Why Are Ellipticals Called Ellipticals?

Elliptical fitness machines take their name from the movement that the foot plates of the machine go through. Walking, jogging and running all require increasing amounts of knee lift and stride length to propel the body forward. When viewed from the side, the foot is being taken through an elliptical action. The benefit of this is that the muscles being used on an elliptical machine are the same as those used during walking and running.

Significance

Since their introduction in the early 1990's by Precor Fitness Equipment, elliptical machines have become one of the most popular types of cardiovascular fitness training in both gyms and the home. For many users, the elliptical machine is a favorite because they look at it as being a low-impact treadmill and research shows this description to be accurate, because the impact, or ground forces, felt by the body when running can be 24 times the person's body weight, whereas on an elliptical they remain equal to the users body weight. Yet according to studies carried out at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the oxygen consumption levels were virtually identical to running on a treadmill. As technology has developed, some commercial machines now have adjustable stride length and variable knee lift settings to allow different height users set the elliptical to their exact requirments.

Types of Machines Available

The easiest way of changing the intensity of the workout is to alter the amount of resistance the machine has; the greater the resistance, the more effort required to move your arms and legs . Today's designs use a combination of a weighted flywheels and magnets. A heavier flywheel will make the turning motion of the pedals smoother, while the magnets let the user make small adjustments to the resistance in the same way that gears on a bicycle do. Machines differ in appearance when the flywheel is placed at the front or rear of the frame. However, as manufacturers attempt to give their machines a smaller footprint, many are now positioning the flywheel under the user.

Benefits

Elliptical trainers can be used at various intensities without the impact on joints and bones associated with running on treadmills. For this reason they are often preferred by people with conditions aggravated by high impact activities. However, low impact doesn't have to mean low intensity, because with the ability to work the upper body and lower body at the same time, all of the major muscles in the body can be worked at once. This could lead you to think that ellipticals will naturally burn more calories than a treadmill, however, research has shown them to have similar effects. Thomas Altena, a professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, wrote in the 2002 July/August issue of "American Fitness" magazine that both ellipticals and treadmills are effective for increasing the number of calories burned and producing cardiorespiratory, health and training benefits. Treadmills and ellipticals burn approximately the same number of calories per hour.

Commercial vs, Home Machines

Commercial machines costing $4,000 upwards are designed to be used for more than six hours a day by a variety of users and, therefore, have to be robust enough to survive under these conditions. While the quality of commercial machines is higher than machines designed for the home, the fitness results achieved can be the same.

Considerations

After deciding how much you want to spend it's important to consider where you will position your elliptical so that you have a safe exercise environment. Allow extra space to safely get on and off the machine. If the elliptical is going to used by various family members, make sure it's specifications are suitable for the heaviest person in the group. Also, consider the fitness levels of all of the family, as fitter, strong users will appreciate a heavier flywheel and the ability to increase the resistance to create a more challenging workout. Finally, when using an elliptical you can get very hot, so consider ventilation when positioning it in your home.