First time on elliptical machine

richie_g20
richie_g20 Posts: 14 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Holy cow that thing hurts. I do starting to do cardio 4 days a week. This morning I tried out the elliptical and I could barley do 4 minutes. This thing is a wild work out. Looking forward to using this more. Obviously it is using way different muscles than a treadmill because it was so hard.

Replies

  • sschauer513
    sschauer513 Posts: 313 Member
    it is a learning curve or more a muscle memory curve. My first time went about the same thought have a heart attack at 4 minutes over time got it to 20+ minutes. Keep at it you'll get it fairly fast.
  • Buttermello
    Buttermello Posts: 127 Member
    It may have only been 4 minutes... but you did 4 minutes! Way to go!
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,282 Member
    LOL, I remember thinking the same thing. And feeling so self conscious because I got on, and about 4 minutes later, got off, as in, "Well, workout done!" Everything gets easier with time. You'll be really happy to track your progress. It just gets better.

    FWIW, I did the same thing when I started swimming. I swam half a lap (one length) and wondered to myself if my pride could stand it if I just scootched over to the ladder and got out because I was sure that there wasn't enough oxygen in the room for me to make it back.
  • thenewkayla
    thenewkayla Posts: 313 Member
    I just joined the gym recently and only could do 5 mins after stair master and treadmill. I hate that thing lol
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,682 Member
    I've never felt comfortable on the elliptical machine. Much prefer the treadmill and rowing machines.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    At the start it is very tiring and makes you feel like you're gonna die. Work up slowly. Also, try switching directions with your legs every 5 minutes. Forwards, then backwards, keep switching.
  • JessAndreia
    JessAndreia Posts: 540 Member
    By far my least favourite cardio machine. I find it to be such an awkward, unnatural movement.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,682 Member
    JessAndreia wrote: »
    By far my least favourite cardio machine. I find it to be such an awkward, unnatural movement.

    Yes ... this.
  • neugebauer52
    neugebauer52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Tried it once - because it keeps on turning / moving my injured knee thought it had gone to hell. Tried to jump off, machine continued with its revolutions, those handle sticks did their own thing - prefer to watch other people wrestling with it.
  • dougii
    dougii Posts: 679 Member
    LOL I first tried the elliptical after watching an 82 year old woman work out on one for 45 minutes. Thought I was dying at about the 3 minute mark. Over time I worked up to a full hour and increased the resistance to about 3/4 of the max. Doing HITT on an elliptical can actually be fun; 2 minutes steady state, 30 seconds as fast as you can go; rinse and repeat for an hour. Stick with it and you will get there while burning scads of calories :)
  • lizholt326
    lizholt326 Posts: 35 Member
    Honestly, I love the elliptical! I'll go for an hour if I'm doing a cardio-only workout, or go for 10-15 minutes to warm up when I do strength training. But in the beginning, I couldn't go that long, and it's always tough after some time off, like after I had a cold a couple of weeks ago.

    I always wonder why some people don't like the elliptical because it's an unnatural movement. Wouldn't rowing also be an unnatural movement? It gets my heart pumping and I'm definitely seeing some definition in my legs and glutes. What's the harm?
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    I love the elliptical machine. It's my favorite cardio machine in the entire gym. I get really sad when they're full because we only have 3 and 1 is currently broken (and has been for what seems like months!). You have to allow your body to move with the machine. I've also found that the better my core strength, the better I do on the elliptical.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
    I love the elliptical machine! I can't run anymore, so it kinda gives me the same feeling with less impact. I'd say other than walking or super light biking, it felt this way for me on a lot of cardio machines. Like the stairmaster ..... I felt so out of shape my first time on that thing. Or running, has always gotten me out of breath really quick.

    Just work your way up slowly. Maybe try to add an extra 2:00 minutes each week, and adjust from there the more you feel confident :)

    Also, this might sound creepy by watch other people using it. See what they do, how they're moving on it. You can get some good ideas. One of my favorites is to do intervals based on the song. I go normal pace until the chorus, and then go as fast as I can. Makes it a little more fun.

    One thing I have learned though, is that there is cardio "hump." Depends on the day, but for me it's usually between minute 2:30-5:00 where I just want to stop. My legs get tired and I get bored and annoyed and I don't want to do it anymore. But once you get over the hump - you're in a rhythm and away you go!


  • George8383
    George8383 Posts: 70 Member
    Love that machine did 55 mins on it today
  • Sand_TIger
    Sand_TIger Posts: 1,099 Member
    I'm a fan of the elliptical - at one point I could do 20 or so minutes on it. Maybe more. Even so, right now I can kinda do 5 minutes. It'll get better. One thing is make sure it's not set at a high resistance or something.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited February 2020
    lizholt326 wrote: »
    Honestly, I love the elliptical! I'll go for an hour if I'm doing a cardio-only workout, or go for 10-15 minutes to warm up when I do strength training. But in the beginning, I couldn't go that long, and it's always tough after some time off, like after I had a cold a couple of weeks ago.

