If you want to improve your fitness, build muscle mass and lose weight quickly and effectively, the elliptical trainer is your ideal sports partner! Suitable for women and men, the elliptical is a very good fitness device that mixes cardio and muscle strengthening and differs from a classic exercise bike by its ingenious operation.
The elliptical trainer alone combines several fitness machines and its main difference is the way the muscles of the body are targeted and solicited. When you run or walk on a mat, it’s mostly the lower body that works. With the elliptical, you work both the upper and lower body. So, whether you are a seasoned athlete or a beginner, you will be able to see your calories disappear during your workouts!
Tout first if you want to acquire an elliptical trainer follow our buying guideWhich elliptical trainer to choose
The benefits of the elliptical trainer
The elliptical trainer is one of the most complete fitness equipment: it works 80% of the muscles of the body! Training on the elliptical trainer will help you stay in shape, burn calories and therefore ultimately lose weight in a targeted way or on the whole body, without impact or risk to the joints. The main advantage of the elliptical is the load shared equally between the two legs and the upper body which leads to a constant generalized effort thus guaranteeing a homogeneous weight loss. The areas of the upper body targeted are the back, pectorals, triceps and biceps as well as the abdominals with swingarms.
As for the pedals, they work the lower part of the body: the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and glutes. This cardio machine is also ideal for the rehabilitation of individuals who have suffered injuries to the lower limbs and for people suffering from osteoarthritis. The elliptical trainer is a great alternative to running! As part of rehabilitation or fitness, the practice of the elliptical trainer is highly recommended, it improves respiratory and cardiac performance. The metabolic cost is higher with an elliptical trainer than with a conventional bike. Simply put, if the goal is to lose calories, the elliptical trainer seems like a wise choice. On the other hand, the elliptical trainer also improves cardiovascular capacity and builds muscle. But then, how to effectively use your elliptical trainer?
Position yourself well on your elliptical
During a sports session on an elliptical trainer, it is important to position your body well to optimize your training. Before starting your workout, position your feet in the center of each pedal, slightly forward, then put your hands on the fixed handles. Stand up straight, hips facing the console, with your gaze forward. Launch the elliptical by placing the weight of the body on the right pedal and then the left one and alternate the movement while keeping the bust straight. Once your cadence is found, place your hands on the swingarms. Start with a 5-minute warm-up at your own pace. And that’s it!
Strengthen and tone your muscles with the elliptical trainer
To increase muscle mass, choose high-resistance exercises with a slower speed. Muscles develop during short exercises of a few minutes with high resistance. If you want to strengthen the lower part of your body, it will be necessary to increase the resistance of your device in order to perform movements with more difficulty. To work the muscles located at the front of your thighs, more commonly known as the quadriceps, it will be necessary to perform forward movements, as during a classic pedaling. And if you want to shape and tone your glutes, you will have to use the backpedaling technique which simply consists of reversing the direction of pedaling, in other words pedaling backwards. Regarding the upper part of the body, it is also possible to strengthen his arms, and more particularly his triceps, using the mobile handles of your device.
The exercise is simple: just push the swingarms of the elliptical with your hands instead of pulling them, all with high resistance.
The coach’s word: “If you want to build muscle, increase the resistance and pedal at a slower speed!”
Increase cardiovascular capacity with the elliptical trainer
Muscular endurance, on the other hand, is developed through longer exercises and workouts with lower resistance. If your goal is to improve your breathing capacity, develop your endurance and therefore increase your heart rate, you will have to lower the resistance of your elliptical trainer and increase your pedaling speed. Pedaling should be neither too difficult nor too easy! And for even more complete cardio work, use your arms by pulling on the moving handles of your device.
The coach’s word: “If it’s your cardio that you want to train, lower the resistance and pedal faster!”
The elliptical trainer: an effective device for weight loss
A real calorie burner, this complete cardio machine will allow you to lose weight effectively. The two movements combined allow you to work both the top and the bottom: by working your entire body and therefore all of your muscles, you will promote a greater loss of calories. Half an hour of practice on an elliptical not only works 80% of the muscles of your body but also burns superfluous fat very effectively and thus lose weight and lose weight in a healthy way. Instead, work at moderate intensity: you should pedal at a medium pace without being out of breath. 3 sessions per week for 45 minutes are enough to give very satisfactory results and thus obtain a fine and harmonious silhouette.
It is essential to pay attention to your health and your body especially when starting a slimming program. To do this, our coaches advise and recommend workouts of duration, frequency and intensity adapted to your level and morphology to lose weight and refine your figure in the best way. By following these tips and depending on the fitness programs offered by your elliptical trainer, you can target, solicit and train precisely and effectively, the right muscles without any risk of injury, during and after exercise.
The word of the coach: “For an effort of one hour you can lose up to 600 to 1000 calories. “
The different programs on elliptical trainers
The elliptical trainer is a very effective cardio machine for burning calories and losing weight, however it is also very tiring and can be taxing for some people suffering from obesity, for the elderly or novices in sports. It is strongly advised to consult your doctor before any practice of the elliptical trainer. Do not forget to take the time to warm up for at least 5 minutes before each exercise session by increasing the resistance of your elliptical and then end your sessions with 5 minutes of recovery by totally lowering the resistance of your bike for a smooth return to calm. These 2 steps are essential to the maintenance of your muscles and in your progression.
In general, elliptical trainers have a console that integrates many pre-recorded fitness programs that automatically vary the resistance of the bike, HRC programs (speed varying according to a constant pulse target area), customizable programs by the user to vary his races, 1 manual program and goal programs that allow the athlete to define goals to achieve. The consoles a little more advanced even offer a fitness test a recovery test based on the heartbeat at the end of sessions in order to follow his state of fitness. All your exercise data is displayed on your console screen.
You can play them simultaneously at any time or read them in scan mode (scan mode allows you to display the data one after the other). This data is essential for the proper monitoring of his training and his progression over time. For quick and visible results, it is recommended to do at least 3 elliptical sessions per week for 45 minutes each.
The coach’s advice for successful and effective training
Stay motivated! Whatever your goals, respect the level of resistance and your pedaling cadence. The first sports sessions on an elliptical trainer are often very trying. Space out your workouts by at least one day to give the muscles time to recover better. And do not hesitate to use the programs included in your console to follow a guided training with exercises adapted to your objectives. (Physical activity and sport are ideal when accompanied by a balanced diet: make sure it is healthy!)