Is the elliptical enough?

jrhodges20

I work graves and on my hour break hit the gym for 30-45 minutes. Generally my work outs last about 40 minutes on average and I burn anywhere between 500-700 calories. I have heard at times you need to change your exercise routine up, and I do a bit of strength training at home, and my days off I go hiking. Most of my weights falls between the stomach and knees. If i keep this up, 4 nights a week on the elliptical, is it going to be enough to start loosing the flab around those areas? I know I've only been at this two days, but am desparate and want to fit into my clothes gain and be able to look at myself in the mirror again.

Ashers83

I've been told by trainers at the gym that the eliptical is good but not great. The gliding motion helps carry you so you aren't doing as much work. I think as long as your heart rate goes up and you feel out of breath, even if its in intervals, it will work. I switched to the ARC trainer at the gym which looks similar to the eliptical but is kind of like a combo of a step machine. Again, that's what a trainer told me. I will say, I used to glide through eliptical workouts and I really work on the ARC trainer, especially at a high incline.

meshashesha2012

it's better than nothing.

to lose the flab it's more about what you eat. i know a few people who have lost a lot of weight from diet and cardio alone so it can be done.

it depends on your goals through. i personally like being, feeling and looking strong, so the main focus of my my exercise is on moving heavy weights around

soehlerking

Every model of elliptical is different, but if you're able to increase the resistance AND utilize handbars (hand-pushing-things? Not sure what to call them), I think you can challenge yourself on it. I try to do some of my workout pushing (arms), pulling (arms), forward (legs), and backward (legs). I do some circuit training and some running, but the elliptical is my go-to machine.

MoreBean13

My experience is that the elliptical is good, but you will probably get bored and need more of a challenge eventually. Worry about that when the time comes. You're going to need to add some resistance training though to really get the results you want- add some bodyweight exercises, like push ups, squats and/or lunges, dips and chin ups, and you'll be good for a while.