Tony Little's Gazelle exercise machine offers fat-burning, cardio, resistance and flexibility benefits, based on both the machine's adjustable settings and the way the user positions her body during the workout. Combining a cardio and muscle-building workout can be an excellent way to achieve fitness goals because, in addition to weight loss, this type of workout can help improve sports performance, body appearance and range of motion.
Fat Burning
Exercising in a target heart rate (THR) range of 50 percent to 60 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR) burns fewer calories than an aerobic workout, but more of the calories burned at this heart rate are fat calories. The Gazelle enables users to exercise at a more moderate intensity with a low resistance level and an easy pistons-and-pedals configuration, allowing users to dictate the pace of the workout. To calculate your fat-burning THR, subtract your age from 220 to get your MHR. If you are a 40-year-old woman, your MHR would be 180. Your THR for maximum fat burning would be 180 X .50 to .60, or 90 to 108 beats per minute.
Improved Cardiorespiratory Function
The American Heart Association recommends 20 minutes of vigorously intense physical activity three times per week, or 30 minutes of moderately intense activity five times per week, to improve and maintain cardiovascular fitness. The Gazelle allows users to reach a THR of 70 percent to 80 percent of their MHR, putting them at an intensity level that creates an aerobic workout. A decreased resistance setting on the machine allows users to work faster for longer periods of time to keep their heart rate up. A higher resistance level requires more work at a slower speed, which can maintain the desired THR.
Muscle Building
The Gazelle uses a combination of body weight and machine resistance settings to provide a muscle-building workout. The machine has four resistance settings to allow the workout to provide increasingly more resistance and, consequently, muscle-building benefits. The Gazelle allows users to target specific muscles, based on how users position their body during the workout. For example, lifting the heels off the pedals during a workout requires users to use more calf muscles. Crouching down requires users to push up with the quadriceps. Leaning forward and using more arm than leg effort to move the machine requires the use of more biceps and chest muscles. Leaning backward in the machine and relying primarily on the legs works the hamstrings and buttocks. Changing this exercise by using less leg effort and moving the elbows outward works the lats and shoulders more. Standing sideways on the machines allows users to perform adduction and abduction exercises to work both the inner and outer leg.
Flexibility
The Gazelle allows users to stretch arm and leg muscles past their comfortable range of motion. Long strides stretch the muscles more, while a long stride-and-hold allows users to achieve a temporary static stretch. Relying more on the pedals requires more leg stretching, while a reliance on the arm pistons provides an upper-body stretch.
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