Elliptical bad?

madisenclaire
madisenclaire Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
So I am trying to just lose weight at the moment and I recently heard that the elliptical is the worst form of cardio? Is this true? I didn't really understand their logic but just wanted others opinions. Also feel free to add to me as a friend! Need more motivation! Thanks!
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Replies

  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    Worst form, eh? It removes most of the impact from running, which is what causes most new trainee joint pain and it can provide resistance that I have never seen from a treadmill, no matter how high you jack up the incline. Doesn't sounds but so bad to me.
  • skydiveD30571
    skydiveD30571 Posts: 281 Member
    Most people would agree that this is far from true. I love doing HIIT on it because of adjustable resistance. I also have some healing shin splints due to crappy shoes so I'm limited to time on the track. Just smile and go on your way!
  • mariapuhl
    mariapuhl Posts: 529 Member
    I lost 50lbs thanks to the elliptical... It's a type of cardio that I can do, because I enjoy it and it doesn't stress my ankle like running does. So I love it.
  • lilred806
    lilred806 Posts: 195 Member
    I am on the elliptical right now. Doesn't seem evil. I would be interested to hear why it is the worst form of cardio. Maybe the boredom some get when on the elliptical?
  • gomisskellygo
    gomisskellygo Posts: 635 Member
    Like the others said, I disagree that the elliptical is bad. When I was nursing my knee injury it was the only "approved" cardio. My Physical Therapist swears by it and the bike. I couldn't use the stationary bike because I couldn't make a complete rotation.

    Do what you enjoy doing. Play with the resistance and go hard. It is great for Hiit.


    Edited for bad spelling:)
  • naseak
    naseak Posts: 98 Member
    bump
  • MissyBenj
    MissyBenj Posts: 186 Member
    Everyone has something negative to say about the equipment they don't prefer. Cardio is cardio - make it medium intensity for awhile to aide in your fat loss, and then jump it up to HIIT.
  • gerard54
    gerard54 Posts: 1,107 Member
    I like it. I like that I can go backwards...
  • tracymat
    tracymat Posts: 296 Member
    What was their logic?

    I use it every day and love it! I find it burns the most calories in the shortest amount of time. I guess some people might not like that! ;)
  • mandipandi75
    mandipandi75 Posts: 6,035 Member
    Not true
  • dewsmom78
    dewsmom78 Posts: 498 Member
    I love my elliptical, you burn way more calories than walking on a treadmill. And it's very low impact, so it's easy on your joints. Using an elliptical is way easier on your body than running and you burn similar calories.
  • groversa
    groversa Posts: 450 Member
    I love the elliptical..like LOVE it. It burns more calories than running, works my leg muscles more than running, and is better for my hips an knees compared to running. Its great for cardio, in my opinion. I'm not going to stop because of some haters, because what I have experienced with it is pure awesomeness. :)
  • smittieaj
    smittieaj Posts: 151 Member
    The elliptical is a fine form of cardio. I consistently see that my heart-rate is within the upper limits of my target zone when I use one, and I sweat like crazy! The only beef that I have with ellipticals is the soreness that you can achieve in your core if you use the machines with the moving arms for a long period of time. It's not a bad pain, but a very intense burn. I don't normally feel anything like that from running.
  • cutchro
    cutchro Posts: 396 Member
    I use the elliptical all the time. Our gym (private owned) has multi machines. I find it hard to believe they would buy that many machines if it was bad.... I like it because I cannot run and the elliptical gives me basically the same workout just not beating me my body up from the impact.
  • Ritzbrit
    Ritzbrit Posts: 211 Member
    *Gasp* No I love the elliptical! It's better on my arthritic knees than the treadmill. Try doing HIIT on it, you'll feel like your dying. It works :)
  • Vince_1964
    Vince_1964 Posts: 359 Member
    Not really sure why elliptical trainers get a bad rap. The objectives to cardio work are elevate your heart rate and burn calories ... ummm, the elliptical does both, and it isn't hard on your joints.
  • Shannonpurple
    Shannonpurple Posts: 268 Member
    What was their logic?

    I use it every day and love it! I find it burns the most calories in the shortest amount of time. I guess some people might not like that! ;)

    I dont think people think it is bad for you it is just the calories it says you burn might not be realistic.....But if you wear a heart rate monitor then you know exactly how many you burn.

