Does anyone know how to use an elliptical, I think I am using it wrong?

[ironpony]

I am trying one out at the gym cause I am thinking of buying, one cause I want to keep my cardio exercises up without having to jogging outside, since winter is coming.  However, I don't get a cardio workout from it hardly at all.  It works out my thighs a lot but it seems like it's more of leg exercise machine only and not cardio which is what I want.

A friend of mine told me that I must be using it wrong, but I keep trying it on different settings and only the legs are being worked out, every time, but not feeling much cardio.  Am I doing something wrong?

[d0nnivain]

Try one that measures your heart rate or at least look at your pulse rate on your fitbit. If you have nothing else, check your resting pulse by pressing your fingers to your carotid artery in your neck before you start & then again when you stop.  Your heart should be beating faster.  

A "cardio exercise" means your heart rate gets higher. It's not an arm  or upper body exercise even though the poles move.  They are for stabilization not resistance.  .  

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

Are you moving fast enough on it?

[Happy Lemming]

15 hours ago, ironpony said:

...I am thinking of buying...

About 15 years ago, I dated a woman that purchased an elliptical machine for her home gym.  What a mess!!  The thing was HUGE and heavy.  We brought to her house on my truck and we humped each piece into her home.  It took me hours to assemble the thing and it was quite challenging (and I'm mechanically inclined)! After we got it all assembled... it didn't work.  We called the store and they said bring it back for a replacement.  So I had to dissemble it (just to get it out of the house) take it back to the store, get the replacement, hump the new one back into her home and assemble same.

After all that, she hardly used it... I got more of a workout moving that thing in and out.

If there is an option for delivery and assembly... buy it!!  Learn from my mistakes!!

[DarrenB]

Well it's an Elliptical machine... its purpose is to provide low impact aerobic exercise which primarily focuses your lower body.

If your heart rate isn't increasing or you're barely making a sweat, you're either a) not doing it for long enough or b) like you say haven't got the optimal settings configured.

Every Elliptical should have a toggle to elevate its resistance. Play around with a few settings next time you're on it, you should see a change in intensity pretty promptly.

Edited September 17, 2020 by DarrenB

[ironpony]

2 hours ago, DarrenB said:

Well it's an Elliptical machine... its purpose is to provide low impact aerobic exercise which primarily focuses your lower body.

If your heart rate isn't increasing or you're barely making a sweat, you're either a) not doing it for long enough or b) like you say haven't got the optimal settings configured.

Every Elliptical should have a toggle to elevate its resistance. Play around with a few settings next time you're on it, you should see a change in intensity pretty promptly.

Oh okay, but the thing is, is that when I set it to the least resistance, or the setting where I am able to move the fastest, it still doesn't exercise my heart that much for some reason and all the exercise is still going to the legs.  My legs get worn out before the heart gets that much exercise for some reason.

[ironpony]

6 hours ago, CautiouslyOptimistic said:

Are you moving fast enough on it?

I think so, but for some reason all the exercise is going to the legs and not the heart.  My legs become worn out before the heart gets going that much after about 10 minutes of running on it.  Am I doing something wrong?

Edited September 17, 2020 by ironpony

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

6 minutes ago, ironpony said:

I think so, but for some reason all the exercise is going to the legs and not the heart.  My legs become worn out before the heart gets going that much after about 10 minutes of running on it.  Am I doing something wrong?

Not sure.  I will tell you that my feet always fall asleep around the 20 minute mark on the elliptical.....so I never last longer than that!  

[ironpony]

Oh okay, but do you get a cardio exercise from it, or is it mostly just your legs? 

I also tried an exercise bike and it's the same thing.  All the work out is in the legs, and the heart is not getting much.  Perhaps I just have a really strong heart, compared to my legs?  In that case, how do you exercise it?

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

3 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, but do you get a cardio exercise from it, or is it mostly just your legs? 

I also tried an exercise bike and it's the same thing.  All the work out is in the legs, and the heart is not getting much.  Perhaps I just have a really strong heart, compared to my legs?  In that case, how do you exercise it?

I get more than from the bike, but less than something like running.  It's in between.  I'm a 47 year woman not in tip-top shape though, so the elliptical is fine for me....I still break a sweat and get my heart rate up.  I can see why you might not get as much out of it, though, if you're really fit  It's definitely not the most strenuous cardio workout out there.  

[ironpony]

Oh okay, perhaps that's it.  Is there a machine where perhaps it's made to get a lot more out of it than the ellipical, cardio wise?  I don't want the treadmill because it hurts my knees if I use it everyday.

Edited September 17, 2020 by ironpony

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

2 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, perhaps that's it.  Is there a machine where perhaps it's made to get a lot more out of it than the ellipical, cardio wise?  I don't want the treadmill because it hurts my knees if I use it everyday.

Can you use the stair-climber?  

Edited September 17, 2020 by CautiouslyOptimistic

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

Rowing machine?

