Fitness Equipment and Home Gyms

A relative newcomer in the fitness equipment industry is the elliptical machine. Ellipticals have been wildly popular in both fitness clubs and home gyms because they give a workout of comparable intensity other aerobic workout machines, but without any impact. Elliptical trainers consist of a pair of footbeds, each on a separate track. Shuffling your feet forward and backward makes the tracks travel in an elliptical path. From the elliptical machine console, you can control the workout intensity by changing the unit’s resistance, incline, and on some newer machines, length of stride.

Because your feet never leave the footbeds, elliptical fitness equipment is zero impact. Many runners with knee problems have switched over to ellipticals so they can continue the intense aerobic workouts they love. At the same time, elliptical exercise is considered weight-bearing exercise despite its lack of impact. Any time your body is pulling against gravity, it’s bearing weight—good news for women (and many men) who are concerned about osteoporosis.

The majority of elliptical exercise equipment has a pair of moving handlebars in addition to the footbeds. These handlebars are designed to coordinate the motion of your arms and legs so that you’re pulling toward yourself on the side you’re striding with. This simulates the motion of walking or running and gives your upper body a moderate workout along with your lower body. For this reason, they have been dubbed elliptical cross-trainers.

Most elliptical machines have an electric alternator that controls the unit’s resistance. Unlike a treadmills, where the motor makes the belt go faster, the alternator on an elliptical trainer tries to slow you down, increasing your exertion by making your legs work harder. Some cheap ellipticals use a simple friction system to increase the resistance.

One important feature to look for in elliptical equipment is synchronized handlebars with a mechanical ratio that allows your arms to move more slowly than your legs so they can do more work. Machines with a 1-to-1 arm-leg speed ratio simply take your arms along for the ride because the handles move so quickly.

Some of the most popular brands of elliptical exercise machines are Life Fitness, Schwinn, Nordictrack, Octane, Proform, and Ironman.

Ellipticals are popular in smaller living quarters because they’re not as heavy as other workout machines, and they’re more compact. They’re also not as noisy because there’s no impact and therefore no pounding noises of footsteps for your neighbor to put up with while you’re working out. With fewer moving parts, they’re less expensive to maintain, too. Unlike treadmills, there are no expensive belts to replace every few years. If you’re on a budget, take a look at the mini elliptical trainer. These are sold under many brands and are very small and less expensive than the full size models.

You can read and watch TV on your elliptical machine even at full speed, because only your arms and legs are moving. However, if you’re in physical therapy or have problems walking, you need to be very careful which machine you buy. With some models, you have to climb up a little bit to get your feet into the footbeds, and once you’re striding, you have to stay coordinated and keep your legs moving. Some people in PT love their ellipticals, but others aren’t able to use them. Choosing the right model is very important.

Shop online for elliptical trainer reviews so you can pick the right features and prices when you’re ready to buy.