7 Reasons To Train On An Elliptical Cross Trainer
Lifting a barbell and pouring sweat on a treadmill is not your story? Try exercising on an elliptical machine. Don’t convince you? Check out the list of advantages of this device below, and you will never want to exercise differently again.
The elliptical machine also called the elliptical cross trainer is widely used in fitness centers, however, more and more often it can also be found in home gyms or simply in the bedrooms of many people. It has slats that you tread and tubes to hold in your hands that allow the arms to work in conjunction with the movements of the legs when the entire mechanism moves forward and backward.
The machine is popular because it is easier to bear for joints because it puts less load on running, for example. It also has a number of benefits, from muscle activation, through improving the health of the cardiovascular system, to strengthening the buttocks.
Check out five reasons why you should choose exercise on an elliptical cross trainer during your next workout
Best Reasons to train on an elliptical cross trainer
1. Not incriminating:
The elliptical machine is great equipment for people who return to exercise after a long break, who may have too much bodyweight to exercise in a different way. Such a machine helps prevent joint injuries such as feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back. When the weight drops, the next step will be to start training on the treadmill and then even run in the fresh air.
2. You can exercise your upper and lower body:
Be careful with excessive loads and repetitive stresses that the elliptical machine can cause, because the movements and resistance are linear, they do not provide a variety of motion. It is important to change the way you move and change the machine over time. You can enter resistance for the upper body using the handles. Like a treadmill, moving in different directions on an elliptical machine will help prevent repetitive stress syndromes, allow your body to balance, catch balance, and provide better training.
3. You can choose your own intensity level:
Elliptical machines often have a drag setting feature that is a great way to check your condition. Although you can be tempted by many different types of training with the help of elliptical exercises, one of the best things you can focus on is maintaining a specific cadence while increasing resistance. Many resistance modes help you exercise your legs better and at the same time improve cardiovascular fitness.
4. Fights back pain:
One important thing to look for when choosing an elliptical machine is whether it has the function of running in an inclined position or not. Turning on slope during training is a great way to engage the back parts of the body, which are a key element of movement, and therefore such exercise can help relieve lower back pain. This feature can take your elliptical training to a higher level, also increasing calorie burning during whole-body training.
5. Such exercises will involve more muscles:
There are elliptical machines that move sideways instead of forwards and backward. In a 2011 study by the University of Tampa, researchers showed that side machines burn more calories and fat at the same time than other elliptical and cardio trainers. The study showed that sideways movement uses more muscle than standard elliptical trainers. Also, other aspects obtained with such a machine brought significant benefits in the field of the cardiovascular system and weight loss.
6. Improves performance:
Fitness is the body’s ability to sustain high-intensity exercise over a long period of time. High-performance people are resistant to fatigue, have more energy and are less likely to develop heart disease.
Exercises on an elliptical cross trainer are an ideal endurance training because they stimulate the work of the whole circulatory system. Thanks to them, the heart becomes stronger and is able to pump larger amounts of blood. This, in turn, prevents the development of serious diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes and coronary artery disease.
7. Reduction of fat around the waist:
Excess fatty tissue around the abdomen is the most common problem among overweight people. It happens that it affects even men and women with a slim body. The elliptical cross trainer works great in the fight against this defect. It is true that it will not break down fat cells only within the belt (in fact, no type of exercise will do it), but will increase the overall metabolic rate. As a result, the body will begin to get rid of fat from places where it is the most - primarily from the abdomen, but also from the thighs, hips, and arms.