A lot of avid workout enthusiasts seem to have a love-hate relationship with the elliptical. It’s joked about as being a torturous contraption but at the same time is hailed as being a device guaranteed to give you great results - especially cardiovascularly. That said, many people tend to hop onto the elliptical for the first time and walk away feeling more sore or spent than they need to. For best results, and to turn this into a love-love relationship, do your best to avoid these common mistakes.
Stop Slouching
Slouching on the elliptical will ultimately cause you back and shoulder pain. Standing up as straight as you can will help you to engage your abdominal muscles, which is part of why the elliptical is such a great total-body workout machine. If the elliptical you are using has an upper body component, so that you can swing your arms, use it for maximum effect.
Improper Calibration
Most ellipticals must be calibrated to the individual user in order to give you accurate statistics. Be sure you put in your weight and any other personal information so that you are getting correct numbers regarding calories burned. If your machine is calibrated correctly, you should see an average calorie burn of 100 calories per 10 minutes on the machine.
You Only Move Forward
Ellipticals are designed for both forward and backward movement. Either direction will help you to burn calories, but working in both directions will ensure your muscle groups are worked out equally. Moving forward is great for your quadriceps while moving backward is great for your hamstrings and glutes.
You Ignore The Machine’s Sounds
Is your elliptical making a lot of movement when you workout? Most machines are designed to be very quiet, if not silent. If you are able to hear the elliptical making noise, you are not using enough resistance to efficiently work your muscles. Adjust the resistance setting and the sound should go away. The machine is helping you to adjust your workout for maximum benefit. Listen to it.
Monotony
Don’t get on the elliptical and do the exact same routine every single day or week. Shake things up a bit with different timed programs. Boredom means you’ll subconsciously put less effort into your routine and your results will suffer.
There are dozens of great workouts you can do with an elliptical. Love it or hate it, it guarantees results. Keep yourself safe, pay attention to your surroundings, and let us know how your workouts are going!
For more information, visit your local Push Pedal Pull location!