People from all over the world who are health conscious are very much familiar about treadmills. However, if you are going to compare this weight loss cardio machine to an elliptical machine, you will discover that the latter is known to be much lighter and easier on a person’s joints. In addition, there are a lot of elliptical trainer benefits and you include one as part of your home gym if you wanted.
Elliptical vs Treadmill
In the world of workouts and exercises, an elliptical trainer is, actually, X-trainer or cross trainer. This machine is motionless and it works by way of assisting a person in order to come up with a more stimulated walking, hill climbing or walking during an exercise. But for those people who are very much inclined to exercises and workouts for the lower body, a treadmill is a more popular option. This is not surprising because most people are more use to this kind of exercise machine.
Elliptical vs Exercise Bike
Both the elliptical machine and the exercise bike are good choices when it comes to cardio machine fitness. The answer as to this question depends upon what your training goal is. If your main goal is to increase the efficiency of your heart and lungs the better option would be the elliptical trainer. That’s because it involves your entire body, forcing the body to use more oxygen. This will also burn more calories and increase your metabolic rate. In contrast, the cycle only utilizes the lower body so doesn’t require as much oxygen uptake.
If your main goal is fat loss, then elliptical workouts should also be your number one choice. Because you are using more muscles and involving your entire body, it burns calories more than when you are using an exercise bike. Of course, the actual amount of calories that you burn depends on the intensity of your workout. To get the best results, you should do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). You can do this on both the elliptical and the exercise bike.
If you are mainly interested in building muscle, you will obviously be doing a lot more resistance training than cardio. However, when you are doing your cardio, you will want to choose an exercise option that adds to your muscle building goals. When it comes to the exercise bike and the elliptical, the exercise bike will build greater quads mass and strength. However, the elliptical will develop both the quads and glutes, along with the hamstrings and calves to a greater degree than the exercise bike.
At then end of the day, it is good to have both the elliptical and the exercise bike in your training tool box. They are both very good exercises, being low impact. One thing that the exercise bike has going for it is that it is a seated exercise. That means that you can still get a good workout if you have problems with balance and coordination. On the other hand, the elliptical has the potential for a more intense workout as it provides you with the ability in increase the incline of the angle that you are working at.
Here are 7 key elliptical machine benefits:
1. Develops and Improves Mobility and Balance
With elliptical machine workouts, you simply get the opportunity to develop and improve cardiovascular fitness, improved balance and mobility. Also, this kind of machine gives you the chance to gradually regain your hips’ motion and this proves to be very helpful especially after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery. As of the present days, there are many hospitals that allow and encourage ACL surgery patients to use an elliptical. Moreover, you can easily adjust the intensity of this exercise depending on the level or degree of a person’s injury.
2. Allows You to Imitate a Variety of Exercises
There are certain types of exercises that allow you to mimic other forms of exercises. For example, the Schwinn 430 Exercise can make you imitate walking, jogging, staircase climbing, running at many different levels of intensity and resistance. This kind of exercise also allows you to make use of your heart rate in monitoring not only your speed but your progress as well. This is possible because the machine comes with wireless control equipment for heart rate. The best kind of elliptical machine has the ability to adjust an exercise’s intensity in an automatic manner. The automatic adjustment of the exercise’s intensity often relies on your existing heart rate. Thus, this gives you the opportunity and option to exercise at a very comfortable level.
3. You Will Only Have to Use Small or Minimal Space
One of the most common problems during an exercise or workout is the needed space. This proves to be true when your kind of exercise requires you to use multiple and bulky machines. If this is the case, it will be difficult for you to conduct and perform your exercise routines. If you live in a small apartment, you might think that an elliptical might not be good right for you. Well, this is something that should not worry you. Today, there are elliptical machines which are designed for small or limited spaces and therefore suitable for a home gym.
A good example of this is Stamina-In-Motion-Elliptical-Trainer. With this kind of elliptical machine, you can easily place it in one corner of your room. On the other hand, you may also want to have the Fit Desk. That is a kind of elliptical that’s specifically designed to fit under your table or desk.
