The elliptical doesn't do anything?

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  • changing4life
    changing4life Posts: 193 Member
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    Everytime I tell someone about my workout routine that involves an hour on the elliptical and a half an hour of weights, why is it that they always say ' oh I heard the elliptical doesn't do anything to your body' or something along those lines. This makes no sense. I feel very tired and sore after the elliptical for that long, is it actually possible that it's not making any improvement on my body what so ever? I go at a fast pase and burn around 600 calories in that time frame. I thought I was doing awesome!

    Who cares what anyone else thinks? It only matters what you think. Any time you spend on cardio exercise is time you are NOT being a couch potato. If it gets your heart rate up and you burn calories then it works. (Of course the other half of the equation is how much you are eating...) Eating at a deficit is what allows you to lose weight...
  • Nedra19455
    Nedra19455 Posts: 241 Member
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    When I belonged to a gym, I never felt like I "got" the elliptical. I felt like I'd expend very little effort and the foot thingies would just kind of move on their own and I'd be along for the ride. I definitely felt like it wasn't doing as much for my body as other workouts. I'm guessing that I was doing it wrong. Maybe the people you're referring to have had similar experiences with ellipticals?

    I momentarily got really into it when I saw how great my calorie burn was in comparison to the treadmill, but when I raved about this to the trainer guy at the gym, he explained that the calorie burn on their treadmills is the most accurate and the calorie burn on the ellipticals is the least accurate.
  • lina011
    lina011 Posts: 427 Member
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    my two cents…

    reverse your order..

    hour weight lifting, thirty minutes on the elliptical….

    I agree.... Personally I find any cardio machine for a hr a tad boring lol Iweights seem more of a challenge and a change .
  • Tabbycat54
    Tabbycat54 Posts: 98 Member
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    I use the elliptical 2-3 times a week and the arc trainer 2-3 times a week for about 10-30 minutes at a time, then I'll go on to Circuit train or do some strength training. Remember, no matter how much you do or how fast you go, you're lapping everyone on the couch.
  • DWBalboa
    DWBalboa Posts: 37,255 Member
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    When I belonged to a gym, I never felt like I "got" the elliptical. I felt like I'd expend very little effort and the foot thingies would just kind of move on their own and I'd be along for the ride. I definitely felt like it wasn't doing as much for my body as other workouts. I'm guessing that I was doing it wrong. Maybe the people you're referring to have had similar experiences with ellipticals?

    I momentarily got really into it when I saw how great my calorie burn was in comparison to the treadmill, but when I raved about this to the trainer guy at the gym, he explained that the calorie burn on their treadmills is the most accurate and the calorie burn on the ellipticals is the least accurate.

    My HRM and the elliptical are usually within 5% of each other.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,526 Member
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    No machine will do much if it's not challenging.

    Where I work, I'll see many females put the setting on a elliptical at 1-5 (goes up to 20) and just go for an hour thinking that they're doing mounds of exercise. Sorry, but 1-5 isn't very challenging at all. Walking at 3.5 on a treadmill would be harder.

    Machines have their place in fitness. Like any other exercise, it needs to be challenging or hardly any benefits will be reaped.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • gmallan
    gmallan Posts: 2,099 Member
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    Let me just start by clarifying one point which people seem to be a bit confused about. The elliptical won't make you lose weight, a calorie deficit will make you lose weight. The elliptical is just one of many method by which you can burn calories to help keep at a deficit. Your primary focus for weight loss is and should always be what you put in your mouth.

    IMO elliptical is a bit mind numbing (as is all stationary cardio) and I also believe that it isn't comparatively as effective for building fitness as the treadmill or the stationary bike. I remember reading that somewhere but can't remember where. Feel free to prove me wrong. Perhaps it's because the treadmill and the bike mimic a real translatable skill where the elliptaical seems rather artificial. Not sure, but it's always been my least favourite of the three.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    You need to switch up the incline and the resistance as often as possible to keep your muscles guessing. Different inclines will target different parts of your legs.

    Frankly, I've found that an adaptive motion trainer is light years better than an elliptical. If your gym has one---USE IT. You can switch up your stride and direction (front wards, backwards, like a stair stepper, long stride, shallow stride, your normal jogging/running stride) at any speed you want. You can change the resistance also. I absolutely love them. Sooooooo much better than an elliptical.
    You know it's impossible to "keep your muscles guessing," right? Your muscles do what your brain tells them to do, they don't "guess" anything. Also, an elliptical is cardio, it doesn't target different parts of your legs.
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
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    Everytime I tell someone about my workout routine that involves an hour on the elliptical and a half an hour of weights, why is it that they always say ' oh I heard the elliptical doesn't do anything to your body' or something along those lines. This makes no sense. I feel very tired and sore after the elliptical for that long, is it actually possible that it's not making any improvement on my body what so ever? I go at a fast pase and burn around 600 calories in that time frame. I thought I was doing awesome!

    Just don't do that part and the rest of it doesn't have to matter.

    What happens on the elliptical stays on the elliptical.
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
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    I also vote for getting some strength training in first, but anything that get you up and moving is helping.
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
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    Get an ElliptiGo

    elliptigo3C.jpg

    I've seen a guy on riding around town on one of those. I admit it, I was jelly.

