Of course, before you start any workout routine, check with your health care professional to see if you are healthy enough to work out. Once that’s done, you should be ready to go.
According to Dr. Edward R. Laskowski of the Mayo Clinic, 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise on most days of the week offers some obvious benefits. You can improve your cardiovascular health, lower your blood pressure, maintain a healthier weight, and build stronger bones and muscles.
So where does the elliptical fit in to that 30-minute prescription? The machines combine the fluid motions of walking and cross-country skiing for a low-impact workout. The machines put less stress on your knees, hips and back than running does. Some have poles, similar to ski poles, attached so you can exercise your arms and legs simultaneously. You can also pedal in reverse to work different muscles.
Watch Your Back: Posture is Important
To make your workout as effective as possible, pay attention to your posture. Keep shoulders back, head up and abdominals tight. Let your lower body support your weight. You can also vary your workout by increasing the crossramp (incline) and resistance. Many machines have programs that vary those components.
Precor, one of the biggest manufacturers of elliptical trainers, offers workouts on its Website. Most of the workouts are set up to use crossramps, inclines, heart rate and strides per minute to produce challenging intervals. There are also recommendations on which workouts are best for which fitness levels. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor (they go in and out of fashion with each passing fitness fad), you can ascertain how hard you’re working by trying to speak. If you can do so without breathing hard, pick up the pace. Also, some machines can measure heart rate with sensors you grip during your workout.
Getting Started: Basic Workout
One basic workout that is easy to keep track of is forward and backward intervals. You start pedaling forward to warm up for five minutes. Switch to pedaling backwards for the next five minutes without changing the crossramp or the resistance. Switch back to pedaling forward. Alternate the five-minute intervals before cooling down for five minutes. You can make this simple workout more challenging by increasing resistance and/or the crossramp for each interval as your fitness increases.
Also, make sure you have your water bottle handy. You should drink water regularly while working out. You can also add music for motivation. Whether you're in the gym or working out at home, clean off the machine after you use it. Most gyms have wipes or spray bottles around for you to do that.
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