    I always wonder why some people don't like the elliptical because it's an unnatural movement. Wouldn't rowing also be an unnatural movement? It gets my heart pumping and I'm definitely seeing some definition in my legs and glutes. What's the harm?

    No, an unnatural movement like the elliptical has no real world application outside of just doing cardio. Rowing is a natural movement that can be done indoors as well as out on the water. Competitive rowers and such actually use rowing machines because it mimics the motion and provides valuable training for the sport. When people talk about natural and unnatural, they're really talking about it's application outside of the gym and it being something the body doesn't do in any other application in life.

    Also, nobody said there is any harm...a lot of people, including myself prefer to do exercise that has some kind of real world application outside of just exercising. At that point it becomes exercise for the sake of exercise rather than making me better at something. For example, I'm an avid cycling enthusiast and mountain bike enthusiast...it's difficult to do much of that in the winter so I do spin classes and get out on the road or trail when I can...the spin classes make me a better cyclist and keep me in cycling shape in the off season...an elliptical wouldn't provide that benefit for me.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,682 Member
    lizholt326 wrote: »
    I always wonder why some people don't like the elliptical because it's an unnatural movement. Wouldn't rowing also be an unnatural movement? It gets my heart pumping and I'm definitely seeing some definition in my legs and glutes. What's the harm?

    It's unnatural for me because the spots where you put your feet are too far apart. It's sort of like snowshoeing with the old, wide, woven snowshoes. I always clipped my ankles with those things because my natural tendency is to bring my feet together.

    The only way I can use the elliptical machine is if I make sure my feet are as close as they can get on those big pedal things and if I kind of run ... but even so, after about 20 minutes my hips don't feel right.

    And like cwolfman13 says, many of us do indoor exercise to enhance our outdoor activity.

    I ride my trainer (with Zwift) and do spin classes on days I can't cycle outside.
    I run on my treadmill on days I can't run outside.
    I row for some variety and to work my upper body ... one day I might get back into canoeing and although I know the rowing machine stroke is different from a canoe stroke, I figure some upper body rowing action is better than none.

    The closest real-world thing to elliptical might be snowshoeing with the wide snowshoes, but we don't use those wide ones anymore .....
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 7,139 Member
    I love the elliptical but not the one at my gym. The brand I use at other gyms is awesome, I usually do an hour on it. At my gym it feels like it's made for someone who's 7 feet tall, it feels like my arms are going to be ripped out of the sockets. I switched to the stair treadmill.
  • benwalker86
    benwalker86 Posts: 4 Member
    Hey Richie, good man getting started on the elliptical!

    Personally, i would recommend using a spin bike and changing the resistance gradually and do light intervals.

    Reason being, we don't move our arms and legs naturally on the the elliptical machine and lots of joints and muscles don't get enough flexion, therefore long term muscles can get very tight.
  • richie_g20
    richie_g20 Posts: 14 Member
    6:30 this morning! Keep on keeping on people. Life’s a garden, dig it. Got to have the want to attitude.
  • adotbaby
    adotbaby Posts: 199 Member
    Kudos on trying the elliptical, it's definitely a workout. I switch between that, rower and treadmill. I have a tm at home, so that gets the most use. At the gym, the rower is the best all-around workout by far.
  • kimgeloneck08
    kimgeloneck08 Posts: 2 Member
    edited February 2020
    Yesterday I went to gym and tried the stair master..... I could only do 10 steps. I couldn’t go on. Those steps are huge.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    The thing to know about the Elliptical is that it was invented by Precor, who I think still makes the best one. When you are using any other manufacturer, the design is slightly different (and I feel not as good).

    The design of the Precor is that the back of the "skis" are moving in a circle while the fronts are riding in a linear track. The angle of the front track changes with the difficulty setting. You can make it very easy by flattening the front track out (at a low difficulty level) or very hard by making it steep (closer to climbing steps).

    I think this design is pretty amazing and have used it on and off for years. I can max my HR without much impact on the joints. The only reason I haven't been using it lately is that I've been focusing on running and cycling as part of Triathlon training. But, if I ever have a running injury, the elliptical is where I will go.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
    I love the elliptical...easy on the knees and easy for me to zone out and watch TV while I do it.
  • t1tchyi3itch
    t1tchyi3itch Posts: 1 Member
    gothchiq wrote: »
    At the start it is very tiring and makes you feel like you're gonna die. Work up slowly. Also, try switching directions with your legs every 5 minutes. Forwards, then backwards, keep switching.

    I remember the first time I went backwards, couldn't walk for 2 days 😂😂 but brilliant idea. Also if you feel comfortable on the machine, not holding on is great for your core.
  • rachiedc
    rachiedc Posts: 2 Member
    edited April 2020
    The first time I did the elliptical, the first 1-2 minutes was KILLING ME! Same thing on the 2nd time, 3rd, time, etc. lol but it did get easier after the first few minutes. I was motivated because I knew I was burning way more calories compared to the treadmill.
  • dulcitonia
    dulcitonia Posts: 278 Member
    I love my elliptical.. so much less impact than treadmill but still a workout

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