    Of course I'm also jealous of the guy who juggles three basketballs while riding a unicycle to town, too.
  • SweetLove91
    SweetLove91 Posts: 7
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    Of course it's doing something! It's burning calories & improving your cardio strength, also keeping you active. If your sore after then I'm pretty sure it's having some type of affect on your body! Thats a good thing :) "do Wat ur body loves & your body will love you back." ????
  • junaidkabirtonmoy
    junaidkabirtonmoy Posts: 1 Member
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    Thanks a lot. I was desperately looking for an example to inspire me because I am planning to buy an elliptical. Contrary to a Treadmill, Elliptical is so my cup of tea!
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    If you are getting the results you want, keep doing what you are doing; otherwise, change something. Consider the source... Are "they" very fit and toned? If so, perhaps they know something... If "they" are "armchair fitness gurus" whose 6 pack looks more like a keg... Well, if you want THEIR results... follow THEIR advice... There are as many opinions in fitness as there are people.... Some good, most not. As one person wrote, if it is challenging and not hurting you, it is doing you some good... If not, it is not... Best wishes on your every success.
  • Shaky44
    Shaky44 Posts: 214 Member
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    No machine will do much if it's not challenging.

    Where I work, I'll see many females put the setting on a elliptical at 1-5 (goes up to 20) and just go for an hour thinking that they're doing mounds of exercise. Sorry, but 1-5 isn't very challenging at all. Walking at 3.5 on a treadmill would be harder.

    Machines have their place in fitness. Like any other exercise, it needs to be challenging or hardly any benefits will be reaped.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    Rate of speed figures into this. Doing 135 strides per minute at a resistance of 5 would be less challenging than walking 3.5 on a treadmill, whereas 270 strides per minute at the same resistance would be far more challenging.
  • ChaplainHeavin
    ChaplainHeavin Posts: 426 Member
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    Everytime I tell someone about my workout routine that involves an hour on the elliptical and a half an hour of weights, why is it that they always say ' oh I heard the elliptical doesn't do anything to your body' or something along those lines. This makes no sense. I feel very tired and sore after the elliptical for that long, is it actually possible that it's not making any improvement on my body what so ever? I go at a fast pase and burn around 600 calories in that time frame. I thought I was doing awesome!

    It may be they have never used one before. Some machines have both arm and leg resistance which gives you strength and endurance. No, it won't make you bulky, but it will tone you. I now use the NordicTrack Skier for multiple reasons and believe me, with the arm and leg residence, the incline along with speed I get an excellent cardio and strength toning workout. No, I don't have muscles like Popeye, but I can do all the heavy lifting that's asked of me by my wife or help a friend move and I'm not sore the next day. So, you are doing awesome! For additional strength and endurance I add push ups, plank workouts (which at first killed me but now I'm enjoying them), mountain climbers, Burpees (very few, these are quite difficult for me) and the like. But that being said, yes, you're doing great!
  • MLR930
    MLR930 Posts: 95 Member
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    Get an ElliptiGo

    elliptigo3C.jpg

    those are actually pretty cool...I was at my local bike shop over the weekend and they had a few of these and let me try it out...I definitely prefer a traditional bicycle, but it was pretty cool.

    I'm so afraid my vertigo would kick in while on that thing and I'd get hurt but it looks so awesome!
  • bmqbonnie
    bmqbonnie Posts: 836 Member
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    Agree there's a lot of studies that show that doing strength before cardio doesn't hurt your cardio performance, but cardio before weights hurts your lifting performance. So it's best to do strength training first.

    Other than that, there's no real reason not to do elliptical. I find I burn a heck of a lot more running, but that's because I really suck at running. Or you could do a HIIT routine and burn that many calories in half the time. For steady state I'd rather run because I can do it outside and I like to feel like I'm getting better at running, so that I can eventually maybe do 5ks and stuff... Going 3 miles on the elliptical just doesn't feel as inspiring. But that's just me. If it's working for you and you don't hate every second of it, go for it.

    I do use the elliptical if my legs are too sore from lifting to run.
  • lmr0528
    lmr0528 Posts: 427 Member
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    I use the elliptical on days when I am sore from running. Running right now is my main focus because eventually, very far down the road, I would love to do marathons. I tried strength training in the past and just did not enjoy it. Cardio is what I truly love, so I will continue to do that. On those off days from running I usually use the elliptical for a half hour and then the bike for another half hour. I just jump on Netflix on my phone and that time passes by very quickly.
  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
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    I do the elliptical for 20 min before doing any strength or circuit training. I have added the strength training this time around, but in the past I have lost weight and toned up (OMG I was sore when I first started using it - but then again, I was sore just taking walks around the hilly neighborhood my office is in)

    Anything that gets you moving and helps you burn calories is doing SOMETHING. Maybe not as much as someone else, but more than anyone on the couch! Something is better than nothing and if you enjoy it - it's better to do it - than do nothing.

    Today I am to meet with the trainer where I go (free meeting) to get some tips on mixing stuff up. Maybe he will suggest something else - maybe not - but I enjoy it and it surely isn't hurting me so I am going to keep doing it. (I go to workout right after work, so I get on the elliptical and watch the local 5:00 news while on it, so don't care if it is mind numbing - cause it beats watching the news on the couch - then go do the rest of my stuff before heading home to make dinner)

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