In order to lose one pound, you need to burn 3,500 more calories than you take in. Eating a well-rounded diet is critical to weight loss because if you're taking in too many calories, you'll never be able to do enough exercise to burn them off. Reducing total calories while increasing your intake of healthy, nutrient-rich food will give you an energy boost that makes it easier to get on the elliptical trainer consistently.
Step 1
Warm up and cool down before by pedaling slowly for at least five minutes before and after each workout.
Step 2
Walk or run on the elliptical trainer for at least 30 minutes five days a week. If you can't manage 30 minutes yet, start with ten minutes and try to add an extra minute to every workout until you reach 30.
Step 3
Use the elliptical trainer's heart rate monitor to monitor your heart rate as you work out. Try to keep your heart rate within the target heart rate zone, with the exception of the warm-up and cool-down periods. To calculate your target heart rate zone for optimal fat burning, subtract your age from 220 to get your theoretical maximum heart rate. Multiply this number by .6 to get the lower end of your target heart rate zone for weight loss. Multiply by .75 to get the upper end of your weight loss target heart rate zone.
Step 4
Adjust the elliptical trainer's resistance and your pedaling speed as necessary to keep yourself within the target heart rate zone. If you get tired of working out at one constant level of intensity, your elliptical may have pre-programmed workouts to help you add variety.
Step 5
Add five minutes to your workout time every week until you're doing between 60 and 90 minutes of cardiovascular exercise on the elliptical trainer every day. This is the standard recommended by the CDC for healthy weight loss.
Tips and Warnings
- The number of calories burned during exercise depends on the type of exercise, how vigorous it is, and how much you weigh. The average 125-pound person will burn approximately 270 calories in 30 minutes of activity on an elliptical trainer. A 155-pound person will burn 335 calories doing the same thing, and a 185-pound person will burn approximately 400 calories doing the same.
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