Elliptical Training

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moniew24
moniew24 Posts: 88 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I want to start working out on the elliptical, but can someone tell me what speed I should be at. The last time I was using the elliptical my pace was between 95-100 at level 1, but I was only burning about 30 calories. Is the machine wrong or should I my pace be less and on a different setting. I ask because if I put in elliptical trainer on MFP, it says about 230 calories for 15 minutes. Please Help!

Replies

  • melsat
    melsat Posts: 14
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    I use the Elliptical almost everyday as my workout and I usually am at a pace of 77 on Level 1 and I burn about 400 plus calories for 30 to 40 minutes. Have you entered in your age and weight on the machine? If not, you should do that so it can better count your calories burned. If you have done that, then it sounds like the machine is not accurately counting your calories burned. I hope this helps! Good luck!
  • frugalmomsrock
    frugalmomsrock Posts: 1,123
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    I am a now a seasoned elliptical user. I do level 13 (set on random so it has the interval training); I go between 50 and 75 rotations per minute; I go for 70 minutes (typically), and burn between 1025 and 1200 calories during that time.
  • AHealthierRhonda
    AHealthierRhonda Posts: 881 Member
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    When I use my elliptical I do all different levels, usually a terrain type jog for 45 minutes. I stay around 16 mph on the levels that are from about 12 and under. On the higher levels I utilize my arms more and try to stay about 12 mph. According to my elliptical after one of thses workouts I've burned about 1200 cals. It is much higher than what MFP has in teh database and I use the elliptical read out.
  • LolasEpicJourney
    LolasEpicJourney Posts: 1,010 Member
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    I usually set mine to level 5 - going 120-140 RPM
    I tend to burn just over 10calories a minute.
  • Kirsty_UK
    Kirsty_UK Posts: 964 Member
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    I think it might depend on the machine, but I set the one in my gym at resistance 4, on cross training setting 2, at 140-150 rpm. That burns me around 250-300 cals in 20mins according to the machine (I dont have a hrm).
  • dasskinny
    dasskinny Posts: 56
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    Invest in a HRM, that way when you add your weight it gives you an accurate calorie burn b/c of your heart rate. :-) I also love the elliptical, it is an amazing low impact on your joints machine and you can push as hard or as little as you want! Good Luck! :-)
  • HoLLyZ82
    HoLLyZ82 Posts: 467 Member
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    I use the elliptical and i go about 170- 230 strides/ minute on an incline of 9 and will burn 600 calories in less than 40 minutues.
  • jwaitman
    jwaitman Posts: 367 Member
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    I love the elipital and usually add it as an exercise every day. I use one of the preprogrammed programs they have on the machine and put in my weight and age. I usually burn 300 calories for a 1/2 hour and about 600 for an hour. I am not sure what my speed is, I have not really paid to much attention to that . As long as I get to my 600 calories I am good.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    When I used to do the elliptical on the regular, I worked up to L8 for 50 minutes (plus 5 min warmup and coold down)..would do @110-120 pace and burn @11 calories per minute.

    When I started getting bored, I would make up routines to vary the resistance, pace and elevation. I would do like a climb up/down thing, upping the resistance every minute until I hit 10, then upping the elevation and dropping the resistance back down every minute...random stuff, just to give me something to think about besides getting tired and sweaty :)
  • PaulC9554
    PaulC9554 Posts: 117 Member
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    A lot of people favour Heart Rate Monitors (HRM) as a guide to calories burned. By using one you can see when your Heart Rate is at an optimum rate then it's possible to adjust your Elliptical pace / level to suit. Using one gives you a variety of workout options. The calories burned shown by MFP are considered over inflated and in my experience do not read the same as my HRM. I used to rack up sometimes 1700 calories burned according to MFP. My HRM now shows considerably less. I use it as a guide to how many calories I should eat back. I use the elliptical quite often. Great bit of kit.
  • rharris86dc
    rharris86dc Posts: 635 Member
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    I use the elliptical as my main form of cardio. I set the crossramp at 10 and the resistance between 8-11 (depending on the song on my iPod, I "jog" to the beat). I like songs with bpm of 115-160 for my workouts. I usually end up burning the amount of calories that MFP predicts, but sometimes I go over.
  • cjjones007
    cjjones007 Posts: 602
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    I want to start working out on the elliptical, but can someone tell me what speed I should be at. The last time I was using the elliptical my pace was between 95-100 at level 1, but I was only burning about 30 calories. Is the machine wrong or should I my pace be less and on a different setting. I ask because if I put in elliptical trainer on MFP, it says about 230 calories for 15 minutes. Please Help!

    The posts here are great - and I'm so excited at the number of suggestions you've gotten - all are good - but I can only provide my own humble opinion for you and...
    I'm personally with PaulC on this one...
    My opinion is that if you have a Good Heart Rate Monitor (the POLAR FT4 & FT7 are popular and I have the FT4...) start at level 1 and get your heart rate to the 85% range and see how comfortable it is...
    If it's too hard to go that fast, raise to level 2 and repeat,
    I workout on the elliptical for 45 minutes, and my goal is 85% of Max Heart Rate for most if not all of the workout...
    I do this at level 3 because if I go faster I can't control my breathing properly...
    It's about getting your heart beating at the most effective fat burning range - not about the speed or difficulty setting...

    When I get to the point in my workouts where level 2 is too easy, I'll move to level 3.. but it's really all about heart rate...

    Also - the first 5-15 minutes will SUCK lol - they do for me anyway - after that - I'm better ;) so Go for that 30 minutes to begin with and do your best to make it. If you don't - ok - try again tomorrow - pretty soon you'll BE doing it :)

    I really hope it helps!!!
    C.J.
  • moniew24
    moniew24 Posts: 88 Member
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    Thanks everyone, great suggestions. Can't wait to get to the gym.
  • geddoe
    geddoe Posts: 23
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    I love the elliptical! I find it a much easier workout to get into than a treadmill.

    My suggestion: Play around with the settings until you find something with which you are comfortable. It shouldn't be too easy, but don't kill yourself! Also, several people have mentioned intervals, this is very important. Staying on the exact same setting for your whole workout is not going to do nearly as much as switching it up every couple minutes.
  • tamikao76
    tamikao76 Posts: 1 Member
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    You should start with more resistance, I started at 4 and then begin to increase as I felt comfortable. Punch it up a couple of notches, you can do it. It actually feels better and you have more control when you increase the resistance.
  • AmyPfl
    AmyPfl Posts: 9
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    The elliptical is my favorite. When I bumped up the resistance to between 8-10 I started losing more calories, faster. I like to read a book while I go. Takes me about 40 minutes to lose 400 calories. Wish I was one of those people who can do it for 1 hour + but I'm not, at least for now. I'm looking into purchasing one for my house, but can't figure out which one to get. I do intervals of going super fast then slower, but try to keep a good pace the entire time.
  • lutonblue
    lutonblue Posts: 4 Member
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    bump
  • conniehv40
    conniehv40 Posts: 442 Member
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    Hi,

    I set my elliptical to my weight and age. I set it on random hills at level 5. I go about 65 and burn about 7 calories a minute.

    Keep it up!

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