elliptical questions

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Jessika1987
Jessika1987 Posts: 19
in Fitness and Exercise
Is working on the elliptical for 7 days a week m-f 1 mile and Saturday and Sunday 5 miles effective? I am sitting at 315 and have gone from no exercise to my elliptical daily. I eventually will tack on half a mile week by week and see what I can do. Any recommendations?

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  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,731 Member
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    I suggest you get a heart monitor so that you can effectively see how many calories you're burning with your workout. Some people work more intensely than others on an elliptical or any other cardio equipment. It makes a big difference, and only a heart rate monitor can tell you. That way you'll know how much to adjust your calorie goal for the day.
  • bucket0
    bucket0 Posts: 7 Member
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    I started at 2 miles 3 times a week and worked up to 4 miles 5 times a week and it's working for me. I just got a hrm and love it. It takes all the guessing out of trusting the machine :) Personally, I find it beneficial to change my goal between distance, time, and calories burned just to keep from getting bored. I also go 10 mins forward, 5mins back to keep my toes from falling asleep :p
  • roxannemezzapesamulder
    roxannemezzapesamulder Posts: 17 Member
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    I LOVE my elliptical. I am on my second one actually. The first was given to me and a much cheaper made model. I just recently got the one I have now which is AWESOME. However the workout you get will greatly vary depending on the machine and settings you work out on. I work out pretty intensely for about 45 minutes to 90 minutes a day. My old machine I was following the most intense interval program, on my new one I can only do the first 3 programs. A heart rate monitor is a key in knowing how many calories you burn though. I typically burn from 500 - 900 calories depending on the program I use and the length of my workout.

    As a comparison, when I go for an hour jog I burn about 500 calories, I can burn the same in an intense 45 minute elliptical workout and watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy while I do it. lol
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Don't bother with the HRM. Do add the half mile each week. Do track your calories
  • autoee
    autoee Posts: 19 Member
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    I'd echo others comments on getting an HRM. Very useful in measuring actual calories burned and I also will adjust the resistance on mine to keep my Heart Rate in a specific zone based on how hard I want to work.
  • Jessika1987
    Jessika1987 Posts: 19
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    I just recently started to.

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