When you are starting an exercise program to lose weight, and do not want as much impact on your joints, the elliptical machine is a good choice. According to MayoClinic.com, elliptical machinescause little stress on your hips, knees and back. Any workout on an elliptical is good, but you can boost your progress by doing interval training.
Stretching Before Gliding
Even though the elliptical is low-impact, you still activate numerous muscles and joints throughout your whole body during a workout. If you do not follow the proper stretching protocol, you run the risk of suffering a muscular injury. To prevent this from happening, do a series of dynamic stretches which are performed in motion. Include stretches like alternating toe touches, forward leg swings, arm crossovers, shoulder shrugs, side bends, high knees and ankle bounces. Spend a good five minutes doing your stretches before you step onto the machine.
Light Warmup
After doing dynamic stretching, step aboard the elliptical and grasp the poles at chest-height. Begin moving slowly, and gradually increase your pace over a five- to 10-minute time span. This warmup will slowly raise your core body temperature and further loosen up your connective tissue.
Intervals
Once you have thoroughly warmed up, you are ready to do your intervals. Increase your pace to a point that is about 80 to 90 percent of your maximum effort. After gliding for 30 seconds, reduce your intensity to about 50 percent of your maximum effort for 60 seconds.
Continue to alternate back and forth for the rest of your workout, and finish with a light cool-down at a low intensity. This is a 1-2 ratio of work to rest. As you get into better shape, feel free to change this up. For example, glide for 30 seconds at a high intensity and glide for 30 seconds at a low intensity, or glide for 20 seconds at a high intensity and 10 seconds at a low intensity.
Time and Frequency
The amount of time you spend on the elliptical and the frequency you work out are important factors for making progress. If you exercise only at your leisure, you will compromise your results. When you first start out, aim for 20 minutes of training time, not including your warmup and cool-down. As you get into better shape, slowly increase your time until you can go for 45 to 60 minutes. Aim for three to five training sessions a week.
Machine Features
The elliptical machine comes equipped with resistance, incline and stride length adjustments. Experiment with these features to make your workouts more challenging. For example, instead of simply speeding up for your high-intensity intervals, turn up the resistance or incline. This will cause you to stay at the same speed, but you will still have to work hard. You might even have to turn your speed down slightly.
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