Are you a dainty runner who can't take the impact anymore, or would you be one if it weren't for all that literal pounding of the pavement or trail? If you start running on the elliptical machine, the benefits you can expect include almost everything you expect from the race, along with the happy absence of repeated bumps to your joints.
What benefits do we get by doing elliptical?
Improves heart health
Whether you are walking or running on the elliptical, any regular aerobic exercise brings tremendous benefits to your cardiovascular system. Many scientifically proven benefits of regular aerobic exercise for the heart and lungs are:
- Reduce your risk of coronary heart disease
- Improves circulation
- Decrease inflammation
- Reduces high blood pressure and triglycerides.
- Improves HDL cholesterol ("good" cholesterol)
- It could help you quit smoking
- It benefits your blood sugar and insulin levels, reducing your risk of developing type 2 diabetes or, if you already have it, helping you control your symptoms. It even acts as a natural mood booster and can strengthen your immune system.
You can lose weight and burn fat
If you use the elliptical regularly, you can also expect a large calorie burn, which in turn can contribute to losing excess body fat that you may be carrying. Using this machine is not an instant guarantee of weight loss, but you can do a lot to create a calorie deficit (burn more calories than you take in) that leads to weight loss.
For example, Harvard Health Publishing estimates that an 84-pound person pedaling an elliptical for half an hour burns approximately 400 calories. That adds up to a whopping 800 calories if you spend an entire hour in the machine.
You can increase that number even further by adding a few sprint intervals or by using the push-pull mobile grips. This will add even more intensity and muscle groups to your physical activity.
If you weigh less, it won't burn as many calories, the same source estimates that a 40-pound person would burn approximately 335 calories in half an hour, or 670 calories in an hour of pedaling with an elliptical exerciser, but it's still an impressive calorie burn. If you maintain that level of physical activity most days of the week and stick to a "maintenance" calorie intake instead of increasing the amount you eat, you could lose almost a pound a week.
You reduce the risk of mortality
In a study published in an August 2014 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers administered a questionnaire to more than 55,000 adults about leisure time activity, and then followed up after 15 years.
They found that people who ran as part of a leisure activity had a 30 percent lower risk of all-cause mortality and a 45 percent lower risk of cardiovascular mortality compared to non-runners, and enjoyed a life expectancy Average of approximately three years more than that of non-runners.
But you don't have to be extremely fast or spend your entire life running on an elliptical machine to enjoy those benefits. The same study found that even short running times and relatively slow sprint speeds (less than 6 mph) were sufficient to reduce the risk of mortality.
And that longevity benefit is not the exclusive property of the brokers. Another study, published in an October 2018 issue of JAMA Cardiology after following 122,007 patients, found that cardiorespiratory fitness was the key to reducing the risk of all-cause mortality . The most important thing is to get your heart pumping and your lungs moving, whether you're on an elliptical, running, or doing any other type of cardiovascular exercise.
If you start walking and exercising steadily, it won't be long before you can run, and remember, because your feet never leave the elliptical exerciser pedals, you won't have to endure the same jarring impact.
How long should you ride on the elliptical?
Although the exact amount of exercise time varies between clinical studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidelines for physical activity on how long you should exercise to maintain good health.
The minimum recommendations are:
- 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week
- 75 minutes of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity per week
- And at least two days of some type of strength training for all major muscle groups
That said, more is better. For example, if you double that requirement to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 150 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, you'll enjoy even more extensive health benefits, and exercising beyond that amount brings even more benefits with that.
This is confirmed by studies such as the one published in JAMA Cardiology regarding the reduction of all-cause mortality, and another career-oriented study, this one published in an August 2014 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that even low running times and low running speeds were helpful in reducing mortality.
What drawbacks are there on the elliptical?
Although you can expect a number of elliptical benefits if you use this machine consistently, there are some potential downsides. One is that most restrict the movement of the pedals to a defined elliptical path, which is where they get the name. Of course, not all ellipticals will adapt to the natural kinetics of each body.
The ones you will find in the gym are designed to accommodate the widest variety of body types, but if you are very tall or short , you may still find it difficult to get comfortable.
Adjusting the position of the foot inside the large pedals can be helpful, or you can opt for a "free-motion" elliptical if your gym has one. These machines do not restrict the movement of your pedal to a single elliptical track, so you can define a comfortable range of motion for yourself. If you are buying an elliptical machine for home use, you may have to try several models to find one that suits your natural body movement.
