Cardio tones/strengthens muscle?

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thendrick
thendrick Posts: 102 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Do you think 1 hour per day on the elliptical will actually tone or strengthen any of my muscles? (quads? arms?)

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  • mworld
    mworld Posts: 270
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    not really - look at all the runners out there that don't actually look like that 'toned' type of fit...and running is harder than ellipticals.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Any time you do a new activity, there will be some muscular adaptation to the needs/demands of that specific movement. If you took an untrained person, put them on an elliptical only for 30-40 min/day 4-5 days a week, yes, after several weeks you could measure in significant increase on some strength tests. However, that adaptation/increase plateaus very quickly, because the resistance demands of steady aerobic exercise are not that great.

    So, the answer is "yes, sort of". Unless you are trying to compare doing an elliptical with following a resistance training program. Then the answer is "no".

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