love the elleptical?

rudy336
rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
anyone else love the elleptical for cardio?
i use the elleptical about 4 times a week (used to workout on it more, but dropped 2 days because of weight lifting)
i love it, low impact and i don't worry about hurting joints afterwards..

thoughts anyone?
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Replies

  • mayfrayy
    mayfrayy Posts: 198 Member
    I use it 6x a week. 3 days hiit. Light pace on hard weight days.
    I had a knee injury during winter, but Ive always liked elliptical most.
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
    it's a great machine. when i first started, 10 minutes nearly killed me. but now i can do 30-40 minutes easily. and i have my polar ft4 to make sure im working hard enough. :happy:
  • AlysonG2
    AlysonG2 Posts: 713 Member
    I love it too! It used to be my main source of cardio, but it's kind of taken a backseat to running and weight lifting. I like all of them, but the elliptical is still probably my favorite.
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
    great job i looked at your profile pic. :) wow you have lost alot! way to go
  • monolith66
    monolith66 Posts: 168 Member
    I use a Cybex Arc trainer for my cardio. I'm a big believer in any cardio is good cardio as long as your intensity is relatively high and your burning calories that contribute to your overall caloric deficit.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Eventually the elliptical will become "too easy" and you'll have to progress to the treadmill or stairs :)

    It is a good place to start, though.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    i prefer my bike or the road for running, but in the past when recovering from an ankle injury, the elliptical was the only way i got my cardio in.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
    I used to use it all the time, but be careful if you have back issues. When my low back flares up (which isn't often), it makes it worse. I recently stopped using it though after getting an HRM and seeing just how few calories it actually burns... As others have said, it will become too easy eventually and you'll need to progress. But enjoy for now!
  • mayfrayy
    mayfrayy Posts: 198 Member
    Eventually the elliptical will become "too easy" and you'll have to progress to the treadmill or stairs :)

    It is a good place to start, though.

    ellipticals have incline and resistance levels, i can push way harder on elliptical than a treadmill.
  • Mishy
    Mishy Posts: 1,551 Member
    Absolutely! It is one of my favorites. I especially like all the options with resistance and programs. I usually work out with it 3 days a week.
  • lydiaannepage
    lydiaannepage Posts: 172 Member
    So confused by the "becomes too easy" comments... LOL. Mine has about 10 different workout settings aside from the custom one, 20 resistance levels and 20 incline levels.

    I LOVE IT! My spine surgeon told me it is a great way to workout without the impact that treadmills or road running do. I use mine 5/6 days a week for anywhere from 40 to 90 mins per session. Love, love, love it. Find a good show on netflix and go! Did 80 mins today of interval training using my HRM and burned a little over 900 calories, I'll take it! :wink:
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
    I use a Cybex Arc trainer for my cardio. I'm a big believer in any cardio is good cardio as long as your intensity is relatively high and your burning calories that contribute to your overall caloric deficit.

    This is my favorite machine too. My feet will go numb on the elliptical after 15-20 minutes but I can use this without any issues.
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
    yeah i was a little confused about the "becomes to easy" comments.,my machine has several different workouts, and varying the resistance, hills, etc you never get bored. and im drenched in sweat at the end of the session.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Eventually the elliptical will become "too easy" and you'll have to progress to the treadmill or stairs :)

    It is a good place to start, though.

    ellipticals have incline and resistance levels, i can push way harder on elliptical than a treadmill.

    Treadmills have incline and force you to move forward at a set pace (not to mention you actually have to pick up your feet)
    Stairs are the same and are always at an incline.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    So confused by the "becomes too easy" comments... LOL. Mine has about 10 different workout settings aside from the custom one, 20 resistance levels and 20 incline levels.

    I LOVE IT! My spine surgeon told me it is a great way to workout without the impact that treadmills or road running do. I use mine 5/6 days a week for anywhere from 40 to 90 mins per session. Love, love, love it. Find a good show on netflix and go! Did 80 mins today of interval training using my HRM and burned a little over 900 calories, I'll take it! :wink:

    HRM's don't work for interval or HIIT training, only for steady state cardio.
  • arlenejoneswilson
    arlenejoneswilson Posts: 49 Member
    I am a late convert to this machine. All my family loves it; I just became a fan this winter.

