Elliptical and your arms?

thendrick

Does it actually do anything for your arms? If yes, which muscles?

vjh431

A little bit at first. It definitely balances out the difficulty of higher levels but ultimately it's no substitute for resistance and strength training if you want to tone your arms and chest. I'm an avid fan of the elliptical for years now so I have some experience.

00trayn

I'm up to the higher levels now, my regular workout is 50 minutes on Level 8 hills, and I tend to use my arms more to actually push on the handles rather than just holding them there and letting my legs do the work. If you actually try to push and pull, it helps when I'm on the harder hills and I can feel the workout in my arms instead of if I just rested them on the handles. So basically, it comes down to the effort you put into it

Iceprincessk25

Found this online....

Since you are moving your arms and pushing with your legs, there is a belief that you are strengthening your leg and arm muscles when using an elliptical machine. However, once again ellipticals are providing aerobic exercise which is different from strength training

HonestOmnivore

There is some level of toning or strengthening because when I first started to exercise I only used the elliptical and I clearly remember doing things with my arms and feeling like I had super powers because I was so much stronger than I had been I would over shoot. I mean I'd pick up my computer bag and pull like I had my old weak arms so the bag would fly up into the air - it was pretty dang funny!!!!:laugh: Same with slamming the car door shut or other mundane tasks - I felt like every thing had suddenly become super light weight! It was fun while it lasted but I did adjust :flowerforyou:

gurgi22

Its more cardio than anything. Think of it like moving your arms when you are running.