Stigma around elliptical machines
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tbaker1331 wrote: »Hey guys! Just wanted to know your thoughts about ellipticals, if you've used them, weather or not you think they work etc. Before I started working out I did some reading and discovered that these machines are worthless, over estimate your calories burned, and are looked down upon at the gym (especially if you're a younger man). I've had some knee injuries in the past, torn meniscus and mcl, so even though I read all these negative things about them I decided to try it out anyway. I've lost about 14lbs in a month and a half, using the elliptical and lifting. I was wondering what your experiences were, for those who've used them, and what your thoughts are for those who don't use them, weather it be the stigma, or if you feel that they're useless. Thanks!
It's funny - I have wondered the same thing about this machine. I just started using one that's similar but a little more difficult. Can't remember what they call it but.. I sweat a lot and the estimated cal burn seems more accurate than the regular elliptical machines. I'm inspired by the fact that you've been able to lose so much weight while using the machine. I assume you eat at a decent deficit as well. Good luck to you.0 -
That's funny that everyone is saying elliptical machines overestimate calories burned. My machine might say 250, then I come log it on MFP which says 450! I have absolutely no clue how many calories I actually burned--and I guess I don't care. I got good and sweaty for 30 minutes, my body's singing, and my strength and stamina are noticeably increased over the weeks of using it. I think ellipticals rock.
(Which is a good thing because any kind of long walking/running is out due to plantar fascitis and bad knees).4 -
I started out using an elliptical and it was great. I noticed results in a week. I ride horses and is horse riders abuse our knees ( they normally hurt really bad after you get done riding) but when I was using the elliptical on a regular bases I no longer had knee problems. I think it is great however I do recommend alternating between the elliptical and say walking on the treadmill, running, or my personal favorite swimming. Great job on weight lost2
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It's a choice thing. I don't mind the elliptical, but 30 minutes is max for me then I move on. I do just about every cardio machine in the gym at one time or another during the week.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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I'm joking, don't be sad!GauchoMark wrote: »
You'd feel better if it was said that she FINISHED 40 minutes on the elliptical 20 minutes ago. ;-)
There we go! I feel much better!1 -
tbaker1331 wrote: »Hey guys! Just wanted to know your thoughts about ellipticals, if you've used them, weather or not you think they work etc. Before I started working out I did some reading and discovered that these machines are worthless, over estimate your calories burned, and are looked down upon at the gym (especially if you're a younger man). I've had some knee injuries in the past, torn meniscus and mcl, so even though I read all these negative things about them I decided to try it out anyway. I've lost about 14lbs in a month and a half, using the elliptical and lifting. I was wondering what your experiences were, for those who've used them, and what your thoughts are for those who don't use them, weather it be the stigma, or if you feel that they're useless. Thanks!
Not sure what you mean by "worthless"...it's just a cardio machine...you can get a good cardio workout on an elliptical. As calorie burns go, everything is an estimate...there's no way to know what you're really burning without hooking up to some really high tech, fancy equipment. I've also never heard of this "stigma"...it's just a cardio machine.
I use the elliptical on occasion...I cycle primarily, but when the winter rolls in with bad weather or I just don't feel like cycling in a deep freeze I'll hit up my little community center down the street from my office and spend some time on the elliptical...I get a reasonably good cardiovascular workout.
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I don't judge anyone working out however they do it. I do workout DVD's at home which has its own stigma. The gym goers often think their workouts are far superior. I disagree. To each their own. Whatever gets you fit!6
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Honestly the elliptical is a great piece of machinery to help you reach your goals and keep your joints safe. As you stated, you are already noticing changes in your body and have lost weight so that's all there is to it. It works for you, its a good part of your routine, and it doesn't hurt your body. You are pairing it with lifting so you are getting added benefit. I think you are doing just fine, and if people want to stare at you while you are working out, let them! Let them admire your hard work, dedication, drive and gains.3
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I think that it got the bad rap because there is a certain population in most gyms that uses it because it's "easy"...
It's totally what you make of it though.
I would prefer to run, but I'm coming back from an ACL injury, so I'm not allowed yet. I am allowed to do elliptical though, so I do elliptical. I trust neither the machines themselves nor myfitnesspal for telling my calories burned--I use my HRM and can get a pretty good cardio workout that rivals running.0 -
i will always be grateful to the elliptical machine. I remember getting on one when i first started to exercise about 10 years ago. i was so glib. i hopped on set the timer for 30 minutes, level 5 and proceeded to die. i lasted 8 minutes, needed my inhaler, saw my life flash before my eyes. a few months later i was doing an hour at 10 with variable inclines and i was lighter, stronger and eyeing the weight machines from the cardio section. Eventually i moved to other machines, picked up some classes and some weights, but the elliptical was my gateway cardio. if i had jumped on a treadmill that first day my knee would have been in pretty bad shape, and forget the stairmaster or the rower. i really credit sticking with fitness to the accessibility of the elliptical machine. and to be honest it will always be my first choice as to fun cardio, the ease of movement and the variety of programs keep it interesting and challenging without being painful.11
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I don't mind ellipticals. I have arthritis in both of my feet and some knee problems. I was told not to run anymore as it'll make my feet worse. I have lost a lot of weight using an elliptical but as far as calorie tracking, I've always found that the "calories burned" on most machines seems way off. I tend to wear a heart rate monitor to track that instead.0
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Here's my perspective I have an arthritic knee and I've had a double hip replacement.
