elliptical trainer???

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lopez2119
lopez2119 Posts: 8
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi! Has anyone else been doing the elliptical trainer as a weight loss? Because i have been doing it for about 3 weeks now for 30 min and i havent seen that many results, am i doing something wrong?

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  • falloutgirl
    falloutgirl Posts: 4
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    I LOVE the ellptical machine. I have been doing it for a while now and at first I didn't see any changes. I increased the level that I was working on and boy the weight and inches are just falling off! Try increasing the level your on. I hope that helps.
  • aprilann
    aprilann Posts: 238
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    Hi! Has anyone else been doing the elliptical trainer as a weight loss? Because i have been doing it for about 3 weeks now for 30 min and i havent seen that many results, am i doing something wrong?
    I have one that has different levels to set it on like sports trainer and ez-incline so I go up and down on different levels of difficulty. it works awesome.
  • TamTastic
    TamTastic Posts: 19,224 Member
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    I used the elliptical almost exclusively while losing the weight I lost. I think the key is to push yourself. I love it because it's easy on the body and gives a good workout to arms and legs and cardio. What I did was start out at level 3 for 20 min. Every time a level started to feel too easy (meaning you just don't have to work as hard as you once did to move it) I would bump it up a level and add 5 minutes.

    Also, I loved the random setting, which is an interval sort of workout..it get's harder and then easier and then harder throughout the workout.

    I pushed myself too. Moved it as fast as I could. I got to the point where I was burning over 1,000 cals!

    I now do over an hour at level 19, even at 6 months pregnant. I don't push it quite as fast as I did in "lose" mode but still burn over 600 cals! :wink:
  • iRun4wine
    iRun4wine Posts: 5,126
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    I have been doing it for about 2 months now and I LOVE it... I have seen real results :happy: Try experimenting- different levels, durations, etc. I burn about 350 calories in 35 minutes on it :happy:
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
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    I've been doing elliptical trainer consistently now since this past Sunday everytime I go to the gym. I used to only be able to last 5 minutes to 7 minutes tops but since sunday I have pushed myself to 18 minutes the first two times and then 30 minutes last night and burned 324 calories in that 30 minutes. My 18 min workouts burned me about 280 cals. I love it. I am down 6 lbs since Sunday, weighed myself today and I think the elliptical has a lot to do with it.

    I can do stationary bike and treadmill for the same amount of time 30 minutes and burn about 150 cals on bike and maybe about 200 on treadmill.

    Keep at the elliptical, I think its great and contributed to my 6 lbs lost! Yipee!!
  • pannellkat
    pannellkat Posts: 709 Member
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    Oh I forgot to add, I use the weight loss program on the elliptical so every 4 minutes it switches from level 3 to level 8 back to level 3, etc. I think it helps to up your resistance level and switch resistance within your workout. Breathing too I found to be helpful as well as music!
  • renee22
    renee22 Posts: 33
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    I use the elliptical for 30-45 min 2-3x/wk....

    I use the programs on the machine to vary resistance & the levels so that I feel like I'm doing a new workout each time...
  • TCASMEY
    TCASMEY Posts: 1,405 Member
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    I love my eliptical. Do to the kids doing something to it I can no longer change the intensity level but I can do intervals. The weather has been nice so I have been doing more outside, but I use it as my main form of exercise in the winter and here in MN that can seem like a long time. I start easy and then I push until I get my heart rate almost to the max and then I do it for a minute and then back off for a few minutes and then do another push. The weight is not coming off very fast (but that do to having a harder time changing my eating habits) but I have lost inches and my blood pressure is gone down:smile:
  • 9726172000
    9726172000 Posts: 428
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    I use the Epi 5 days a week for 60 minutes each time. I am at 15 in the heigth and at resistance 10-11. I do cal. burn cycles. And that will really get to burning the cals. for you. What the cal. burn cycle is you go as fast as you can until you almost can't go any more (usually 15-40 seconds at a time) then you would go a a good pace until you recover to where you are breathing normal and can talk again and the for another 15-40 seconds go as fast as you can. You keep doing this cal. burn cycle until your time is up. I can burn anywhere from 950-1100 cals in that 1 hour on the Epi.
  • ndiamond
    ndiamond Posts: 37 Member
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    I use it too and I use the "interval" program.

    day 1 - lower body strength training + 30 epi
    day 2 - upper body strength training + 30 epi
    day 3 - 45 - 60min epi.

    then I repeat the cycle every weekday and do outdoor activities on the weekends. it works because i hate the step machine and i feel like you can get the same results by raising the level on the incline / resistance when you're already doing high peaks. intervals also keep you more motivated IMO. If you keep it at the same resistance and ramp, you might not be challenging yourself enough. Circut training is one of the best for shedding lbs and inches, the epi is good for that if used correctly.

    PS...I also have flat feet and knock knees, it makes it really comfortable for me to exercise which makes me want to do it more! :smile:
  • nikkigullick
    nikkigullick Posts: 16
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    I love my elliptical. I just started my weight loss program this week, so I haven't seen results yet, but like the others have said, increase the level of resistance. You need to work up a sweat, and get your heart rate up, not just walk at a slow pace.
  • Poison5119
    Poison5119 Posts: 1,460 Member
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    If you can keep cadence with the song "BREATHE" by PRODIGY, on an elliptical trainer to add extra minutes in your workout, you are using the elliptical machine right and will lose weight.

    The bulk of my weight came off using elliptical on almost daily basis. Level 3-5, No less than 145 bpm HR. At least 30 minutes, alternate by slowing for 2 minutes in between 3-4 minute sprints will melt you.

    The more work you put in, the better the results you'll have.

    My newest goal is to consistently break 30 minute sessions.:bigsmile:
  • proctor0828
    proctor0828 Posts: 179
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    I love my elliptical! I use it everyday... I found that I tend to get better results when using a manual mode instead of a preset.
  • skinnydreams
    skinnydreams Posts: 1,178 Member
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    It's my exercise equipment of choice!!! I just push myself and sweat and sweat and sweat!
  • TamTastic
    TamTastic Posts: 19,224 Member
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    It's my exercise equipment of choice!!! I just push myself and sweat and sweat and sweat!
    That is exactly what I do! Especially in "lose" mode...now that I am preggo, I am a bit more careful but I still sweat and get my HR up! :glasses:
  • MillerLight
    MillerLight Posts: 9
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    I don't know if this will help you or not, but my physician told me that you can't burn anything if you are not getting your metabolic rate up - which (for me anyway) generally means breaking a sweat. What I have found is that 20 minutes on an elliptical burns more calories than 40 minutes on a treadmill - and, it 'fixes' specific target areas that are harder to 'mold'. Hope this helps! I'm new to this so am interested in seeing if this item goes through.......

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