What is an elliptical machine good for?
The elliptical machine is a very popular piece of gym equipment. And for good reason – it gives a great cardio workout and involves your arms as well as your legs, allowing you to train virtually your whole body with this one activity.
It was designed with your joints in mind. The low impact movement of the elliptical machine makes it a good choice for older trainees or those with shin splints, joint problems or other restrictive issues affecting their exercise.
What muscles does the elliptical machine work?
The muscles worked during an elliptical workout are:
- Quads
- Hamstrings
- Glutes
- Calves
- Triceps
- Pectorals
- Lats
- Front and Rear Deltoids
- Biceps
Also, to a lesser degree:
- Core
- Forearms
How does the elliptical machine give a workout?
Working out on the elliptical machine involves three major motions:
- Climbing/running with the legs
- Pushing with arms, chest, front deltoids (shoulder)
- Pulling with arms, back, rear deltoids (shoulder)
The quads will definitely get blasted. Especially going backwards. Your vastus medialis (the teardrop shaped muscle just above the knee) is worked very satisfyingly. Your quads, glutes, and hamstrings will be the primary muscle groups as the movement mimics climbing stairs. It is definitely an upward direction, not flat like a treadmill.
When on a challenging enough setting, the elliptical machine will provide substantial resistance on the upper body movement too. This will quite thoroughly work your arms, chest, shoulders and upper and mid-back. It’s not like pumping iron, but it’s definitely a good workout for these muscle groups. The level of difficulty for your arms is probably about 25%-50% as hard as doing push-ups, depending on the setting. So, enough to get the blood pumping through your biceps, triceps, chest, shoulders and back, but low enough intensity that you can sustain it for a cardio-length session.
There are a number of modes on most elliptical machines. Usually they consist of:
- Hike – medium stride, medium incline, medium resistance.
- Climb – long stride, high incline, medium resistance.
- Run – medium stride, no incline, low resistance.
- Walk – short stride, no incline, high resistance.
These will adjust the machine to preset levels of resistance, and stride length to achieve a slightly different type of workout. With the variable settings on an elliptical machine, there are many different configurations. It is good to vary them between different sessions, or even within the same workout.
Will the elliptical machine build muscle?
While not as effective as proper weight training, the elliptical machine definitely has the potential to increase your muscle mass. Of course this depends on your starting point. If you are already muscular, you probably won’t gain too much lean mass (unless you’ve never trained legs)!
*If you have let your legs slide for too long and need to catch up, read here.
However, if you are an average person, who has never really worked out regularly, you can definitely put on a few pounds of muscle from training on the elliptical machine. This will mostly be on your legs, but you will increase the size of your arm muscles too. The elliptical machine provides a push motion and a pull motion for the upper body. That’s is pretty much all our muscles do, so you’re covered as far as upper body growth stimulation.
For legs, be sure to switch directions (forward or backward) at regular intervals to ensure you hit all areas of the legs as thoroughly as possible.
If you want to build muscle, the key is to ensure that you are using enough resistance. On most models, you should stick with either a hike (medium stride, medium incline, medium/high resistance) or walk (short stride, high resistance) setting. You have to really push against the resistance from the machine. If you are just gliding through the motions, barely breaking a sweat, you won’t be challenging your muscles enough to grow. Of course, not everybody sweats the same way, but like so many things in life, you get out what you put in.
Some may scoff at the idea of building muscle with an elliptical, but there are plenty of activities beside actually lifting weights that can build muscle. Swimming, any type of climbing, kite-boarding, surfing will all build a little muscle. Some people have built pretty good physiques just from working many types of physical work. Loading/unloading trucks, construction, some factory work and countless other activities will admittedly build muscle and increase strength. Training on the elliptical machine is another way. It even has some advantages over the others. It is performed indoors, it provide a total-body workout, and it involves little or no thought! Simply hop on and go!
Will I lose fat with an elliptical machine?
Working out on the elliptical machine at average intensity, people usually burn a little over 4 calories per hour per pound of body weight. Of course this will vary depending on the many settings on the machine among many other factors. But generally this is a good starting place to estimate calories burned.
This means that a 200 lb man will burn at least 800 calories per hour doing this type of activity. This is a substantial amount and will certainly help anyone with the goal of fat loss. Of course without dietary discipline it’s not going to happen for most people (but you already knew that).