    I like the fact that you can change up the intensity, with elevation and resistance; and you an change up the hand positioning.

    I also have a smart phone with a large screen, so I read as I work out!

    Win Win Baby!
  • annie61702
    annie61702 Posts: 120 Member
    I have a Precor and I love it! It has variable crossramp and resistance - no way does it get too easy since you can adjust those. And of course you can make yourself push harder/go faster and do HIIT. I don't get the comments about it getting too easy, unless there are ellipticals that don't have those adjustments. I love my Precor!
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
    hate it LOL. It does burn more calories than running but omg having to hold onto those arms things makes me insane. sooo boring
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    I have an elliptical. It's a nice thing to do while watching tv. Wife uses it all the time. Wouldn't say I love it, but it gets used quite frequently.
  • Buffalospiritdancer
    Buffalospiritdancer Posts: 15
    Yeah, I recently discovered the joys of the elliptical myself. For the very same reason. I turn up the resistance and crank it out. Feels like I am flying, and it is a great workout!
  • giggitygoo
    giggitygoo Posts: 1,978 Member
    I guess I'm the odd one out. I HATE the elliptical machine.

    So dang boring! I crank the resistance up and power through, but 45 minutes feels like it will never ever end.
  • CanadianCountryGirl1973
    CanadianCountryGirl1973 Posts: 108 Member
    Love it. Watch something interesting and it flies by..... and there's no bugs! (I live in the country, so we get bugged out, snowed out, rained out for anything interesting outside). With the elliptical at home, there's no excuses and you don't have to actually go somewhere... and you can do it when you like (morning, afternoon, evening, later at night). Watch a show on Netflix and you have 22 minutes (one 1/2 hour show), 44 minutes (2 x 1/2 hour shows). You don't even think about it and before you know it, your time's up!
  • mayfrayy
    mayfrayy Posts: 198 Member
    Eventually the elliptical will become "too easy" and you'll have to progress to the treadmill or stairs :)

    It is a good place to start, though.

    ellipticals have incline and resistance levels, i can push way harder on elliptical than a treadmill.

    Treadmills have incline and force you to move forward at a set pace (not to mention you actually have to pick up your feet)
    Stairs are the same and are always at an incline.

    yes, but that has nothing to do with what i was talking about.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    hate it LOL. It does burn more calories than running but omg having to hold onto those arms things makes me insane. sooo boring
    no it doesn't.
  • lynn1982
    lynn1982 Posts: 1,439 Member
    hate it LOL. It does burn more calories than running but omg having to hold onto those arms things makes me insane. sooo boring
    no it doesn't.

    This.
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
    We have a love/hate relationship. Love how it burns quite a lot of calories, (more than 2x more than walking) love how it's easy on the joints but hate how much I sweat lol. I do it about 5 times a week
  • RWTBR
    RWTBR Posts: 140 Member
    It's ok. Not as good as running but I am a marathoner and when my training gets to my joints a bit more than I would like, I use it for cardio for a day or two to back off of the running, then start running again. I can actually burn more calories running than I do on an elliptical though.

    But we all need to remember, cardio by itself is not as good as cardio AND resistance training! My body really started changing when I did resistance training regularly.
  • rudy336
    rudy336 Posts: 66 Member
    the sweat to me is a good sign. i know im working hard :devil: :devil:
  • paulawatkins1974
    paulawatkins1974 Posts: 720 Member
    Eventually the elliptical will become "too easy" and you'll have to progress to the treadmill or stairs :)

    It is a good place to start, though.
    Did you find that even on the highest intensity? I only ask because that's something to look forward to considering that right now 20 mins kills me!
  • vegwrangler
    vegwrangler Posts: 143 Member
    I love the elliptical so much that I have named my favorite one at the gym. The little old lady that usually is on the one next to me actually informed a guy yesterday morning that he should take a different one because that one is my "second husband."

    There isn't enough spray sanitizer in the gym to make that visual go away.

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