If you are wondering what are the benefits and disadvantages of using an elliptical you are in the right place. Today, we will discuss how elliptical trainers are beneficial in achieving your fitness goals or if they have any dangers.
This fantastic fitness machine is loved by its users for a reason. However, if you are new to using an elliptical, you might be curious about what this strange-looking machine can offer. If you are interested in learning all the positives and negatives of an elliptical trainer, here we go.
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5 Benefits of Using Elliptical Trainers
The elliptical trainers are capable of providing you low impact cardio. This is a wonderful combination for keeping your joints safe and getting your heart racing. An elliptical trainer helps you perform aerobic exercise that regulates your breathing and oxygen intake.
When your heart pumps the blood safely, it can take in the oxygen more effectively, meaning your body gets healthier with time. Apart from these overall benefits, let us look into specific ones below.
High-Calorie Burning
Elliptical trainers burn calories like crazy, especially when compared to treadmills. They have a greater ability to aid you in weight loss as they provide higher calorie burn. You can burn 270 to 400 calories in 30 minutes working on an elliptical trainer, which is impressive.
This is an average number and not true for every individual, but it can form a reference to understand how many calories are burned.
Low Impact on Joints
While exercises offer high health benefits, they also come with the cost of deteriorating your joints with time. However, it is not true with every exercise equipment, and an elliptical trainer offers a low-impact workout.
Unlike running, elliptical provides one-point contact that does not charge your joints with jarring impact. This allows you to work out without putting much stress on your joints. So, you gain the advantage of training yet save your joints from degrading.
Your knees, ankles, and hips will thank you for choosing an elliptical to workout rather than running. They are easy on your joints and are also fun to operate while coordinating your arms and legs.
Versatile Workout
Their unique design mimics natural movements such as walking, jogging, stepping, and cross-country skiing. They give you an excellent workout to shape your upper and lower body in a short time. Toning your body requires a consistent workout that works for various muscle groups.
An elliptical trainer is capable of providing the necessary muscle targeting required for enhancing your muscle and toning your body. As you work both your arms and legs together, you need not work on them separately and save time.
Also, working the upper and lower body together engages your core, helping you exercise your abdominals alongside.
Using an elliptical trainer, the major muscle groups you work with are our calves, core, glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, triceps, deltoids, back, traps, chest, and biceps.
You can achieve a total body workout using an elliptical while your evenly distributed weight adds the required resistance.
Fun Workout
Not all workouts are fun, or the workouts which are fun might not be effective, but an elliptical trainer is both. It is fun and effective at the same time, helping you to come back to work out on the machine consistently.
It helps you maintain uniformity without feeling bored as it is interesting to work on an elliptical. Compared with the treadmill, which is the most used cardio exercise machine, they offer a lot of fun elements that make you want to work out.
Variety of Options
The elliptical trainers come in a variety of machines, from basic to hi-tech models, and different editions that help you perform specific movements. The pre-installed programs mimic various actions such as hill climbing to improve your endurance and stamina.
You also get various fat loss programs according to your convenience. They help you in training efficiently and make the workout enjoyable. When you see the results, you find them motivating to work out consistently.
What Are the Disadvantages of Elliptical Trainers
Every machine is not perfect so are the elliptical trainers. They do come with their own set of disadvantages. However, the benefits they provide outweigh the cons.
Here are a couple of disadvantages you need to know about elliptical machines.
Not Fit for All
They are not the best fit for every individual, even though they provide low-impact exercise. Here we are speaking about people with previous injuries and knee conditions. The elliptical training might make things worse as they are not completely free from impact.
The fragile condition of your knees can get worse even when they are subjected to low impact. So, ellipticals are not recommended for such people. Instead, a stationary bike might be the right equipment for them.
As with an elliptical, your body weight provides resistance and puts your knees in a tricky situation. At the same time, the stationary bikes take the weight off your legs and give them support while you sit and work out.
Not for All Sports Training
While several activities can gain benefit from elliptical training, it isn’t ideal for every sport out there. Especially when you’re training for running or jogging, a treadmill would be an intelligent choice.
The treadmill action helps you train better in improving your endurance for running when compared with an elliptical trainer.
Conclusion: Pros and Cons of the Elliptical
While the elliptical has a lot of benefits and very few disadvantages, it is not right to say that the elliptical is the correct machine for your workout needs. Here we are presenting the facts that you need to know about an elliptical.
However, it all depends on your requirement, capability, and the output you’re expecting from your workouts. But if you are looking for a cardio machine with fun elements and no knee issues, then the elliptical trainer might be the perfect machine for you.
