Elliptical?

Kaymegan90
Kaymegan90 Posts: 35
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have advice on the best way to "get the most" out of an elliptical workout?

I have finicky knees - in part from genetics, and in part from riding horses since I was very little - and sometimes I want to run but can't manage it. I've found that the elliptical is easy enough on my joints that I can handle it and wondered what the best way was to burn fat through elliptical workouts.

I have pretty toned legs at this point, and really want to lose more weight on my stomach. I know you can't spot tone but I know there is probably more to the elliptical than I realize.

Right now, I'm generally selecting either a fat burn or interval session on the program and going from there. The incline usually starts at 2-3 and jumps to 4-6, and then back down and so forth.

Any advice?

Replies

  • daniellexcara
    daniellexcara Posts: 114 Member
    http://www.fitsugar.com/Elliptical-Workouts-All-Levels-18712196

    this has some pretty good workouts with different goals if that helps
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    When I have to use the elliptical for some reason, I just put it on "random" and set the intensity level to 6 or 7. This is for a LifeFitness brand elliptical--might not be relevant for other kinds.

    About bad knees, though--running and ellipticals are not your only choices. Swimming is fantastic if you can find a place to do it. Bicycling, either stationary or outdoors, is also very gentle on the knees while keeping them mobile. Rowing machines are also knee-friendly, as far as cardio goes.

    Do you know what is wrong with your knees exactly? From horse riding, I would imagine it's got something to do with ligaments, but if you can be more specific, that would be useful.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
    Stomach fat can only be lost through NUTRITION. And sadly it will be the last area your body will release fat from. It's just the way it works. BUT you can do some ab core work to strengthen up those muscles while you are dieting.

    To get your body to burn fat you need to do some kind of HIIT work to deplete your glycogen stores quickly and get your body to use its other resources for fuel. Sadly, fat will be its last resort. It will go for muscle first, then fat stores. To avoid lean muscle loss you need to add some weight training. There should be a HIIT setting on the elliptical.

    As for your knees, unless something is truly torn, babying them isn't the answer. Believe it or not, squatting does wonders for knees if done properly. You can start with body weight squats and work your way up. I have an old Army knee injury and I do CrossFit with Oly lifting 5 days/week and my knee actually feels better than ever.
  • Mutterz
    Mutterz Posts: 31 Member
    I have a very simple elliptical trainer and it is by far my workout of choice! I find a 30-45 minute workout is great for burning, 5 minutes at a comfortable pace then gradually push just beyond your comfort limit, I also find listening to something with a strong rythemic beat helps and as you push beyond your comfort level, up the BPM of the music you're listening to as I've found that my brain wants me to move with the beat. I'm up to "happy hardcore" now (not everyone's cup of tea) and that is one hell of a workout!
  • mindyt23
    mindyt23 Posts: 28 Member
    Hi! Work up to at least 30 min, doing 5 min fast, 1 min slow, 5 min fast, 1 min slow, there will be one set where you get a 2 minute break, then end with 5 min fast. These intervals help you burn and really give an awesome cardio workout! I try to stay at 75-80 ...Been doing this for years and it's helped me maintain my weight after intial loss. I do this about 3 days a week and on off days I do something do like zumba. LOve my elliptical :)
  • haroon_awan
    haroon_awan Posts: 1,208 Member
    Either on the elliptical or, preferably on a bike:

    1. Start out by warming up for 5 minutes at half of the bike’s max resistance.
    2. After 5 minutes, pedal as fast as you can for 10 seconds (at the same half resistance)
    3. Then, increase the resistance to the max and still pedal as fast as you can. Continue this for 20 seconds (for a total of 30 seconds)
    4. Go back to an easy pace and resistance for 90 seconds (Step 1)
    5. Repeat steps 2 to 4 until you hit 15-20 minutes.

    So 30 seconds of high intensity and 90 seconds low intensity, and repeat. Do not do this on an incline, just do it at a normal gradient. It's from Layne Norton's cardio routine. It's essentially a Wingate test but not for athletic performance, rather fat loss.

    http://www.schwarzenegger.com/fitness/post/best-damn-cardio-humanly-possible-in-15-minutes

    ^^Endurance running or walking impaired strength and muscle growth significantly more than cycling (1). This is also in accordance with a study that compared cycling with incline walking on a treadmill and found that cycling was significantly better for achieving hypertrophy when combined with resistance training compared to incline treadmill walking (2). The researchers concluded that the differences observed here were likely due to the fact cycling requires more hip flexion and multi-joint activation of muscles involved in exercises like squats and leg presses compared to endurance running and walking which are not similar movements to any leg exercises that produce muscular hypertrophy. Additionally, while long distance running and walking result in strength and hypertrophy decrements, sprinting does not, most likely due to the fact that sprinting requires significant hip flexion and is more similar to multi-joint leg exercises.
  • Kaymegan90
    Kaymegan90 Posts: 35
    Do you know what is wrong with your knees exactly? From horse riding, I would imagine it's got something to do with ligaments, but if you can be more specific, that would be useful.
    I'm not sure. They just get weak. The sports doctor I saw didn't really give me any information other than weak knees, but I'd imagine it's a ligament issue, too. I've also been told once I strengthen my hips and glutes, I shouldn't be quite as uncomfortable in my knees after long runs. So far, it's worked, but I haven't done a sincerely LONG run since I did the strength training.

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