Elliptical

Bump....i have the same question

It definitely takes me a while to work up! I like the elliptical because I get a better work out.

I just started using it again about 2 weeks ago. I could only go 5 minutes. After doing it nearly every day and getting used to exercising again, I can now do 30ish minutes. I'm planning to keep working until i can hit the whole hour on it!

It's not easy at first. Especially if you're not used to it. Don't overwork yourself! Just keep trying it and eventually you'll be a pro and able to go for ages and people will marvel at you!

All i do is the elliptical since i have bad knees and a bad back. If you havent done much working out before then yes you will get wore out fast. Just dont push yourself really hard. Going fast and getting burnt out 7 mins into will do nothing for you. Take your time and go slow. If you can do a hr on it going slow you will get more out of it

Build up to it slowly. I started out doing 5 minutes a few times a day for a week, then upped it to 10 minutes a few times a day. I kept increasing it by 5 minute increments each week and can now do half an hour at one time, but if I don't do it for a few days I will be out of energy and unable to continue on after 15 minutes again. Those ellipticals really take it out of you.

Take your time and you will get there..
I can just manage 30mins and I been doing it since August

When I first started on the elliptical I did about 22 minutes and wanted to die (and/or punch the friend who brought me to the gym in the tit for suggesting it). Now I do an hour on a bad day at more than triple the resistance. Keep working at it. You'll get there.

you might want to look to see what the cross ramp is defaulted at and also the resistance. The ellipticals where I go are defaulted at 10 for the crossramp and that is high for someone just starting out. Start low and work you way up on both... you dont have to do the highest levels to get a good workout. use your target Heart Rate as a gauge..

Good luck! I use it because the impact is low and I have a bad hip. I use a longer time and lower resistance and crossramp. I still make my target heart rate!

I pushed it...My calves are super sore and the outer thighs are trying to catch up to the super sore calves. Knee brace back on the left knee.

Start slowly like you were walking every day...and remember that it's not aerobics and your legs are doing the work. Good news is that after two days of super soreness and light workouts on the elliptical, my legs are back to normal and I'm still plugging away.

You'll get there! I still have a long way to go on my fitness journey but I do 45-60 mins on a high setting 3 days a week - but it took me a while to build that up.

What helped me was:

- listening to good music with 60-70 bpm and aiming to move in time to it
-alternating forwards motion with some backwards motion (if it means you can keep going for longer overall then that's a good thing although I think forward motion works you slightly harder)
- watching documentaries about weightloss while exercising to keep motivation high!
- sipping water (but not too much or the 'heavy belly' strikes)
- covering the xtrainer display so you don't count the minutes down (I find time moves quicker if you don't watch the clock)
- planning a pampering treat for afterwards such as a body scrub or face pack

You've taken the hardest step of getting started already so keep at it and you'll see improvement very soon :-)

Hey Girl,

Its always a good question, great thinking for asking for feedback. I started back going to the gym a little over 3 weeks now, I started on the elliptical speed 1..for 5 min. I could barely do it but as the days pass I increased it....after the full 3 weeks I'm up to 60 min and speed 10. You have to keep at it, stretch first..sometimes the body is tight and twisted from a long day at work...people sometimes don't realise how much stretching is needed to get your body warmed up before you workout. I learned the hard way, I used to just jump on the Ellitical and go home and feel tired, burnt out and very sore..but now that my friend joined my gym she is a fitness guru and we both warm up doing 15min of cardio kick boxing and then get on the Elliptical do 45-60min and then do 20 min run on the Tredmil. I found the warm up/stretching before getting on any machine makes me sweat more and have a better workout.
Hope that helps!

Anna

Thank goodness someone else could only do a few minutes. I was starting to think I was a list cause.

It does take a little while to get used to, but when you do, there are some good workouts you can find on the internet that make it a little more challenging and and not as boring.