Elliptical

AISIGO
AISIGO Posts: 44 Member
edited October 5 in Fitness and Exercise
I finally have my diet somewhat under control and am now ready to move onto exercise.
I am not able to go to a gym but I do have an elliptical at home.
Have any of you had good results with using an elliptical to lose weight and tone up.
If so, what kind of routine do you do? How many days a week, how long each time?

Replies

  • redfroggie
    redfroggie Posts: 591 Member
    This can be different for everyone. Here is what i've found. I LOVE the elliptical. Before my knee injury I was doing it 4 days a week for 40 minutes each day. I burned a ton of calories and the sweat poured off of me. I lost 15 lbs. I'm slowly getting back into it since my injury and have to build up to the 40 minutes again. But I am still loving it. Good luck!
  • Tiana405
    Tiana405 Posts: 270 Member
    I just started using mine at home last Monday (7th), worked out 20-30 minutes a day, Monday-Saturday and did some weights 3 days out of the week. I lost 6lbs alone! I love it! I put mine in front of the t.v. so I can watch a movie or whatever. Makes the time FUH-LY! Then I roll it back to my workout room. LOL! Let me know how your progress is! Definitely do it 3-5 days a week for 20-30mins. You'll see a great increase in endurance and stamina! I've lost more inches than weight, for sure! Good luck!
  • Tiana405
    Tiana405 Posts: 270 Member
    How long did it take you to lose 15lbs?! That's great! Did you do any weights or was it just elliptical ONLY?
  • Tiana405
    Tiana405 Posts: 270 Member
    This can be different for everyone. Here is what i've found. I LOVE the elliptical. Before my knee injury I was doing it 4 days a week for 40 minutes each day. I burned a ton of calories and the sweat poured off of me. I lost 15 lbs. I'm slowly getting back into it since my injury and have to build up to the 40 minutes again. But I am still loving it. Good luck!

    How long did it take you to lose 15lbs?! That's great! Did you do any weights or was it just elliptical ONLY?
  • HeatherR930
    HeatherR930 Posts: 214 Member
    I use an elliptical at my gym every time I go (4-5 times per week). Ours has a program called mix 3 where it will alternate every minute or so from doing reverse stride, forward, forward with arms, & just arms. I only do 30 minutes because I combine it with other cardio, but I love it & am seeing good results!
  • mrimike
    mrimike Posts: 139
    Using the elliptical was my primary exercise tool in losing around 50 lbs this year. It works as much as you want it to:)
  • AISIGO
    AISIGO Posts: 44 Member
    Using the elliptical was my primary exercise tool in losing around 50 lbs this year. It works as much as you want it to:)

    How many days a week did you lose the elliptical and for how long each time?
  • redfroggie
    redfroggie Posts: 591 Member
    This can be different for everyone. Here is what i've found. I LOVE the elliptical. Before my knee injury I was doing it 4 days a week for 40 minutes each day. I burned a ton of calories and the sweat poured off of me. I lost 15 lbs. I'm slowly getting back into it since my injury and have to build up to the 40 minutes again. But I am still loving it. Good luck!

    How long did it take you to lose 15lbs?! That's great! Did you do any weights or was it just elliptical ONLY?

    It took me right at 2 months to lose it. That's when I injured my knee. I did weights at the time but mostly for my arms. I do leg weights now to train muscles to compensate for my torn ligaments. The elliptical and the bike are the best machines for me at the moment, the treadmill causes me a bit of pain still. Since I do this at the gym I watch episodes of Buffy and Angel on my iPhone, they are 40 minutes each on average and helps pass the time!
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    The elliptical can be great, but you have to work hard. You can really "phone it in" and slack your your way through a work or you can really kick some *kitten* on it.
  • SonicaBE
    SonicaBE Posts: 151 Member
    love it..i once lost 125 lbs usig the ellipyical 60 mins a day and doing heavy weights alternate days.
  • AISIGO
    AISIGO Posts: 44 Member
    I have decided to do the elliptical 30 minutes a day - 3 times a week and 2 days a week circuit training.
    Wish me luck!!!:laugh:
  • bromwin
    bromwin Posts: 14
    Does no-one else find they get foot cramp if they do it for more than 15/20 mins? I do which is why I do it as a warm up and then head straight for the treadmill! :)
  • zeeeb
    zeeeb Posts: 805 Member
    i started out at home in the shed with an elipitcal and a spin bike. i used to do 20 minutes on each, and then some situps (4 x 25 reps) per day. i tried to do it 4 times a week minimum.

