Elliptical help

CurvyDreamer66

I just got an eliptical and I'm not sure why but when my foot comes down it almost feels as if it drops and it hurts my knee a bit. I'm not sure if it's my eliptical (it's second hand) or if maybe I'm doing something wrong with my form. I was thinking it could have something to do with the stride because it feels a bit small to me but the foot petels are not adjustable. Maybe it's also cuz I'm new to it.

callsitlikeiseeit

some are better than others. i bought a cheap one and couldnt use it at all. it was jerky, uncomfortable to use, and i never could get into a rhythm with it.

it could be mechanical, it could be stride, doubtful its form since it kind of forces you to be in the right form.

can you adjust the tension on it? if so that might help.

heybales

The differences in potential form while doing it, along with how much movement do the mechanics cause, is why there are no good formula's for calorie burn on one.

So the awkwardness or jolt could be your form, you could be coming up on the pedal to full height just as it's doing it's drop, compounding the feeling of downward drop and knees are too straight at the bottom to absorb the shock.
Do you enter your weight so it's motor knows how much resistance to provide?

One can slightly lean back and almost get a forward push feeling over the top of the circle, which means minimal feeling of drop usually.

Or can really be right on top of it like standing on a bike and get max drop since full weight on 1 pedal at top of drop.

Or can lean forward almost like ski machine and drop easily because not all your weight at top, but big pushback motion when coming down.

Experiment with those different body placements, different feelings of resistance, and pick one that doesn't hurt, or discover how to shift your weight not to make the drop worse for knee.