I love the elliptical is a great workout. it takes stress off my knee and it gives me a good cardio workout. The only thing I never factored is exercise calories burned during a workout by a machine. Those are General numbers and depending on your effort and physical level it's going to vary from person to person.
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Who cares what others think. If it's you're losing weight, and it allows you to keep exercising because your joints aren't getting achy, then do it. I prefer to run outside as well, but I usually do 1 day of non running cardio, and I alternate between the elliptical and stair climber. When I use the elliptical, I up the resistance and I usually do hills so it works my glutes and hamstrings. Also, I use my heart rate monitor when using the elliptical so I get a more conservative calorie burn. I find all the machines over estimate my calories burned, even when I enter my weight.2
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I love the elliptical. The treadmill bores me to death. I just surgery on my leg 10 days ago to treat some veins and I can't do anything but walk for the next couple weeks and it's killing me.1
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Also, calorie burn is not a bi-product of any one particular machine...so I question this study if there actually is one. Calorie burn is a bi-product of moving mass over distance and intensity.4 -
I use my eppileptical to do HIIT after my strength & Stamina Training.
I cannot get the intensity i get using any other machine.
If i had the choice to take one machine when stranded on an Island for a month it would be an eppileptical.
Small tip,- if you hang back a Little with your body when doing fast & hard Intervalls there is no better HIIT for the upper Body.
Try it out ,- after warming up.
Hang back with your upper Body so you have to use your arms more, 20 seconds fast & Hard Intervall.
Lean Forward and go slow for 40 seconds then go fast agein for 20 after 10 minutes your upper Body will be exploding and your legs will be pretty jiggered too
WARNING You wont enjoy it but it works
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The elliptical works well for me. I go by results not what somebody wrote.2
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I'm still not getting the whole "stigma" thing...what is this "stigma?"1
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I use them a lot, yes they work and I don't give a crap what anybody thinks of that or me!
No matter what you do there will always be someone to criticize.
As of a few years ago, even the elliptical manufactures agreed that the calorie count wasn't very reliable because so much depends on your form when you use them. But I just use that as a guideline and try to burn more each time I use one - personal challenge to myself. I'll subtract 10%-20% from the total calorie count it give me. I'm happy with that.1 -
stephenmoralee wrote: »I use my eppileptical to do HIIT after my strength & Stamina Training.
What is an eppileptical?
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I'm still not getting the whole "stigma" thing...what is this "stigma?"
It's something more imagined than actual. Like the countless threads about people who walk into a gym for the first time and feel they're being "judged" if anybody so much as casts an eye in their direction.2 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »
Also, calorie burn is not a bi-product of any one particular machine...so I question this study if there actually is one. Calorie burn is a bi-product of moving mass over distance and intensity.
The study looked at calorie burns at different rates of perceived exertion. So the workloads were not the same. The interesting thing was that the top performer wasn't "the treadmill" per se--it was RUNNING on a treadmill. (that information was not included in the study--it had to be deduced from the data included. More evidence of the symbiotic relatationship between researchers and media).
Basically, it said that working at higher workloads FELT "easier" when running on a treadmill, compared to other modalities. The point was that, if someone was choosing a workload totally on "feel", they would burn more calories running on a treadmill. Obviously, if one chose a workload based on something more quantifiable like METs, calorie burns would be very similar regardless of the machine.
It stands to reason that something more dynamic like running would feel easier than doing the same workload on a bike or stepper, for example. With cycling or stepping, someone not fully conditioned to those machines would likely be limited by localized muscle fatigue rather than actual VO2 intensity.
IIRC, the second ranking modality was the cross trainer, followed by a rower. Stairclimbers and exercise bike were last (out of 6 machines). So it was a legitimate study--but like many studies, the results were somewhat misrepresented in the media reports (and, disappointingly, the misperceptions were not corrected by the study authors).
Note: I believe someone replicated this study a year or so later and this time the Arc Trainer finished #1 (can't remember if it was included in the first study).3 -
It's a nice cardio machine that's easy on the joints. So it's all good IMO.1
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stephenmoralee wrote: »I use my eppileptical to do HIIT after my strength & Stamina Training.
