Arc Trainer

Pattie74

Hey Guys! What am I doing wrong? I tried to use the Arc trainer yesterday at Planet Fitness. I'm on the treadmill a lot and wanted to try something different. I could only get through 20 min. of it...I felt like I was falling backwards the whole time. My feet were pushed all the way forward in my shoes and the tops of my toes started to hurt. Also, I had a ton of lower back pain. Unless I went really fast, I couldn't figure out how to straighten up my body and I just couldn't do that. Any advice?

amandaiams

I tried using this machine yesterday and I loved it. It was a lot harder to push through than on the treadmill. I too found my toes hurt but that's because I tend to run on my toes. Try pushing into your heels. Once I realized that, my toes felt fine. I also kept my feet a little further back on the pedals so as not to be pushed all the way into the front and jamming my toes. Also, it is an odd sensation running but that's because it's low impact. It's supposed to simulate walking on air and I imagine walking on air would feel like running backwards.
As for lower back pain, I read that is a common complaint on that machine. It's how you position yourself because it is so different from elliptical and treadmill. Don't go fast, up the resistance and incline enough to feel some tension and do only the 20 minutes. Most people don't do much more than that I noticed. You'll just have to try to keep your posture straight up and maybe lean on the bars if you start to get tired but I wouldn't linger there for too long.