An elliptical machine might look a little strange, and it
might look like something that is just doing all the work for people who think
that they’re exercising on it, but there’s actually quite a few benefits to
using one.
Unlike running on a treadmill, it’s a low-impact exercise
because the machine moves with you and this means that pretty much anyone can
make use of it. It also serves as a workout for both your upper and lower
body.
If you exercise on an elliptical, you are optimizing your energy expenditure, which means you can burn calories more efficiently than you
would with other exercises. Having said all of that, a lot of people don’t reap
these benefits because they don’t use the machine the right way.
Here’s a few mistakes you might be making on your elliptical
machine:
1. You Don’t Change the Resistance
When you’re just starting out on the elliptical machine,
it’s probably okay for your resistance to be pretty low, but you’re body is
going to get used to this pretty quickly. Possibly without you even realizing
it.
If it’s easy for you, then you’re not doing it right. You
need to be pushing and pulling through every individual stride. The sweet spot
is to make sure that it’s not impossible for you, because then you’ll never get
anywhere, but that it is a challenge.
It’s the only way that you are going to see results. Ellipticals can be a little bit complicated with all of the buttons and numbers on the face, but what
you are looking for here is pedal resistance.
If you are doing elliptical workouts consistently, you
should be able to increase the resistance a little bit with every single workout.
2. You Don’t Maintain Your Speed
Unlike a treadmill, you can’t rely on an elliptical machine
to control how quickly you are going. That’s all up to you and your movements.
To get the best results from an elliptical workout, you need a combination of
speed and resistance.
This can be tough to maintain for 20 or 30 minute straight.
By the time you’re finished, you might feel like you’ve done a full workout,
when in fact you’re speed started to slip about halfway through and you didn’t
burn close the amount of calories you were aiming for.
If you set yourself a goal, you have to stay on track to
meet that goal. It’s hard to keep moving but if you keep focused, you keep
control of your breathing and the speed and resistance is at a level you are
capable of, you should be able to push through this.
3. Your Weight Isn’t Evenly Distributed
If you’ve noticed while you’re on the elliptical that your
toes start to get numb part way through the session, this is a problem, and
it’s probably happening because you’re weight is not evenly distributed on the
pedals.
You should try to mimic the movements you would have while
running, so start on the balls of your feet and then roll through onto your
heels. If you place all of your weight on the balls of your feet the entire
time you’ll be putting a lot of stress on your ankles and knees.
Also, you’ll be working different muscle groups by shifting
the weight distribution as you use the machine.
4. You Don’t Enter Your Information
Another big difference between an elliptical and a treadmill
is that you can usually update a machine with details of your size, so that it
can relay information about your progress. While you can just jump on exercise,
you’re missing out on the benefits if you do that.
Entering your height and weight allows for the machine to
give you a more accurate reading of how many calories you are burning so you
can keep an eye on it. This should also help you in maintaining your speed
since you can see if the calorie-burning is slowing down and react accordingly
to that.
Some of the best machines out there will also come with a whole host of other features
too. Some have virtual training in-built or pre-coded High Intensity Interval
Training (HIIT) programs that you can use, and that you will benefit more from
if your information has been entered into the machine’s operating system.
5. You’re Relying Too Much on the One Machine
So as awesome of a device as it is, an elliptical is still
just one machine, and you should probably have a bit more variety It’s easy to
plateau on weight loss or muscle training if you stick to the same exercise
over and over.
Your body will become accustomed to the training and it will
be more difficult for your to continue making the same progress. If you don’t
want to incorporate too much more equipment into your exercising, then just
start doing some bodyweight exercises.
You could still use the elliptical like 4 or 5 times a week,
but in addition to that, work in a couple of other workouts too. You could try
and do yoga or pilates too if you don’t want to focus on strength but still
want a bit more variety.
At the end of the day, this is still a terrific machine that
you can get all kinds of benefits from, provided you know how to use it. And
all of these issues can be very easily dealt with anyway so it should be simple
enough for you to stay on track with it.