Want better results???? Ditch the elliptical and......

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  • Libby81
    Libby81 Posts: 734 Member
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    .
  • Tori_356
    Tori_356 Posts: 510 Member
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    too bad they dont have one of those at my "gym", id definitly step it up :(
  • spinqueen72
    spinqueen72 Posts: 406 Member
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    hit the step mill instead. Non jarring, more effective, actually simiuates USABLE REALISTIC movement. When I used to train, I slowly converted many a soccer mom to the step mill. I can't tell you how many of those women would brag about how they could go for an hour on the elliptical and burn SOOOO many calories....um hmmmmm.

    5 minutes on the step mill at a level 5 and they were panting and DONE.

    Elliptical is a great start for poeple who are unfit or elderly. Once you're past the "newbie" phase of exercise however, it's time to step it up..literally!!

    I know I'm gonna get a hundred replies of offended people who just swear by the elliptical. For some reason that machine has a cult following (probalby because it's easy and shows huge calorie burns..which are false..but that is another thread). But...there is a reason that very few trainers actually use them THEMSELVES. It's unnatural movement, it's too easy to wimp out on it, and it's just simply not enough once you hit a more advanced level of fitness.

    Flame away...most trainers are on board with me on this one. Step mill. GO THERE...


    Do you mean the "Stairmaster"?
  • trud72
    trud72 Posts: 1,912 Member
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    LOL I had an elliptical. Was great for hanging up wet towels after swimming ;)

    Hated using it. 3 minutes and my knees HURT. Not ache, but down right HURT.

    Sold the elliptical, joined a gym, and started the treadmill. I LOVE the treadmill.

    What's the Step Mill and how is it used?

    So I'll join you on the anti-elliptical band wagon :)

    if your knees hurt doing the elliptical they would totallllly kill you doing the step mill! :wink:
  • Chris_acc_can
    Chris_acc_can Posts: 83
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    A calorie burned is a calorie burned regardless of machine used. The elliptical may not be the most efficient cardio machine (you will have to be on longer to burn same calories on stair master) but it will still bun calories.

    Every machine has pros or cons. Treadmill is hard on knees and joints, Stair master only engages the lower body and again is hard on knees and ankles. A bike only engages the lower body as waist up is fixed, etc...

    You can write a thread on any cardio machine and only highlight the cons. The focus should be that you are at least doing cardio. If you don't care about time at gym than the cardio you do isn't relevant, just the calories burned.
  • cara4art
    cara4art Posts: 48 Member
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    I do the elliptical myself - I'm older and I had a knee injury back in late '10, for which I had great rehab.. But I also do stairs, in my apartment building. I do agree, doing the stairs can really kick one's butt, especially if one does them 2 at a time going up. I got into my stair routine as part of my rehab when I got to the point where I could do stairs(esp. the going down part)once more. I do this 3x time a day, 10 flights at a time. I was able to start doing 2 steps at a time going up a couple of months ago - it makes a big difference in perceived effort due to the increased quad and glutes engagement.
    But back to the elliptical - I was doing this pre-injury because I'm downright spooked about treadmills(I got thrown off one once, in a private home - fortunately I wasn't badly hurt but it sure scared me to death). IMO, the trick to getting a lot more out of the elliptical is to get enough resistance and incline going on - otherwise one is indeed just gliding along and all. I've gotten GREAT workouts on the elliptical myself, doing both steady-state cardio and intervals. In my book, if you can read a magazine or pay too much attention to the TV while on the elliptical, you aren't working hard enough.
  • feltlikesound
    feltlikesound Posts: 326 Member
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    Me personally I find if I mix up the stair stepper, elliptical, arc trainer, and treadmill it works best for me. If I do just one my body gets use to it and I don't get as much out of it or I get bored.

    This is exactly what works for me, too. I have a goal for calories burned, and I just pick and choose what ever type of cardio I feel up to that day, and it's worked very well for me. I usually do elliptical on days my body feels more tired, because I find the movement less strenuous on my muscles and joints (but still reach my calories burned goal).
  • Libby81
    Libby81 Posts: 734 Member
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    not taking part in uncalled for *****ing
  • RachFace1000
    RachFace1000 Posts: 154 Member
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    My physical therapist actually recommended the elliptical machine to me because it doesn't put much stress on my knees... that and bikes. Does the stair stepper do wear-and-tear on your knees? Please let me know! And if anyone knows if the stationary bike is also as big of a lie as the elliptical machine let me know that too...
  • junekmoore
    junekmoore Posts: 25
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    Thanks so much for this post. I hope on the elliptical a few times a week because of the reasons you stated others do. I do not see the results I do from power walking, walking inclines, kickboxing or zumba. This explains it!! The stepmill does wear me out and I guess that is why I avoid it. I will do 20 minutes of it today and jog 20 on the treadmill. Thanks a million!!!
  • RachFace1000
    RachFace1000 Posts: 154 Member
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    My physical therapist actually recommended the elliptical machine to me because it doesn't put much stress on my knees... that and bikes. Does the stair stepper do wear-and-tear on your knees? Please let me know! And if anyone knows if the stationary bike is also as big of a lie as the elliptical machine let me know that too...
    the step mill does put some stress on the knees, but it really depends on how tall you are. the step mill steps are a foot high. Ask your physio about it. Elliptical is good for knee injuries. So is teh bike. have you tried spin class?


    I'm around 5'9 and 5'10.
    And I will defiantly ask him! I typically go to the yoga classes at my gym instead of the spin classes at the same time, but I can switch that up every once in a while. The people in that class (not matter how fit) are always sweating buckets!!!
  • ChaseAlder
    ChaseAlder Posts: 804 Member
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    I HATE the elliptical. It feels so weird, I can't even stay on it for more than a few minutes.
  • mikewpg1ca
    mikewpg1ca Posts: 86 Member
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    Personally I'm not a fan of the elliptical because I find the elliptical motion unnatural. Instead if I want a low-impact cardio workout I use the Arc Trainer; it's a similar concept to an elliptical but the Arc Trainer provides a much smoother and natural motion I find.

    As for the step mill, I really like that too, but it certainly isn't a low-impact cardio workout. At least for me it works the legs pretty good, which isn't a bad thing, but sometimes when my legs are feeling heavy from running or a leg workout, the step mill is just too much. The Arc Trainer still allows me to get a decent cardio workout in on recovery days without the stress on my leg muscles/joints.

    All said, I like to mix up my cardio, treadmill, bike, arc trainer, step mill, row machine, and recently I've started to play with Jacobs Ladder, which makes the step mill seem easy...lol.
  • braign
    braign Posts: 89
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    I have been running outside and on treadmills for a bit (not more than 1.5 miles yet) and weight training in the gym, and recently because my feet were KILLING me after work, I thought I'd do a 'light' day at the gym and just get on the elliptical (no pounding of feet on surfaces). Well, my breathing was heavy straight away and the sweat was pouring off me after 5 minutes! I've never had so many sweat beads dripping down me before outside of a shower!

    I kept my hands on the HRM in the machine (as best I could - the sweat was all slippery) and ignored the calories. It had my heart rate at an average of 168bpm over 15 minutes, so I tapped that into a website that calculates calories burned based on heart rate, and entered that into MFP (since their estimate is way higher).

    I agree that people who do the elliptical religiously probably get used to it (the woman next to me wasn't even sweating, just watching TV) but it felt pretty good to me to work that hard. The next time I did it, I had to go up 2 levels to get the same feeling, so I won't get too attached to it, but I wouldn't swear it off completely!

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