Elliptical Trainer Benefits: 5 Reasons To Choose an Elliptical Trainer
Thinking about buying an elliptical trainer?
Looking for a list of elliptical trainer benefits?
Elliptical machines haven’t been around as long as other fitness equipment like the treadmill or exercise bike. The first elliptical was introduced by Precor in the mid 1990s.
Since then however, they have exploded in popularity. The elliptical crosstrainer is one of the widely sold and popular types of fitness equipment today.
There are lots of different fitness brands that produce elliptical trainers. Some of the most popular are Nordictrack, Proform, Schwinn, Bowflex, Nautilus, Sole and Horizon.
So what are the main benefits of elliptical trainers? Here are 5 key benefits to keep in mind:
Elliptical Trainer Benefits:
#1 Lower Impact On Your Joints
The elliptical is designed to mimic the running motion – but in a lower impact way than a treadmill or outdoor running.
Because your foot stays in constant contact with the footpedals (vs a treadmill where you constantly pound down on the belt), this causes less pressure on the joints and decreases the risk of impact injuries.
If you tend to suffer with shin splints, bad knees or hips, an elliptical can be a great way to get a less stressful, lower impact body workout.
#2 Full Body Workout
This is another elliptical trainer benefit vs a treadmill or a bike. The elliptical machine engages both your lower and upper body at the same time. So you get a more effective workout overall.
This full body workout can also result in a lower perceived rate of exertion (meaning you feel like you worked less than you actually did). A 2004 study showed that elliptical exercises produced a lower rate of perceived exertion.
So the more you workout, the less you feel like you’re actually doing. This can help build up your everyday endurance over time.
#3 Great Way to Crosstrain
An elliptical trainer gives you a lot of ways to crosstrain so that your body never adapts and gets used to one set motion.
For example, on most elliptical trainers you can use both upper and lower body. You can pedal forwards or backwards. You can use resistance to make it harder to pedal and build in some high intensity intervals.
Some ellipticals also have incline – which changes the slope of the elliptical running path. This helps to work different sets of muscle groups and again, helps you burn more calories.
Finally there are some elliptical trainers like the Nordictrack Freestriders for example, that now give you adaptable strides. So by varying your stride you can constantly change your movement, use more leg muscles and burn calories faster.
So if you’re looking for workout variety and challenge, an elliptical trainer is the ideal machine to grow with you over time.
#4 Handy for Apartments and Condos
If you have a smaller workout space like an apartment or a condo – or just a small home gym – then space is important to you. A lot of treadmills or bikes just won’t fit comfortably.
But you can find elliptical trainers nowadays that take up less space and are more compact than other machines (without being flimsy).
Two of the best are the Proform HIIT Trainer – which is more of a vertical elliptical. Or the Bowflex Max Trainer – which is more like a stair-climber elliptical hybrid.
Both of these machines take up about half the space of a regular elliptical or treadmill.
So they are a great way to still get a fat-burning workout in a small workout area.
#5 Burn More Calories with Virtual Training
A lot of brands these days like Nordictrack, Proform and Bowflex are adding virtual training programs to their machines. You can find famous world trail runs, personalized workouts sent to your machine and even fitness classes that you can take from your console.
This is the next level of elliptical training as it’s more geared towards you, your current fitness levels and your goals.
By setting goals and getting personalized programs you’re more likely to use your elliptical, enjoy your training time and ultimately burn more calories.
So those are some of the 5 key elliptical trainer benefits that you can look forward to when buying your trainer. Want to learn more? Read to get started finding the best elliptical for you?
Check out our list of the best elliptical trainers here or check out the links below for the most popular elliptical trainers currently on the market today. Good luck and have fun!
Popular Elliptical Trainers:
Nordictrack FS10i Freestride Trainer
