Elliptical-going forward

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judykat7
judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I use my elliptical 3 days a week. I have worked up to 20-25 minutes at resistance 1, lowest incline. I don't have more time for it than that. Going forward should I raise the incline, increase the resistance, try the actual workout sequences provided... I bowflex on non-elliptical days, do ab videos, and WATP videos in addtion to the elliptical. I have 50 pounds to lose and would like to build up my stamina (breathing). I am losing and I am becoming less winded. Thanks for any input.

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  • trogalicious
    trogalicious Posts: 4,583 Member
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    honestly? either.
    if you're only putting in 30 minutes, a bump in resistance or incline would still be a step above what you're doing. Just keep at it.

    ETA: If it were me, I'd cut out the ab videos and do more elliptical in place of it. If you're already doing some bowflex for your resistance training, then there's really no incredible need for the ab videos at this point. Just my opinion.
  • jamimari777
    jamimari777 Posts: 101 Member
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    I'd switch to interval training and get your heart rate up.
  • grward612
    grward612 Posts: 72 Member
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    I like to do a "mimic" lat pull down mix on the elliptical. One minute with just a stride and one minute using arms, doing the lat pull down. This makes the time go super fast and adds additional cardio to the workout. I go at a pace of 4.1 miles per hour and pull the arms down every second (while exhaling). Keep your arms tight and pretend you are pulling down the heaviest weight imaginable.

    I change the resistence based on how hard I want to work for that particular day.
  • MrsSardone
    MrsSardone Posts: 194 Member
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    From what you've mentioned as your goals i would raise the resistance and try to do the elliptical for longer or more often.
  • SyntonicGarden
    SyntonicGarden Posts: 944 Member
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    As I understand it, the incline changes which muscles are being targeted and the resistance affects how much those muscles need to work.

    Based on my own experience with the elliptical, it also seems that when the incline is low, all the leg muscle groups are engaged, then only certain ones are used as the incline increases, then when you're marching up a wall (at a high incline) the other muscle groups become engaged again. I'm not sure as to were the cut-off is for which muscles are working when, as each elliptical seems to have a different set of rules for that.

    Hope that helps.
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
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    honestly? either.
    if you're only putting in 30 minutes, a bump in resistance or incline would still be a step above what you're doing. Just keep at it.

    ETA: If it were me, I'd cut out the ab videos and do more elliptical in place of it. If you're already doing some bowflex for your resistance training, then there's really no incredible need for the ab videos at this point. Just my opinion.


    I do the 15 minute ab vid in the evening, I could replace that with elliptical, would it matter that the elliptical minutes are not all together?
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
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    I'd switch to interval training and get your heart rate up.

    Is interval training the preset workouts on the elliptical? My heart rate is as up as it needs to get I believe. From the machine runs 170-190.
  • darkrider42
    darkrider42 Posts: 5,316 Member
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    ...
    Going forward should I raise the incline, increase the resistance, try the actual workout sequences provided...


    YES!! Any or all of the above! :smile: Personally though, I'd start with raising the resistance level from '1'. You are certainly strong enough to work harder than that. Unless you're already feeling like you're going to cough up a lung.... The nice thing about the pre-programmed routines on most machines is that they allow you to push yourself at a higher intensity, but for just a short period, and then allow you to recover before having to do it again. Try to pick one where the levels do not resemble "stairs", meaning they only increase at every interval. Pick one that returns to the original level and allows you to recover and get your breath back and heart out of your throat.

    Good luck!

    smiley-sport040.gif
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    honestly? either.
    if you're only putting in 30 minutes, a bump in resistance or incline would still be a step above what you're doing. Just keep at it.

    ETA: If it were me, I'd cut out the ab videos and do more elliptical in place of it. If you're already doing some bowflex for your resistance training, then there's really no incredible need for the ab videos at this point. Just my opinion.

    Agreed.
    I do the 15 minute ab vid in the evening, I could replace that with elliptical, would it matter that the elliptical minutes are not all together?
    No it doesn't matter at all how you want to break it up at this point. Just get the activity in where you can.
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
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    Thank you all very much for your input. It is most appreciated.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I'd switch to interval training and get your heart rate up.

    Is interval training the preset workouts on the elliptical? My heart rate is as up as it needs to get I believe. From the machine runs 170-190.

    If you're on the lowest setting and working hard right now, you don't need to change to intervals- what you're doing is perfect. What you can do as you're getting a bit fitter is bump either the incline or the resistance up for a little while, and then bring it back down when it feels like too much, then back up again when you've recovered a bit.. That is interval training at your current fitness level.
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
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    I like to do a "mimic" lat pull down mix on the elliptical. One minute with just a stride and one minute using arms, doing the lat pull down. This makes the time go super fast and adds additional cardio to the workout. I go at a pace of 4.1 miles per hour and pull the arms down every second (while exhaling). Keep your arms tight and pretend you are pulling down the heaviest weight imaginable.

    I change the resistence based on how hard I want to work for that particular day.

    I do this with the arms, every other song! How do you know how fast you are going? My gives revolutions per minute and I run average 60.
  • kelfer80
    kelfer80 Posts: 78 Member
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    I'm kind of a nut for the elliptical machine!!! I try to do 45 min to an hour 5 days a week. I have found this to be the most benefitual for of cardio for me. Following the programs is a great way to go. I like doing intervals because it gets my heart pumping like crazy. I also just like to make up my own as I go. For ex: every minute fhange something. Go up or down heavy resistance or light. Just mix it up for every minute that passes. Guaranteed to break a crazy sweat!!

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