on my knees and agree with what others said about starting on a low resistance level. I hold on to the handles, but do not need them for balance. It sounds like you might be picking up your feet, I couldn't keep my balance if I did that. Thinking about the movement, here's what I came up with:

My feet never fully lose contact with the foot pad. If I try to do the leg movement without being on the machine, it is simply a knee bend alternating between each leg, kind of like a tiny little march with my toes glued to the ground. To try it out, stand with both feet on the ground, then alternate bending each knee just a little bit. Your bent knee should pop forward in this movement. You can do this small movement without lifting your toes or heels, but it should feel like you want to pull your heel up to make the movement bigger and bring your knee forward even more. Then, make it a little bigger and try bending your knee and moving it forward enough on each "step" (although your toes aren't coming off the ground or moving) that your heel lifts. Do that on alternating legs and that's basically the movement to run the elliptical on light resistance. Ha, I'm having a really hard time trying to put a simple movement into words, but hopefully you can make some sense of it.

I'm not sure about the back pinch. I used to get tingly toes after about 20 minutes on the elliptical and thought it was related to the machine. I changed shoes and that problem went away. It wasn't an intuitive solution since I had no issues with those shoes while doing other exercises. If you want to keep trying on the elliptical, you might also try changing shoes.

Thanks for the effort to describe your experience with words. I think I'm picking up what you're putting down! Will give it a whirl and report back. The shoes had not occurred to me at all - and I do specifically have running shoes for the treadmill, so that's an easy thing to swap out and try.

middlehaitch

I only tried it once and felt my legs were uncomfortably apart.
There are enough other cardio options so abandoned that one.

Chef_Barbell wrote: »

It's something that always seemed to feel awkward for me no matter how much I adjusted. I use the treadmill for my cardio. High incline usually.

Hello, nice to see you back in the forums.

Cheers, h.

cwolfman13

Not a big fan of the elliptical. My feet always went numb, and the movement doesn't really translate to anything real world. I always figured I wanted to get a good cardiovascular workout, but I also wanted it to translate to me being good or at least better at something real world. Took up running for a bit, but I have posterior tibial tendinitis in my feet that flares up when I run too much...ultimately took up cycling.

Jthanmyfitnesspal

The different ellipticals are also pretty different. I only like the Precor models. I also like the Precor AMT, which is a bit different. But, of course, you only have the ones at your gym, so you'll have to . I've used them and other equipment for years. Some notes:

- My feet tend to shift as well. I have to move them back where I want them every regularly. It becomes second nature after a while.
- If your back is hurting, stop and take a break. You need to strengthen your core, which will happen to some extent by building up your endurance on the elliptical.
- Try the stationary bike as well. You can build up your strength there and move onto the elliptical later.
- Try walking on the treadmill. Increase the incline.
- Overall, there's no reason to use only one machine.

Best of luck!

amy19355

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

The different ellipticals are also pretty different. I only like the Precor models. I also like the Precor AMT, which is a bit different. But, of course, you only have the ones at your gym, so you'll have to . I've used them and other equipment for years. Some notes:

- My feet tend to shift as well. I have to move them back where I want them every regularly. It becomes second nature after a while.
- If your back is hurting, stop and take a break. You need to strengthen your core, which will happen to some extent by building up your endurance on the elliptical.
- Try the stationary bike as well. You can build up your strength there and move onto the elliptical later.
- Try walking on the treadmill. Increase the incline.
- Overall, there's no reason to use only one machine.

Best of luck!

Thanks for the feedback on the feet shifting and how you work with it.
To your other comments:
- My core is weak, no question about it, and I’m working on that as well with body weight moves at home.
- Bike - meh. It’s the one I like the least; I sit all day at the office.
- I work a treadmill pretty hard for 30-40 minutes a few times a week; need to get the incline at 4 or higher to get my heart rate kicking where i want it.
- For variety’s sake, I’m hoping for a three-way party with the stair master, treadmill and elliptical. If my carpal tunnel stuff ever improves I’d jump on the rowing machine in a heartbeat, but I can’t work the “oars” right now. (Sad face)

Thanks again for the input!