Elliptical Trainer Benefits
3 Key Benefits of Elliptical Trainers
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Wondering about the main benefits of using an elliptical? Is it worth it?
And how do ellipticals compare to other fitness equipment? |
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This article will help you answer that question by giving you 3 key elliptical trainer benefits. Here’s what you need to know:
3 Key Elliptical Benefits:
#1 Burn More Calories In Less Time
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With exercise, there’s something called the ‘perceived rate of exertion’ – which basically means how much you feel like you worked.
With ellipticals, because of the upper body arm bar movement, there is a lower perceived rate of exertion. |
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So you end up burning more calories than it feels like you did – a definite bonus.
Plus with the advent of new additions like incline and variable motion trainers (which change the elliptical pathway), you end up using more lower body muscle groups – again which burns more calories over the long run.
#2 Low Impact
Unlike a treadmill where your feet are slapping down on the belt thousands of times per workout, with an elliptical your feet stay relative fixed. It’s a much lower impact than running or even walking.
And if you get a crosstrainer with an articulating footplate you have even less impact and more support for your ankles and knees throughout the motion.
This makes it a great choice for people who are prone to shin splints or who might be suffering from conditions like osteoporosis.
#3 More Workout Variety – Less Likely to Adapt
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An elliptical gives you a lot of workout variety, unlike some other fitness machines.
With other machines you basically do one motion – like walking or rowing or cycling.
Your body can quickly adapt to these motions and you end up burning less calories over time as your body grows more efficient. |
But with an elliptical crosstrainer you can go forward and back, use incline to change the slope of the elliptical path , vary your resistance and even sometimes change the elliptical motion itself (with a variable motion trainer like the Smooth DMT for example). You also build in your upper body arm bar workouts.
So your body is less likely to adapt over time and you still get the calorie burning benefits you did at the start.
So those are 3 of the main elliptical trainer benefits that you may not have known about. There are others of course. But the main thing is to ask yourself is if you like ellipticals.
Because if you like using an elliptical more than a treadmill or bike you’re more likely to use it and get better results over the long term!
For more information on the top rated ellipticals, be sure to visit our Best Elliptical Buys page.
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