Fitness gliders -- sometimes also called air gliders or air walkers -- are sometimes marketed as low-end elliptical trainers. Although both types of cardio machines have some similarities, most fitness gliders are bare-bones, budget-model machines that can't hope to match the natural running stride of a quality elliptical. But some characteristics -- unique to gliders -- may recommend them over elliptical trainers.
Design and Pedal Action
Fitness gliders resemble elliptical trainers only superficially: You stand in two pedals that move beneath you as you stride. But instead of guiding the pedals through the namesake elliptical path of an elliptical trainer, a fitness glider forces you to swing your legs back and forth in an arcing pendulum motion. The pedals are usually suspended from a basic X- or Z-shaped metal frame, with a crossbar to hold onto for balance. Some gliders also have moving handlebars you can push and pull for extra workout intensity.
Range of Motion
One of the advantages of a fitness glider over an elliptical -- or almost any other type of low-impact cardio machine -- is that you can set your own range of motion. You control how far forward and back your feet swing with each step. But this sort of swinging stride has a downside, too: Relatively little range of motion at the knee. Although you can sink down and pedal a glider with your knees bent, this position is too awkward to maintain for long periods of time. It also doesn't provide the knee motion required to fully activate your hamstrings and quads.
Cardio
The regular, rhythmic contraction of large muscle groups like your quads, hamstrings and glutes places higher demands on your heart, too. Like any muscle, your heart will grow stronger if you subject it to increasingly greater demands over time. Although a glider machine might not challenge an elite athlete, it usually provides enough challenge for a beginner to get a good cardio workout.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that to maintain good health, adults under 65 should do 20 minutes of vigorous cardio three times weekly, or 30 minutes of moderate cardio five times weekly. The ACSM defines moderate exercise as something that raises your heart rate and causes you to break a sweat, but leaves you able to still carry on a conversation. If you work out hard enough to breathe hard and only get a few words out at a time, you're working out at a vigorous level.
Limitations
Although the glider might present a good challenge at first, it'll present progressively less challenge as you gain strength and endurance from regular workouts. Most gliders offer a very limited range of resistance against your pedaling, if any at all, so the machine's ability to adapt with you is extremely limited. If you find that the glider no longer presents you with a workout of at least moderate intensity, you need to move on to a more challenging form of cardio.
Advantages
Even though gliders offer a somewhat limited workout, they also tend to be much less expensive than other cardio equipment. As of October 2010, some gliders sell for as little as $100 or less. Most gliders also fold for storage in a closet or bed, and are small and light enough for one person to shift around by herself. Although the glider's capabilities are relatively limited, the type of low-impact exercise it offers, with no pounding from repeated impacts to re-injure joints or damage weak bones, might be exactly what you need to get started.
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