Is the elliptical accurate?

samanthab19

I recently changed gyms, from curves to lifetime. I hopped on the elliptical and did thirty minutes at a jogging pace. It said I did 5.15 miles, is this accurate?

grimendale

The distances tend to be accurate unless it is miscalibrated. That being said, 5 miles in half an hour is not a jogging pace. That would be about 10 mph, or about a 6 minute mile, which is fairly fast. If you were jogging, I would say likely not entirely accurate.

Brianna716

I doubt it. I do about 2 miles in 30 minutes. The ellipticals at my gym are way off from each other... I think only one of them is accurate. Look at your SPM- is it the same as it was at your old gym?

Mokey41

Not likely. That would be like running at 10.3 mph. Not many people can do that, especially not for 30 minutes straight.

LadyBirdGo

Ok, what i'm about to say has nothing to do with the elliptical machine's accuracy but...I felt I should share with you/(perhaps warn you) my feelings on the elliptical machine in general.

I used to LOVE the elliptical machine. I went on it all the time....it was my favorite machine. and I did lose weight with it. unfortunately I developed some lower back problems and I went to a really well-respected sports medicine doctor and also a physical therapist. As soon as I told the doctor that I had been using the elliptical machine at the gym for years he told me to stop immediately. I asked him when I could resume using the machine, and he said NEVER. According to the doctor elliptical machines should really be avoided by everyone, but especially women because of the natural curvature in their spine. He said he knows this because he (himself) actually used to use the elliptical machine for quite sometime until he actually ended up getting pains in his lower back!
At the time he didn't know what was causing it until he eliminated it down to the machine being the culprit. He did some more research into the use of the machine and also heard from a lot of other patients that had lower back pain who were also using an elliptical. he determined that the reason the machine is bad for your back is because you are not moving/stepping your legs in the natural movement with your hips which then can end up pushing your back out of it's natural alignment. he said that people who use these machines regularly are twice as likely to have hip dislocation and lower back problems as they grow older.
It was horrible because I really spent most of my time on the elliptical because I really didn't like treadmills. Unfortunately they aren't worth the back problems.

samanthab19

Thanks for the input, I knew it was too good to be true.