This confuses me...

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PurpleEpiphany
PurpleEpiphany Posts: 96
in Fitness and Exercise
So at my gym, there are a few people I routinely see on the elliptical (usually the ones with a bit more stair-stepping motion to them) on what appears to be low resistance, going as fast as they can. I was kind of curious...is there a point to this? Personally I get better results when I crank up the resistance a bit as far as calories burned, but then I know that optimizing calories burned isn't the goal of every person at the gym.

So I thought I'd throw this out there. Is there a reason to do it that way? Is it more to do with raising heart rate (although mine goes plenty high) or some other technique I'm just not aware of?

Thanks in advance :)

Replies

  • lizard053
    lizard053 Posts: 2,344 Member
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    My guess is it would help build muscle endurance. But I think there would be limited returns after the first few workouts.
  • tenaheff
    tenaheff Posts: 88
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    I can't use a lot of resistance because I have bad knees. However, a fast pace will help get the heart rate up.
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    When I get injured while race training, I will jump on the elliptical. I keep the resistance low and go fast, like I do on a bike, I also have days I do intervals on both, as well as days I turn the resistance up for pure muscle burn. My HR is high and I monitor it that way, but I intentionally will do lower resistance for the sake of cadence.
  • madmickie
    madmickie Posts: 221 Member
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    The body is general more efficient at doing lower resistance with higher cadence. You will tire more quickly doing High Resistance with lower cadence.

    Keeping the resistance low will help you stay in the aerobic zone for longer - better for overall fitness. High resistance will build strenght - bit like running up hill - but you will quickly be in the anaerobic zone and wont be able to keep going for as long.
  • PurpleEpiphany
    PurpleEpiphany Posts: 96
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    Hm, makes sense. I tend to put the resistance high enough that it helps steady my stride, if that makes sense. I have a bad knee, so if it's TOO low I can sometimes step funny and put too much strain on it. However, I don't put it so high that it tires me out quickly. I generally do 25 minutes including the 'cool down' phase, and that works well for me.

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