Elliptical machines have been rapidly growing in popularity at gyms and health clubs across the country as well as gaining on treadmills in terms of overall sales for home use. The ability to cross-train with both upper and lower body workouts allows elliptical machines to work more muscle groups simultaneously than any other single piece of fitness equipment at your gym. Ellipticals also offer very low-impact workouts, making them perfect for people with joint problems who still want to be able to work out.
An elliptical machine will provide an excellent workout for the quadriceps, hamstrings, chest, back, triceps and biceps. A full workout on an elliptical can tone the whole body and burn more calories and fat than most any other single item of fitness equipment. Because the whole body is working at the same time, you can exercise for longer periods with less fatigue. Working out on an elliptical should deliver less pain and more gain, and not the other way around.
Users need to work with the resistance divided equally between the upper and lower body, instead of working with the legs only and just coasting through the arm motions because the biggest gains from exercising on an elliptical machine come from the simultaneous action of both the upper and lower body. Elliptical users can burn about 600 calories an hour with a single combined upper and lower body workout. And an elliptical workout will not beat your joints into submission like running on pavement does so you can build up your endurance without wrecking your body in the process.
Another factor that both the gyms and people who have an elliptical at home appreciate is the lack of required maintenance, Elliptical machine do not usually have a lot of complicated or motorized parts to maintain. The user’s body provides most of the locomotion power on an elliptical machine and there are no motors, belts or rollers to worry about. If you haven’t tried working out on an elliptical trainer yet, now is the time to go down to your local gym and put one through the paces. You can also check out one of the many great instructional videos and DVDs available on ellipticals to familiarize yourself a bit before you get to the gym and try one out
