If you’ve been searching for a piece of exercise equipment that can safely provide effective low-impact workouts from the comfort of your home, then look no further than the elliptical trainer.
Elliptical trainers can give you a total body workout if you decide to use the handles to push and pull during the movement.
These awesome machines can do wonders for your cardiovascular system and are easy on the joints.
When used consistently, elliptical trainers can burn a ton of calories and help you lose weight in the process.
As a matter of fact, you can burn just as many or even more calories using an elliptical trainer as you can jogging on a treadmill.
For these reasons, people of all age groups can use elliptical machines.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a complete beginner or an advanced athlete; this exercise marvel makes working out accessible to practically anyone.
When you workout on an elliptical trainer there are two important benefits:
- Low-Impact Exercise
- Upper and Lower Body Workout
Those two benefits are the primary reasons why elliptical trainers are growing in popularity.
Treadmills sell more in total numbers, but elliptical sales are growing at a faster pace.
They are particularly appealing to the baby boomer generation that is looking for an alternative form of exercise and workout that lessens the impact on aging joints.
Let’s briefly cover the first primary benefit of using an elliptical machine…
Low-Impact Exercise
The two most popular forms of cardio exercise are walking and jogging.
It’s no secret that running is a high-impact exercise that puts a lot of stress on the leg muscles and joints, which increases the chances of getting injured.
Walking is a much lower impact movement, but nonetheless still causes some stress on your lower extremities.
In fact, jogging can put upwards of 2 ½ times your bodyweight of force on your leg joints and muscles with each stride.
This is one of the main reasons why some runners and even walkers oftentimes suffer from ankle, knee, hip, and back injuries.
The chances are even greater when running or walking on hard surfaces such as concrete or asphalt.
Just know that with every step you take, there is a degree of shock absorption.
This shock can be felt throughout your entire body depending upon the impact.
Elliptical trainers reduce harmful impact through their elliptical motion.
This is made possible because your feet never leave the foot pedals.
This means your muscles and joints don’t have to absorb potentially damaging shock, as they would during jogging or walking.
The motion of an elliptical trainer simulates the natural path of the ankle, knee and hip joints during walking, jogging or running.
And yet you still get a weight bearing workout, which builds bone density, and can inhibit the onset of osteoporosis.
With a treadmill you are constantly lifting your feet and impacting the treadbelt with every stride.
Some treadmills are designed to absorb some of the impact, but there is still that constant jolt to your joints.
Now let’s talk about the second primary benefit…
Upper and Lower Body Workout
In addition to the low impact workouts an elliptical machine provides, another huge benefit is that it trains both your upper and lower body simultaneously.
Anytime you stimulate multiple muscle groups at once, you not only optimize your workout, more calories will get burned.
In other words, you’ll enjoy shorter workouts, burn more calories, and tone multiple muscles simultaneously.
When you exercise both the upper and lower body on an elliptical trainer, you work the quadriceps, calves, glutes, chest, back, hamstrings, triceps, biceps, forearms, etc.
By exercising more muscle groups you attain the following benefits:
Benefits of Exercising Multiple Muscle Groups Simultaneously:
- Improved fat mobilization
- Build muscle endurance and tone
- Burn more calories and fat in less time
- Reduced perceived rate of exertion
Regarding the reduced perceived rate of exertion, studies have shown that an elliptical trainer workout will often be perceived as less strenuous due to the combined upper and lower body exercise.
The perception is that you get more results with less effort.
The good news for you is that the results are not mere perceptions, but are reality for those that workout consistently on an elliptical machine.
Because of the great results that millions of people from around the world get by using these low-impact machines, sales have increased for both residential and gym use.
They are gaining in popularity at health clubs, and where several years ago you may have seen one or two, you now see rows of elliptical trainers, and people waiting in line to get their turn.
If you’ve never used or tested out an elliptical trainer, you are missing out big time.
By going to a physical store, you can easily try out the various elliptical trainers.
Have you been thinking about putting together a home gym or investing in some fitness equipment?
If so, you should seriously consider an elliptical trainer, because it’s a great piece of equipment that can do wonders for transforming your body and overall health.
The prices are all over the place with models that range from as low as $150 up to $2000.
Buying an elliptical trainer is just like making any other purchase, where the less expensive models may have only the basic functions.
The more higher-end models will tend to have all the bells and whistles.
Remember, just because a piece of equipment is on the lower end of the price spectrum, doesn’t automatically mean that it’s of lesser quality.
Nowadays, the fitness equipment that comes loaded with high-tech monitors and virtual fitness instructors cost more than those without those luxury enhancements.
Doesn’t this means that the pre-high tech exercise equipment such as elliptical trainers, treadmills, rowers, stationary bikes, and so forth are low-quality?
Of course not!
So, be careful what criteria you use when deciding on whether or not to purchase a lower or higher end elliptical trainer.
Don’t solely base it on price and tech.
If the machine is build solid and consumers rave about the elliptical trainer and it’s within your budget, then you should consider the purchase.
It's important to buy your elliptical trainer from a reputed company that can also provide after sales service.
Look at the warranty periods to ensure that you get the best deal when you invest in the machine. Normally there is one-year warranty for the labor and a three year warranty for the machine parts.
Higher end elliptical machines are usually purchased by health clubs for commercial use.
If you’re purchasing an elliptical trainer for use in your home, a commercial grade machine may be overkill for your workout needs.
Let’s close out…
Conclusion
You just discover a few of the benefits using elliptical machines can provide right in the comforts of your home.
They’re perfect if you suffer from aches, pains, and even injuries that prevent using traditional forms of cardio exercising such walking or jogging, especially on hard surfaces.
Elliptical trainers provide low-impact full-body workouts for practically any age group, no matter if you’re a beginner, de-conditioned, or an advanced athlete.
If you’ve been searching for a highly effective piece of equipment that can work several muscle groups simultaneously while building up your cardiovascular system and burning tons of calories, then look no further than the elliptical trainer.
Due to how low the impact is, several physical therapist recommend elliptical trainers to their patients.
If you’re still on the fence about these wonderful machines, go to your local exercise retailer or sporting goods store and test a few out.
I bet you’ll become a believer with the quickness.
What are you waiting for?
Start implementing elliptical training into your weekly workout routines!
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