Weighing In On Elliptical Trainers

Ellipticals are becoming more popular each year with 2011 shaping up (pardon the pun) to be it's most popular year yet and it looks like 2012 the elliptical trainer trend will continue.

With the growth of it's use, I wanted to look deeper into why the elliptical has become one of the top pieces of fitness equipment and does it actually deserve to be or is the elliptical just the last craze?

Over the next few minutes we will look at the elliptical's benefits, it's drawbacks and it's future as a fitness star.

Unlike many pieces of fitness equipment, the elliptical trainer is suited for both men and women and not surprisingly the elliptical trainers users are split down the middle with 50% men and 50% women.

How many Calorie can you burn per 30 minute workout?

Based on elliptical manufacturers specs, it is estimated that you burn approximately 720 calorie per hour.

By checking fitness websites, the data looks more like this:

Most elliptical users workout for 30 minutes per session with a woman of 150 pounds burning 400 calories per 30 minutes and a man of 180 pounds burning 525 calories per 30 minutes.

Now if you compare that to a walking workout 30 minutes at 4 miles per hour.

The 150 pound woman would burn approximately 160 calories and the 180 pound man would burn 195 calories.

For the same 30 minutes the elliptical burns more than twice the calories of walking and is quite impressive.

Cost

Ellipticals on an average cost less than a treadmill, starting around $500 and going up to $1400.

Is it considered a cardio workout?

Most definitely! Many newer ellipticals have heart monitors or EKG trackers you that you can work out at your optimum heart rate for cardio fitness.

How is the elliptical on your joints?

Ellipticals are considered a low or close to no impact activity.

Don't forget to switch around your elliptical workout for the greatest benefits.

For example:

Day 1

Use only your legs on your elliptical and keep your hands on the stationary grips

Day 2

Use both the moving arm and leg features

Day 3

Use your elliptical as though you were jogging with arms moving as you jog.

Your elliptical is part stair climber, part treadmill, part bicycle and part cross trainer so there are many benefits of owning this one machine instead of several.

It doesn't matter what activity level you are at right now, whenever you use a new piece of fitness equipment always go slowly until you get used to how your body works with it. This will help you avoid injury.

If you have not been exercising for while please consult with your health care practitioner before starting any type of a new physical activity.

The workout that you get on an elliptical is considered a weight bearing exercise. Weight bearing exercises help keep the bones strong and can help you avoid hip fractures in your senior years. This is especially important for women.