Why an Elliptical Trainer?

Elliptical trainers have become popular the last few years and seem to have taken over from the treadmill and stair stepper as the most popular exercise machine.

They have done this because they deliver more benefits than a treadmill or a stair stepper in addition to being a low impact exercise. Having had a shattered achilles and a bunch of knee operations, I really appreciate low impact exercise.

The elliptical machines move in an oval cycle that gives you a more natural workout and doesn’t cause the stress to your joints that other exercise machines will. Your feet never leave the machine and your:

feet
ankles
knees and
hips

will all appreciate the smooth and fluid motion used in performing the exercise. You can do the exercise in either forward or a reverse motion.

Other Benefits of Elliptical Machines

These machines are safer than a treadmill because your feet never leave the machine, your hands hold on to the machine as part of the upper body workout and keeping your balance is very easy. I’ve seen some nasty falls while using a treadmill.

You get more of a total body workout with the elliptical exercise. It works your arms, back, shoulders, abdomen and legs. The elliptical machine gives you a great cardio workout and helps to melt off that stubborn belly fat.

So what are the negatives?

Elliptical trainers are expensive. The general consensus is that machines under $1000.00 won’t hold up to heavy use or perform as well as the more expensive ones.

If you get in a hurry and buy the unit with the lowest price you may not get the value you were looking for.

Terms and features.

Incline – refers to the attitude or slope. By increasing the incline you make the workout more difficult and can work muscles differently.
Resistance – has to do with the difficulty level of performing the exercise. Most have an adjustable resistance level and you want a machine that allows you to adjust this easily.
Stride Length – is the distance from front to back when making a full rotation. You want to make sure the machine moves through a great enough distance to provide you with a full workout. Beware of a machine that has too short a stride length.
Console – These have more features each year. They have read outs for heart rate, calories burned, distance traveled, speed, time, etc… You can expect them to keep adding more features.
Footprint – The area your machine takes up. You definitely need to figure out where you’re going to put the unit before you buy one, to make sure you have room for it.
Maximum Weight Capacity – This will not only tell you if it is stout enough for you to use, but can also give you an indication of how well built and stable the machine is.
Warranty – These machines are spendy so look for the best warranty you can get. On a new machine I would look for a minimum warranty of 1 year.

Do your Homework.

The easiest way to find out which elliptical trainer you like most is to go to a gym and test the different makes and models. Most gyms will give you a tour of their facilities and let you use the equipment for a day.

You can also visit dealers in your area and try out their equipment. See how the machine feels when you use it as well as studying the bells and whistles that come with it.

You are going to spend some bucks if you decide to purchase one of these so you may as well get one that suits you.

To shop online you can go to Elliptical Trainers. You might want to check back often at this site as they do sell used equipment and when it's available.

Good Luck and Good Health!

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