Elliptical getting harder??

denitraross

Ok, so I am stumped. i joined the Y in September and started on the dreaded elliptical machine. At the start I could barely get 300 calories burnt in 30 minutes. I slowly worked my way up and was able to get over 500 calories burnt in 35 minutes or less........

However, the last few weeks - I have been really struggling to get 400 now in 35 minutes (I also started mixing it up in the last month or so and using treadmill and stepper)......how is it that it is getting harder? Below is my general workout schedule for the week;

Monday - Cardio Kickboxing - 60 mins
Tuesday - Legs, Buns and Abs Circuit Trainig - 60 mins
Wednesday - Group Power (weight lifting class ) 60 mins..and if I have lots energy 30 mins of cardio as well
Thursday - Step Class - 60 mins + Yoga - 60 mins
Friday - usually day off
Saturday - Hour of cardio (elliptical, treadmill, stepper) + upper body workout - 30 mins
Sunday - Hour of cardio (elliptical, treadmill, stepper) + lower body workout - 30 mins

So I think I am fairly active and change things up alot....so why is that maching getting harder???

PS - weight loss to date is 17 pounds (in almost five months)...so I am not really losing that fast.....

HELP with any advice

servilia

Hmm it looks like it might be too much and by the end of the week your legs might be burnt out. I also notice your elliptical days are on the weekends - are you staying up late on the weekends recently? Are you drinking enough water before the workout?

vhuber

The better shape you are in the lower the calorie burn!

denitraross

hmm..you may be right - I do stay up later on the weekend and that is when I do the elliptical now ( I used to do more during the week but have started taking more classes then just the gym itself).....you may be right on the water too as during the week I drink water at work, but tend to drink less during the weekend when I am home.......and the legs, buns and ab class is something I just started in the last few weeks...so maybe my legs are more tired...which is why I am finding the ellitpical harder lately, not out of breathe but legs get really tired and I cant to the resistance so high anymore....

servilia

Denitra yeah it might be those things.. I find that if I load up on water before the workout (and not just drinking DURING), my elliptical workout is easier on the legs and I can go on longer. It's one of my fave machines so I've struggled with a few issues related to endurance on it Try to drink more water and see what happens and if you want to try tweaking your workout schedule by cutting back on something else maybe that would help. Maybe you can swap your elliptical workout with your Tuesday circuit training too.. I usually find that circuit training requires less of me endurance wise than elliptical since you're using several different muscle groups instead of the legs the whole time.