    I think people think the machine lies to you th most about calories burned!
  • setowally
    setowally Posts: 32 Member
    I have not had any problems on an elliptical. It gets my heart rate up fast without pounding on my joints. I also like the way I can foucus on using my arms to help with the push
  • madisenclaire
    madisenclaire Posts: 2
    Wow! Thanks everyone for the responses. I think her reasoning was when people use it on the lowest resistance, but still any cardio is good cardio. I am in love with the elliptical with resistance of course. I was just making sure I didn't miss something that said ellipticals were horrible!!
  • junip1977
    junip1977 Posts: 111 Member
    Never heard that before. I personally love the elliptical. I can't do the treadmill as it kills my hips, but the elliptical is very easy on the joints. :)
  • gomisskellygo
    gomisskellygo Posts: 635 Member
    What was their logic?

    I use it every day and love it! I find it burns the most calories in the shortest amount of time. I guess some people might not like that! ;)

    I dont think people think it is bad for you it is just the calories it says you burn might not be realistic.....But if you wear a heart rate monitor then you know exactly how many you burn.

    I think people think the machine lies to you th most about calories burned!

    I agree with you on this. When I first started exercising the machine's reading and my HRM were almost identical. The fitter I became the less calories I burned and the machine didn't reflect that, my HRM did.
  • jerber160
    jerber160 Posts: 2,607 Member
    Is there really a bad form of exercise? I mean if your options are on the couch or off the couch which one wins? then again, I count trimming the hedges as cardio.. (only bcs I strap my heart rate monitor in and get in the zone.)
  • obeseto13point1
    obeseto13point1 Posts: 144 Member
    I used to do the elliptical. I think the reason why the elliptical gets a bad rap because some people *myself included* do not push themselves that hard on the elliptical. I could burn alot of calories on an elliptical while bearly breaking a sweat. Another problem with cardio in general is that sometimes people only do cardio and do not do any type of resistance training.
  • MShielsSA
    MShielsSA Posts: 1
    Over 50lbs lost total thanks to the elliptical! The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. I generally use a resistance of 8 with a gradient of 10. I find this to be the most efficient use of my time and maximize results. I generally burn over 800 calories an hour...and yes it is correct. :smile:
  • bcassill2013
    bcassill2013 Posts: 72 Member
    I think it has something to do with supposedly you can hyper-extend your knees, or something like that on elliptical. But, it's one of my favorites too.
  • MellyGibson
    MellyGibson Posts: 297 Member
    Personally, I dislike the elliptical. I prefer to do cardio workouts "free form" and rotate between movements (burpees, tuck jumps, blah, blah, blah). But it is NOT a "bad" trainer AT ALL!!!

    The things I don't like about it are the same as the problems I have with the treadmill. You don't GO anywhere!
    The things I like about them have already been mentioned - easier on joints, adjustable resistance, they can go backwards, you can do HIIT....

    Someone is always going to have something negative to say about anything. Smile and nod, honey. Smile and nod.
  • babydiego87
    babydiego87 Posts: 905 Member
    I adore this machine...in fact...it's the only machine I'll use at the gym for cardio. I HATE the treadmill (I've started to run outside though). I can do an hour no problem at 75%
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    You know I HATE using that machine. I really do. It's not all that easy to use & would prefer the treadmill or actual road running rather than hop on that again.

    For me it's a workout that does not work. I don't understand how it could be effective at all. No impact yes, but then you try running without it & you WILL hurt yourself,
  • pobalita
    pobalita Posts: 741 Member
    I lost my first 50 pound on the elliptical and it gave me nicely sculpted arms and legs; I still use it when the weather is too bad for a run or I need something low impact to rest my joints. I can't think of anything negative to say about it other than when I wear my bodymedia fit on it, I can never get it to register above moderate on activitiy. The bodymedia website says it may be because you arent working as hard as you think you are??? Hmmm. Not sure about that. That being said - I'm still burning calories and getting a workout when I use it.
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
    I burn the same amount on the elliptical, treadmill and stationary bike. Maybe because I'm putting in a certain amount effort to stay within a target heart zone range? I find I need to really push on the bike to get my HR up, then the elliptical (I do squat intervals on it pedaling hands free and backwards) and less effort on the treadmill doing easy running to get my HR up.

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