Are Ellipticals A Good Workout?

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that all American adults get at least 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Moderately intense exercise can be achieved through brisk walking, jogging, swimming or biking, but you can also reach this goal through exercise machines, such as the elliptical trainer.

Muscles Worked

Elliptical machines are capable of engaging several muscle groups at once including muscles in the legs, arms and torso. This provides a full-body strength training workout, depending on how you use the machine. When moving in forward motion, the elliptical primarily targets the muscles of the legs including the calves, hamstrings and quadriceps. This is largely achieved as you extend and flex your ankles. The triceps and biceps of the arms as well as shoulder deltoids are worked as you push and pull the elliptical arm bars. The gluteus muscles are worked in forward motion, but are especially targeted with the hamstrings when you reverse the motion of the pedals, creating a push movement.

Cardiovascular

The intensity level of exercise performed on the elliptical can be adjusted through increasing the resistance or on some models by increasing the incline of the machine. As intensity levels increase, the demand for energy by your muscles also increases. To meet this energy need, the body must provide additional oxygen to create energy through aerobic respiration. In order to meet the oxygen requirement, the body increases your heart rate as well as your breathing rate, allowing a greater amount of oxygen to enter the bloodstream and increasing the speed in which the oxygen can reach the muscles. This strengthens the heart and lungs, making them healthier and more efficient even during times of rest.

Calorie Burn

The amount of calories burned on an elliptical depends on factors such as your weight, the intensity settings of the elliptical, the incline, and whether the elliptical has arm bars. As a base of comparison, a 145-lb. person burns approximately 626 calories per hour an elliptical trainer. This is similar to a level treadmill at a speed between 5 and 6 mph, according to Livestrong.com's MyPlate fitness tracker.

Joint Stress

Ellipticals provide unique joint benefits over other pieces of exercise equipment. For example, treadmills and stair steppers use an up and down motion, creating an impact with the ground with each step. This impact places stress on the joints, especially the knees and ankles. Ellipticals use a circular motion, removing the impact completely and using resistance to increase exercise intensity. This allows those with joint problems a more comfortable and less painful workout session.

Safety

Before using an elliptical as part of your exercise routine, talk to your doctor to ensure you are healthy enough for physical activity. If you feel light-headed, dizzy or nauseous or experience any pain, reduce your intensity level significantly or completely stop and exit the elliptical.