What is an eppileptical?
I think it gives you seizures before your workout for a full body warm up.8 -
I tend to have vertigo and these things do me no favors. I have known other people who love them and use them daily. I have heard people talking smack about these machines but I have never paid much attention to the reasons why. I am sure there are plenty of reasons. Just try them out if you want and if you don't like it then don't use them again.0
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I never knew there is a stigma around ellipticals. I use them for the purpose of warming up my body. The reason is it engages my lats, legs, arms, obliques, etc,. Basically, my entire body for my next heavy lifting session. You shouldn't rely on the calorie burn you see on it. It doesn't matter if it's an elliptical, bicycle, treadmill, or a rowing machine. Everyone is different. Therefore, calorie burn will vary in each person.0
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I'm still not getting the whole "stigma" thing...what is this "stigma?"
Preface: I think the elliptical is great. I've got bum knees so I can't run, and the elliptical is one of the the most intense exercises I can do.
But there is plenty of stigma out there against ellipticals. Don't kid yourself. Just have a look at the following excerpts. Note that these people are all wrong and misguided, and many straw men are slain. But the cumulative effect of seeing this stuff can certainly scare people like OP off of a good workout:
http://thisgirltrains.com/why-elliptical-bunnies-never-reach-their-goals/This is why I hate elliptical trainers. In my opinion, they’re useless pieces of equipment. No other cardio machine allows people to fake workouts and lies about how hard they’re working like ellipticals (and before you start whining about how bad your knees are and that the elliptical is your only option, allow me to introduce you to swimming and biking).
http://www.bradkanus.com/2012/08/people-we-hate-users-of-the-elliptical-machine.htmlNobody looks dumber in the gym than the rows of elliptical riders awkwardly paddling their feet back and forth trying to both ski and run at the same time. Never has someone ever looked at someone on an elliptical machine and thought "now that's athletic, that's a workout." ... Straight men should stay the hell off of these machines if they want to retain any shred of dignity.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread72293.htmlThe eliptical is one of the most useless things in the gym. I hate people going on that thing trying to lose fat. Mite as well go sit on the sitdown recumbant bike and go at a snails pace while you read your kindle.
http://elitedaily.com/wellness/jillian-michaels-skip-elliptical/1588536/When asked about “one exercise people should stop wasting their time doing,” (Jillian) Michaels responds,
"The elliptical. Ugh."
https://www.t-nation.com/training/4-dumbest-forms-of-cardioThe elliptical machine is too easy. However, it's great for mental zombies who enjoy pretending to exercise.
http://www.chicagonow.com/get-fit-chicago/2014/04/the-6-biggest-workout-mistakes/If you're workout regularly consists of riding on an elliptical machine for 45 minutes or jogging on a treadmill to bank 4 or 5 miles, you're doing your body a disservice. While there is nothing wrong with working out at an easy/moderate pace every now and then - even once a week - continuous steady state cardio puts your body on the fast track for storing fat.
https://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=1&f=113&t=1649107What worthless stupid stuff did you see at the gym today? ... People on cardio machines, especially the stairclimber and elliptical. I hate that whole part of the gym, especially considering there's a 300m indoor track in my gym and two Olympic lap pools that nobody uses while fatties kill themselves on these machines because for some reason the elliptical has been society's image of how you lose weight. Not saying it's completely worthless but if we're talking effectiveness, well it's not.7 -
http://elitedaily.com/wellness/jillian-michaels-skip-elliptical/1588536/cwolfman13 wrote: »I'm still not getting the whole "stigma" thing...what is this "stigma?"When asked about “one exercise people should stop wasting their time doing,” (Jillian) Michaels responds,
"The elliptical. Ugh."
I had to read the whole Jillian Michaels comment. I don't know why she thinks ellipticals are always easy. You can set them the way you want them. I usually do the intervals, which she recommends. And I do it hard enough so that there's a puddle of sweat on the floor when I'm done. Maybe the machine lies about the actual calories I burn but don't tell me I'm not getting a workout. Yeah, some appear to phone it in but they could do that on any machine.
I can't swim... or I would do that too.
Again, I couldn't care less what anybody thinks of me. I like the elliptical. I like some stair steppers too. So there!
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When I belonged to a gym, I mainly used the elliptical and stairmaster. Both were much less boring and stressful on my knees than the treadmill.
Set the elliptical at the hugher incline settings and wore a HR monitor to keep my HB at or above 120+ for 15-30 min sessions. Sweat was usually soaking my shirt when I was done.
Now, I just row and bike at home but I don't get near the same cardio workout doing them that I did on the elliptical and stairmaster.0
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