4. It Allows You to Exercise Your Whole Body
It is not only your upper body that you exercise when you make use of an elliptical machine – it is your lower body too! This is actually one of the best elliptical trainer benefits and is something that you cannot get from any other types of exercises out there. In addition to this, the workout that your body gets is rendered effectively as well. This is because all of the body muscles are being worked out, allowing the improvement of bone formation and bone strength.
The type of elliptical known as the Proform Hybrid Trainer offers sixteen resistance levels. This is something that provides your body with a very challenging workout or exercise when the resistance levels of the elliptical machines targets increase. And with this kind of exercise, you can have the assurance that an effective calorie burn takes place in the process and within a short span of time. Moreover, this kind of machine allows you to either stand or sit while using it.
5. Gives You the Freedom and Ability to Multitask
There are many people who perform different activities while doing their exercise routine. For example, there are exercises that allow a person to read his or her favorite magazine while working out. Others allow them to watch their favorite TV shows while exercising. With an elliptical machine, you can have the freedom to do just like the ones mentioned earlier.
There are just a few important things that you need to do first such as setting the machine to your kind of preference. Your preference or preferences often depend on the routine that you perform daily. If you made it possible to adjust this setting then you can just allow the machine to do its job while you do yours too. There are high-end elliptical machines that come with speakers so that you can play your favorite music while you are performing your exercise. There are also those types that also come with an audio-book so that you can read the kind of texts you want to read as you work out.
6. An Elliptical Exercise is a Form of Weight-Bearing Workout
One of the amazing benefits of using an elliptical machine is its weight-bearing nature. This holds true to the fact that you will be exercising against the earth’s gravity. The movements of your knees, hip joints, and ankles work harmoniously with the machine. There are many elliptical trainer benefits that you can get from a weight-bearing exercise. It strengthens and fortifies your bones and it prevents the onset of osteoporosis, a kind of condition where the bones become brittle and weak that even a slight movement can injure or harm them.
7. The Machine’s Maintenance is Cheap and Easy
There are kinds of exercise machines which are hard, difficult and expensive to maintain. Well, this is something that you will not have to suffer if you make use of elliptical trainers. An elliptical machine is easy to maintain because it comes with parts which are less moving. Movements and impacts which are being applied are limited.
Prior to this reality, you can have the assurance that your machine will not quickly wear out and would not break down easily. With this type of exercise machine, you will surely get the assurance of having it for a much longer period of time. To get these assurances, you need to look for a machine that comes with a longer warranty.
Check out this: 20 Minute HIIT Treadmill Workout
Getting the Most From Your Elliptical Workouts
- Plan for your elliptical workout workouts – rather than just aimlessly getting on the machine, know exactly what you want to achieve. Set a goal to improve your performance from last time, whether that means more time, more calories or more strides.
- Make use of the handles – this will increase the work done by your upper body. Get into a rhythmic push/pull motion. Tense and engage your core and your lat muscles.
- Do not read a book, watch your iPad or watch TV when using this cardio machine. Put all of your attention into the workout.
- Do not slouch by hanging onto the handrails. If you do, you will make the exercise much easier, which is not what you want. You want to maximize the calorie burn by making the movement as challenging as you can.
- When buying an elliptical cardio machine for your home gym, choose a front drive machine which gives you better ergonomic movement patterns.
Conclusion
So those are the elliptical trainer benefits that you ought to know. But there’s one bonus that you also need to know as far as elliptical benefits are concerned. With this kind of exercise trainer machines, you can greatly increase your cardio or aerobic capacity. You can get this benefit when you make use of the machine even for just twenty-five minutes a day and at least twice a week.
As you have read in this article this fitness equipment provides an excellent aerobic exercise similar to that of a rowing machine. For those with limited to go to the gym consider buying this piece of equipment as part of your home gym as it provides a great cardio workout and a lowimpact exercise for home workouts. It works out the major muscle groups including your arm and leg muscles. Beginners should be remind to take case to ensure your feet never leave the pedals when in motion to avoid injury.
This kind of cardio equipment exercise will also make you feel alert, less stress and active throughout the day. There are many fitness articles online about elliptical training to vary your routine. Together with other gym equipment ( for example olympic weight benches) and simple outdoor exercise ( outdoor running) should help you achieve you your objectives.
