A workout on an elliptical machine will burn calories and excess fat; however it may not tone your legs and butt as well as resistance exercises that target those areas, such as lunges and squats. Generally speaking, the elliptical can take care of weight loss while resistance exercise attends to toning the muscles underneath the fat. The most effective way to tone the legs and butt remains a combination of cardiovascular exercise such as the elliptical, resistance training and diet modifications.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise is more effective at burning fat than toning the leg and butt muscles. As a rule, cardio tones the heart muscle and supports overall cardiovascular health. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity, of moderate intensity, five days a week to manage weight. Thirty-minute sessions on an elliptical will raise your heart rate so that the body draws from its existing fat stores to provide energy, which will in turn will burn some of the fat from your legs and butt.
Muscle
While the elliptical does utilize the muscles of the leg and butt, toning is more effective and results are more dramatic when you include resistance training alongside elliptical training. Exercises that work the large muscles of the legs and butt such as squats, lunges and stepups build muscle mass. Increased muscle mass bumps up your basal metabolic rate and allows you to burn more calories at rest, making toned leg and butt muscles easier to maintain.
Diet
Small diet modifications can support the work you are doing on the elliptical. Take the time to make small adjustments to your caloric intake -- forgo the ketchup, mints, sodas and sugar in your coffee or tea, for example. Cutting a few extra calories per day will boost your overall caloric deficit, and help you lose more from your legs and butt than doing the elliptical on its own.
Warning
Choose an elliptical trainer that allows you to perform the exercise in good posture -- head up, shoulders back and looking straight ahead, not at your feet -- and without impinging upon your natural range of motion. The hand rails need to be positioned so that you can exercise without crashing your knees into the poles, and the stride length of the foot poles should not be too short for your natural gait.
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