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Elliptical Machine

kaaabney
kaaabney Posts: 42 Member
edited January 17 in Fitness and Exercise
I have a question and yes it may be dumb, but I am not a fitness expert by any means.... I have an elliptical machine, but it is not an electronic one. You can tighten the resistance manually, but that is it. I just need to know the best way to get a good workout from my machine. I have been searching all the forums, but everything pertains to the electronic ellpitical machines. I don't know whether I should just do a steady pace for say 45 minutes a day or if I should do say 10 minutes of a steady pace and increase it for a few minutes and go back down. I am very new to working out and would greatly appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • Fit_French
    Fit_French Posts: 134 Member
    It varies person to person as to what works best. But my personal experience, I do very light resistance over a long period of time, about 45-90 minutes to help shed fat. But thats for me, not sure what will work for you. Good luck!
  • carrieo888
    carrieo888 Posts: 233 Member
    Most fitness experts agree that interval training is the best. That could mean increasing/decreasing resistance OR increasing/decreasing speed. I prefer the latter. I usually stay at a relatively low resistance (let's say 3-4 out of 10), start at an easy pace for 3-4 min,, increase to moderate speed for 2-3 min., increase to sprint for 1-2 min., decrease to moderate speed for 1-2 min (repeat those two steps for as long as you can), then decrease to easy pace for 4-5 min. Start w just 15 min or so, and every week try to add 5 mins til you get to 40-45 min.
  • RomanaW
    RomanaW Posts: 108 Member
    What really helps me is the HRM. I follow my heart rate and increasing and decreasing intensity to achieve the effect of interval training. Sometimes I go at steady pace but always try to keep my HRM above 160 beats.
  • kaaabney
    kaaabney Posts: 42 Member
    Thank you all so much for all your help.
This discussion has been closed.

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