[Ruby Slippers]

Have you taken your heart rate while using the elliptical? The muscles in the legs are the largest muscles in the body, so when you work them, you increase the heart rate. Increase the resistance for more challenge. 

Also, if you buy an elliptical, try it out first. I ordered one with 5-star reviews online for $300 and it totally sucked - the pedals barely moved up and down, very limited range of motion. I get a better workout from walking. So I never used it and sold it on ebay for $150. The good ellipticals at the gym are like $10,000+ per machine. 

[ironpony]

Yeah good point about the price.  No I haven't taken my heart rate but I can tell just by feeling if the machine is doing a good job or not, and I get the workout burn in my legs, but not the heart at all.  I've tried the star climbing machine, but that one I remember being all leg too.  I haven't tried a rowing machine though.

I think these machines are mostly meant for leg work outs though, where perhaps there are other better machines that are designed for cardio more specifically?

[Ruby Slippers]

Cardio is any activity that makes the heart beat faster and harder. If your legs are burning, your heart rate is elevated. You need to check your heart rate while exercising. Most ellipticals these days have them built in. You put your hands on the grips for 10 seconds or so and it tells you. If not, there's a way to do it manually. Look it up, along with target cardio rate for your age. 

Some ellipticals also have grips you can move back and forth with your arms for more intensity. 

I've tried just about every form of cardio out there, machines, sports, running, everything, and for me, with my high level of fitness, the elliptical and swimming are the the two best forms of cardio that don't jar/impact the joints. Running is great cardio, but can be very tough on the joints with all that impact. 

[ironpony]

Oh okay, but how come when I go jogging in the park, my heart feels much more tired out compared to on an elliptical then?  If the elliptical is so good, then why aren't I feeling the heart exercising compared to jogging?

[Ruby Slippers]

You said you're setting it at a low resistance so you can go faster. But that doesn't give your leg muscles much of a challenge. You need to increase the resistance to the point you have to work to move the pedals. I usually set the elliptical close to the highest resistance level. Only then do I get the same intensity as running. 

[ironpony]

2 minutes ago, Ruby Slippers said:

You said you're setting it at a low resistance so you can go faster. But that doesn't give your leg muscles much of a challenge. You need to increase the resistance to the point you have to work to move the pedals. I usually set the elliptical close to the highest resistance level. Only then do I get the same intensity as running. 

Oh okay, but I tried this as well at first, and it actually exercises the heart less, because you the more resistance you have, the slower you move, and slower body movement, doesn't get the heart working fast, compared to faster body movement.  So if I try slower, it's actually worse for the heart.

[Ruby Slippers]

Not necessarily. You still have to push it with higher resistance. Try different things and measure your heart rate. I know what it feels like to run and to do the elliptical with my heart rate at 150-160 bpm. Running feels harder because of the jarring, but the cardiovascular effort is the same. On the elliptical, it feels pretty easy, but I can tell by the effects later that it works just as well. 

[ironpony]

Oh okay well I breath harder and sweat more when running as well, so if it's the same, then shouldn't I be breathing just as hard, and sweat just as much, on the elliptical as well?

[DarrenB]

Yeah I kind of agree with @enigma32. There's much better and cheaper alternatives to improving cardiovascular activity and body toning (if that's what you're going for).

Buy a couple of dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells with weights ranging from 5-25kg as a foundation. Plenty of exercises such as goblet squats, kettlebell swings, lunges, clean and jerk or snatches for crossfit/HiiT - the variation of workouts are limitless...

[ironpony]

Oh okay, because I am also trying to loose weight, but I was told to avoid weights, because they build muscle and add weight, and make you look bigger, if you do not loose the previous weight first, or so I was told.

[d0nnivain]

44 minutes ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, because I am also trying to loose weight, but I was told to avoid weights, because they build muscle and add weight, and make you look bigger, if you do not loose the previous weight first, or so I was told.

You were told wrong. One pound of feathers & one pound of lead weights each weigh one pound.  Similarly one pound of fat & one pound of muscle weigh the same amount.  Muscle is more efficient, burning more calories than fat.  

Losing weight is about calories in vs. calories out.  You need to be functioning at a deficit, expending more calories then you consume.  

A work out should be a combo of cardio for the weight loss & weights to build healthy mass.  

[Ruby Slippers]

4 hours ago, ironpony said:

Oh okay, because I am also trying to loose weight, but I was told to avoid weights, because they build muscle and add weight, and make you look bigger, if you do not loose the previous weight first, or so I was told.

Once I started lifting heavy (for me) weights years ago, I figured out that building muscle blasts fat even more effectively than cardio and my figure went from good to great. Muscle at rest burns more fat than fat at rest.

I'm in a weight loss and fitness push right now. My main workout lately is the "Ultimate Full-Body Dumbbell Workout by Andy Speer" from bodybuilding.com, free on YouTube. It makes me sweat and gets my heart rate up, gives me an awesome full-body workout and just enough challenge. Since I started these workouts, the fat has been melting off me and I'm well on my way to hitting my goal.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Ruby Slippers