As you probably know, there is 3500 calories in a pound of fat. This means that you need to expend 3500 more calories than you take in through food and drink in a given time period. So if you track your calories and keep them at your basal metabolic rate, or maintenance level, and do some cardio on the elliptical each week, any calories you burn will come from fat reserves. For example, If you weight 200 lb and workout on the elliptical machine for 1 hour, 5 times a week, you will burn about 4000 calories, or about 1.1 lbs of fat, per week. If you cut calories further, your results will be faster – or you can workout less if you prefer!
Can I tone my stomach with elliptical machine?
While the elliptical machine only provides a mild core workout, it turns your body into a fat burning machine! This means that, yes, you can lose your belly fat if you are willing to watch your diet and put in the time at the gym (or in your living room if you own one).
Once again, spot training fat doesn’t seem to be possible, but reducing your overall bodyfat will shrink your gut, and tone your stomach area.
Can I use elliptical machine with plantar fasciitis?
I suffered from plantar fasciitis last year, and it is no fun. The soles of my feet were extremely tender, especially around my heel. There was also some numbness around the edge of my heel. My doctor told me not to go barefoot, ever, and that to stay off my feet was a bad idea. So I would try to do exercise with little or no impact and downforce (lifting up then stepping down to the ground). The elliptical is extremely low-impact, and would be a good choice for someone who is suffering from plantar fasciitis.
Can I use an elliptical machine with bad knees?
Disclaimer: obviously I am not a doctor or any type of healthcare professional. So I can’t give anything even resembling medical advice. On any medical related topics, I can only speculate and draw on personal experience and anecdotal evidence from those I know personally.
I have had my share of knee ailments, at times quite debilitating ones, and I know that impact is not your friend. This is true for all your joints. Other than swimming, (and maybe Tai Chi), training with an elliptical machine is probably about the lowest impact exercise you can get. Plus, you don’t have to shower immediately and get changed etc. So getting on the elliptical trainer is a good way to get your heart rate up without getting much more wear and tear on your body.
Why use an elliptical machine?
The elliptical machine provides a fat burning, muscle building workout that can be sustained for a long training session duration. It works both the upper as well as lower body, in fact you’d be hard pressed to find an exercise that targets more muscle groups, and has little or no impact.
This makes the elliptical machine a great choice for those who just want to go do something simple at the gym. Those who want to make progress, but don’t want to have to think about it too much.
What does the elliptical machine target?
The elliptical machine targets your cardiovascular system first and foremost. It also gives your legs and arms a good workout. It is a great cross-training device that can help you work towards multiple goals simultaneously. You will burn calories, and therefore fat, while also working on stamina and building muscle in both your legs and upper body!
Can the elliptical machine help me lose belly fat?
Training with the elliptical machine will burn a respectable amount of calories. If your diet is in check, with your daily caloric intake at or below maintenance levels (around 10-12 calories per lb of lean body mass), regularly exercising with the elliptical will help you drop fat fast.
While no one can control where on their body the fat that is burned comes from, it will shrink all fat deposits on your body. Including your belly! So yes, it will help lose belly fat.
Remember, try to workout on an empty stomach for better fat loss results. The best time is first thing in the morning, before breakfast. Just be sure to drink a few glasses of water first as we are somewhat dehydrated upon waking in the morning.
What does the stride setting do?
The stride setting will adjust your range of motion for the exercise. The longer the stride, the more calories you will burn. It doesn’t feel any more taxing so I would recommend keeping the stride setting as high as you can, comfortably. This makes sense, because you are moving the load a greater distance. A longer stride means more of a stretch too, so this is also beneficial for circulation and muscle recovery.
As a rule, the longer the range of motion in a given movement, the better the results. Especially in a relatively low resistance, cardio exercise. You know the old adage about losing it from not using it? Well that applies to range of motion too. If you only work within a limited range, you may get stiff and increase your risk of injury when you need to go through a full range.
Are you convinced?
The elliptical is a great choice for a total body workout that is easy on your joints, and is great for those with more than average wear and tear on their body. It is a form of exercise that virtually anyone can do, no knowledge of exercise or brains required. It’s practically impossible to do wrong. It will help maintain muscle mass in your upper and lower body, while turning you into a fat burning furnace! It has a very competitive calories burn rate when compared to other common exercise machines.
So, no matter whether your goal is to get ripped, gain a little muscle tone, or just get your heart rate up for a few minutes, when you want to get a good workout but don’t want to think, just hop on an elliptical machine and go!
