If you work out at a health club you probably noticed that in the last few years there are fewer treadmills, because they are being replaced by elliptical trainers. And although treadmills still outsell ellipticals in total numbers, elliptical sales are growing at a faster rate.
What is driving the popularity of elliptical trainers? There are two factors that make elliptical trainers so appealing:
Low Impact Workout
Upper and Lower Body Workout
Benefits of a Low Impact Workout
Most types of exercise require some type of impact and/or reverse action. For example, when you walk each step is impacting force on your ankles, knees and lower back. That impact is minor in comparison to running, which can be as much as 2.5x your body weight. Over the years that constant pounding can result in long-term injuries and strains.
Elliptical trainers reduce the hazards of impact through an elliptical motion.It feels like you are naturally walking or running without any real impact or reverse action, and yet it is a weight bearing exercise that contributes to building muscle and bone density.
If you look at the side of an elliptical trainer you’ll notice the shape of the motion is like a flat circular pattern. Budget ellipticals tend to be more circular and bouncy, while quality machines have a flatter circular motion and more of an even stride. Regardless, the elliptical motion significantly reduces the impact to your joints, and that is why elliptical trainers are appealing to older individuals and people with injuries. It is becoming the exercise machine of choice for the “baby boomers.”
Benefits of an Upper and Lower Body Workout
The concept of exercising the upper and lower body simultaneously is revolutionary. An elliptical workout utilizes the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, chest, back, triceps and biceps. There is no other machine that offers this benefit. You are not only exercising more muscle group, you are also optimizing your energy expenditure. That means it is taking less time to achieve more results, like burning calories and increasing your cardio capacity. A number of elliptical trainers allow you to reverse the motion, thereby emphasizing resistance to even more parts of your muscles.
By exercising more of your muscle mass you improve fat mobilization, which results in burning more calories and building muscle endurance more efficiently. Certain experts have suggested that this dual action process reduces the perceived rate of exertion. In other words, you are exercising harder without a noticeable difference from a less strenuous workout.
The benefit of an upper and lower body workout, combined with low impact exercising, are the reasons why elliptical trainers are so popular. And there is one other feature that should be noted. In comparison to treadmills, elliptical trainers require considerably less maintenance. That is due to the fact there are fewer moving parts, and less wear from impact.
If you haven’t tried an elliptical trainer, get to your local health club or a fitness equipment store and take one for an elliptical spin. Avoid the budget models and test the machines that are at least $1,000+. They have a more natural elliptical motion and are more stable and durable.
You’ll find that an elliptical trainer can have a major impact on your health and fitness.
Fred Waters worked in the fitness equipment industry for a number of years and is author of the Elliptical Trainer Rating and Review site. Check out the latest reviews on over 40 of the most popular elliptical trainers, and get important buying tips from the Elliptical Buyer’s Guide.
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Elliptical trainers are ideal for getting in shape and losing weight. When you workout on an elliptical trainer there are two important benefits:
Low-Impact Exercise
Upper and Lower Body Workout
It is for those reasons that elliptical trainers are growing in popularity. Treadmills sell more in total numbers, but elliptical sales are growing at a faster pace. They are particularly appealing to the baby boomer generation that is looking for an alternative form of exercise and workout that lessens the impact on aging joints.
Low-Impact Exercise
The two most popular forms of exercise are walking and running. But the facts are running, and to a lesser extent walking, cause stress to your body through continual impact. In fact, runners can apply as much as 2.5 times their body weight to their joints with each stride. This is why runners and walkers often suffer from ankle, knee, hip and back injuries. Especially if they workout outdoors on concrete or asphalt. With every step there is a degree of shock absorption. This shock can be felt throughout your entire body.
Elliptical trainers reduce impact through their elliptical motion. Your feet never leave the foot pedals. There is no reverse action, or significant impact. Consequently there is virtually no shock absorption to your joints. The motion of an elliptical trainer simulates the natural path of the ankle, knee and hip joints during walking, jogging or running. And yet you still get a weight bearing workout, which builds bone density, and inhibits the onset of osteoporosis.
With a treadmill you are constantly lifting your feet and impacting the treadbelt with every stride. Treadmills are designed to absorb some of the impact, but there is still that constant jolt to your joints.
Upper and Lower Body Workout
In addition to the low impact exercise, elliptical trainers workout both the upper and lower body simultaneously. By exercising several muscle groups at once you are able to optimize your workout. By involving more muscle mass in your aerobic workout you increase the efficiency of your workout.
When you exercise both the upper and lower body on an elliptical trainer, you utilize the quadriceps, glutes, chest, back, hamstrings, triceps and biceps. By exercising more muscle mass you attain the following benefits:
Improved fat mobilization
Build muscle endurance
Burn more calories and fat in less time
Reduced perceived rate of exertion
Regarding the reduced perceived rate of exertion, studies have shown that an elliptical trainer workout will often be perceived as less strenuous due to the combined upper and lower body exercise. The perception is that you get more results with less effort.
The benefits of an elliptical trainer workout have resulted in increased sales for both residential and commercial use. They are gaining in popularity at health clubs, and where several years ago you may have seen one or two, you now see rows of ellipticals.
If you haven’t used an elliptical you need to give one a try. If you are thinking about home fitness equipment, seriously consider an elliptical trainer. The benefits surpass those you receive from a treadmill, and you will be doing your body a favor.
Fred Waters worked in the fitness equipment industry for a number of years and is author of the Elliptical Trainer Review site. Get the latest reviews and ratings on the most popular elliptical trainers.
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Purchasing a cheap cross trainer seems to be becoming more and more popular. They are of course eminently practical in that you can use them regardless of the outside weather conditions and if it’s morning, evening or the middle of the night. They also give you a very good comprehensive workout and the fact that it is all contained within one machine makes them an ideal solution for many people seeking to exercise at home. But as with all things that must be purchased with money your finances will inevitably play a part in your choice. So many people actively seek out and decide to buy a cheap cross trainer without sacrificing any of the advantages that this home exercise machine has to offer.
When evaluating a cheap cross trainer it is important to make sure that the machine that you buy is fit for the purpose of getting you into better shape. There is no point in just concentrating solely on price unless you have a very restricted budget to the detriment of the quality of the machine and consequently it’s ability to cope with the demands that you will place on it. That said, it is possible to get very good elliptical trainers at a very reasonable price if you look around and go through reviews on which is the best cheap cross trainer to buy.
But where is the best place to find a good cheap cross trainer? As with most things these days it is probably online. There are many good sites that that will sell exercise equipment at well below the market price that is prevalent in many of the normal exercise equipment shops and retail stores. After all, they have fewer overhead costs and thus are able to keep their prices lower and rely on large amounts of sales to make their profits. Although it may be more pleasant to wander around in a large exercise equipment store in order to choose an elliptical trainer at your leisure, you have to take into account the fact that you will also be paying for the facilities and also the staff costs. Naturally, all this will be factored into the store price for the cross trainer and consequently it is often higher than is available at a good online store.
Even if you’re looking for a cheap cross trainer and you are shopping online it is still a good idea to shop around. After all, although exercise equipment is generally cheap online this is not necessarily true on every fitness equipment site. If you are prepared to put in a little work and do some research you can come up with some very good deals that will save you lots of money over the original retail price. Also remember, besides the usual exercise and equipment sites there are also price comparison sites that will allow you to look at which shops have the best deal for any particular exercise equipment and ensure that you get a great cheap cross trainer at a price you can afford.
Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Elliptical-Trainer-Solutions.com He provides more elliptical trainer ratings, recommendations and information on cheap cross trainers that you can research in your pajamas on his website.
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