    then after a couple of months i got a gym membership. i think i lost about 5kg in 2 months
  • PedmomJill
    PedmomJill Posts: 505 Member
    Does no-one else find they get foot cramp if they do it for more than 15/20 mins? I do which is why I do it as a warm up and then head straight for the treadmill! :)

    I get cramps really bad in my feet. The only answer is for me to do it without shoes on. If you do it at a gym that's kind of hard, but I am lucky enough to have one at home, so I can do it with just socks on. If you go to a gym, try it once with your shoes really loose-like loose enough to fall off.
  • Cherilea
    Cherilea Posts: 1,118 Member
    Does no-one else find they get foot cramp if they do it for more than 15/20 mins? I do which is why I do it as a warm up and then head straight for the treadmill! :)

    I get cramps really bad in my feet. The only answer is for me to do it without shoes on. If you do it at a gym that's kind of hard, but I am lucky enough to have one at home, so I can do it with just socks on. If you go to a gym, try it once with your shoes really loose-like loose enough to fall off.

    My right foot feels like it falls asleep a lot of the times.
  • Circa1964
    Circa1964 Posts: 225 Member
    I have a great elliptical at home. It is the NordicTrack ACT. It is very stable and I love the adjustable stride. It totally kicks my butt every time I use it! It is a great calorie burn. Now, I just need a little more motivation to get back into the swing of things. I seem to be taking a slight exercise vacation.
  • Edithrenee
    Edithrenee Posts: 546 Member
    Does no-one else find they get foot cramp if they do it for more than 15/20 mins? I do which is why I do it as a warm up and then head straight for the treadmill! :)
    hmm my foot goes numb!!
  • Classalete
    Classalete Posts: 464 Member
    I bashed up my knee a couple of weeks ago resulting in several partial tendon tears. Sadly..I'm now limited to the elliptical and stationary-bike. To my surprise however I've been able to maintain a decent enough caloric expenditure to support my diet and training regiment. If your feet are going numb during the exercise...make sure your rotating your ankles during the movement and your shoelaces are slightly less taunt that normal!
  • alightcomingon
    alightcomingon Posts: 1 Member
    Does no-one else find they get foot cramp if they do it for more than 15/20 mins? I do which is why I do it as a warm up and then head straight for the treadmill! :)
    hmm my foot goes numb!!

    Same here! I have noticed though when I feel the numbness coming on, if I shift the weight to the balls of my feet or rock them as if walking, they wake back up. Thought it was just me this happened to. :wink:
  • geekymom57
    geekymom57 Posts: 176 Member
    Does no-one else find they get foot cramp if they do it for more than 15/20 mins? I do which is why I do it as a warm up and then head straight for the treadmill! :)
    hmm my foot goes numb!!
    I was experiencing a similar problem and read somewhere to shift the weight to the heel and/or to keep your feet completely flat on the foot pad. There's a tendency to shift weight forward and that puts a lot of pressure on the ball of the foot, esp. if it's a long and/or strenuous workout.

    RE: how long and how often. When I was just getting started back on exercise after a couple of year absence, I had to start quite slow. I did 30 minutes at the lowest speed and grade, 3 times a week. I am now up to an hour 3 times a week, and have moved on to the programs. I usually do a 30 or 45 minute weight loss program (varying resistance, grade, speed, etc.) and then finish off with a straight 1 or 2 level resistance. I use the treadmill at the gym to get a slightly different workout but need to keep the incline under 10 or my knees get quite strained.

    For me the key was starting with a realistic goal and then gradually increasing it as I gained more stamina and strength. And my MD is very happy that I'm doing it as part of a goal of staving off osteoporosis.
  • mrimike
    mrimike Posts: 139
    Foot numbness is very common with the eliptical. It really does help to keep your weight centered and not on your toes. You could try shifting it back to the heels for a few minutes to make sure you get better blood flow to the toes again.
  • leslie0422
    leslie0422 Posts: 108 Member
    Does no-one else find they get foot cramp if they do it for more than 15/20 mins? I do which is why I do it as a warm up and then head straight for the treadmill! :)
    hmm my foot goes numb!!

    Same here! I have noticed though when I feel the numbness coming on, if I shift the weight to the balls of my feet or rock them as if walking, they wake back up. Thought it was just me this happened to. :wink:

    Same thing for me. My left foot goes to sleep if I'm on the elliptical too long.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories