Elliptical trainers provide a low-impact, weight-bearing cardiovascular workout. But an elliptical trainer can't provide the benefits of regular exercise on its own; you have to actually use it. If you're going to invest the time in working out, you might as well do it right: The potential benefits include regulating high blood pressure or an out-of-control blood sugar level, reducing depression, losing weight and strengthening your immune system.
Preparation
Warming up and cooling down helps your body ease in and out of the physiological changes that accompany exercise, like increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure. Most pre-programmed elliptical trainer workouts automatically incorporate warm-up and cool-down periods. But if you're controlling the elliptical resistance manually, you have to provide the warm-up and cool-down periods yourself by including least five minutes of gentle pedaling before and after each workout session.
Duration
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that most adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, every week. That works out to about 30 minutes of moderate exercise or 15 minutes of vigorous exercise, five days a week. Having an in-home elliptical trainer, or access to a gym elliptical, gives you a way to do those regular workouts no matter what the weather outside looks like.
Considerations
Almost every elliptical trainer has moving upper-body handlebars that you can push and pull for an upper-body workout. The more muscle you use, the more calories you burn and the greater stress you put on your cardiovascular system, speeding weight loss and cardiovascular development respectively. But you can also achieve an intense workout without the upper-body handlebars, by pedaling against increased resistance or sprinkling short, high-intensity intervals throughout your workout.
Prevention/Solution
Some elliptical trainer manufacturers produce machines with a 2-degree inward slant to the pedals. This is meant to more closely approximate your natural joint articulation, reducing the so-called "sleepy foot" or numb-ankle syndrome some users report with frequent elliptical trainer workouts. If you still suffer from discomfort when using the elliptical trainer for extended periods, try cross-training with other workout machines or non-machine workout options like walking, jumping rope or doing calisthenics.
Features
The only features you really need to work out on an elliptical trainer are the pedals and resistance mechanism. However, manufacturers produce a range of features that might make your workouts more interesting or informative, helping you keep a consistent exercise schedule. Don't be dazzled by an impressive array of features, but do test-pedal well-featured elliptical trainers and choose features that truly appeal to you. Examples include wireless heart-rate monitoring or built-in handgrip heart rate monitors, in-console television, in-console speakers and an in-console cooling fan.
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