Does An Elliptical Machine Target Abdominal Muscles?

Low-impact exercise preserves your joints as you burn calories and improve your cardiovascular health. An elliptical machine is a popular low-impact device that gives you these benefits and more. Every time you glide on the machine, you work muscles in both your upper and lower body. The machine also recruits your core, of which your abs are a major part.

Abdominal Anatomy

The rectus abdominis is the large muscle that runs from you chest down to your pelvic area. The inner and outer obliques reside on the sides of the ribs and they have a diagonal shape. While gliding on the elliptical, you must contract your entire abdominal wall to balance your body, produce force and keep your spine stable, which works your abs.

Effect of Resistance

Elliptical machines have a resistance adjustment built in to them. Gliding with little to no resistance will have an effect on your abs, but it will be minimal. You are better served by turning up the resistance and pushing hard with your arms and legs.

Proper Gliding Form

For you to achieve a suitable ab workout on the elliptical, you must use proper form during your training sessions. Not doing so will set you up for muscle imbalances. Keep your feet flat on the pedals, grasp the poles at chest height and move your arms and legs smoothly in an alternating motion. Mayo Clinic recommends keeping your abs tight throughout, your head up and your shoulders lifted.

Additional Muscles Targeted

The elliptical causes you to bend multiple joints throughout your body, such as your hips, knees and elbows. Every time you bend a joint, you in turn work at least one muscle. In addition to the abs, you also work your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, latissimus dorsi, triceps and deltoids. The glutes are in the buttucks, the quads are on the fronts of the thighs, the hamstrings are on the backs of the thighs and the hip flexors run from your lower stomach to the top of your thighs. Your lats run from your lower to upper back at an angle and your deltoids sit on the outside of your shoulders.

Abdominal Fat

Not only does the elliptical target the abdominal muscles, it also targets abdominal fat. This is important information to have if you think you can rid your stomach of fat by doing crunches and situps that would be spot reduction, which is not possible. The only way to lose fat in the midsection is through cardiovascular exercise; elliptical training falls into this category. A 180-lb. person burns about 645 calories in an hour using the elliptical at a moderate intensity.