There are many adjectives to use when it comes to establishing the positive impact of an elliptical machine. For the most part, it’s simple equipment that doesn’t require technical knowledge or expert assistant. Second, despite their simplicity, elliptical machines offer the utmost efficiency as far as common users are concerned. Third, you can find a suitable elliptical trainer in almost every budget range, which is great. That having said, even after all these things, not all of you may have the smoothest elliptical trainer experience. It’s mostly because there are some mistakes involved. These mistakes need to be fixed at any cost if you value your health and need effective exercise equipment.
Contents
In this article, we have created a compilation of the common mistakes you should avoid while using elliptical trainers, cross-trainers and even elliptical gliders. These are more of some general mistakes-and-fixes duos, which still need to be given utmost care. Don’t worry; we too made many of these mistakes while beginning elliptical workouts, okay? So, if we could become some of the experts in industry, you can surely have best elliptical workouts by fixing these common mistakes of using this machine, if any. Shall we now move onto the list of elliptical machine mistakes?
#1 You Never Challenge Your Body Nor the Resistance
Your body isn’t going to transform if you don’t challenge it. Simply involving in an elliptical motion does not actually burn all the calories and give you a muscular body. It’s imperative that you should challenge all your existing abilities and physical body once in a while. As far as a standard elliptical trainer is concerned, level of resistance is the major point there. You need to optimize the trainer’s resistance according to what you’re looking for. So, a common mistake we’ve seen is the constant use of zero-resistance elliptical workouts. It’s more than a simple issue.
We believe that you’re using the elliptical for some extensive goals, aren’t you? In that case, you mustn’t let your body adapt to what you’re providing. That is, if you keep the resistance for a long while, your body will surely get used to it. It means that calorie-burning or muscle-building won’t happen. So, every once in a while during the workout period, you must re-challenge your body. Just see where you currently are and make an effort to enhance the performance requirement. You can also consider changing your workout modes after a month or so.
#2 You’re Just Concerned about Fat Burns and Uses It
This is perhaps the biggest mistake one can make while using an elliptical trainer. We had already mentioned that elliptical machines offer low-impact workouts, which don’t negatively affect your body. It doesn’t mean that you should stick to the low-impact workout modes only. For one, Fat Burn mode in almost all elliptical machines is a low-impact workout solution. If you are complementing the elliptical workout with something intense, it’s okay to stick onto the Fat Burn. In another case, you should try to change it as soon as you can. It essentially depends upon what you need.
The last time we checked, most people want more than burning calories when they use an elliptical trainer. Some of them want to lose weight too. In that case, another workout should be chosen. It’s superb if your machine has some in-built fitness features. If that’s so, you can find the best workout according to individual factors like weight, height and heart-rate scenarios.
#3 You Avoid Direction-Changes and Workout-Changes
Changing direction is a thing that is subject to the type of elliptical machine you’re using. As you may know, not all elliptical trainers may come with dual-direction elliptical motions. However, if your machine has an option, you must not forget to change directions once in a while. There are two main advantages you would get when you do that. First of all, you are focusing on different muscles than when you move forward. It will also help you to cut down the monotonous nature of your workout. You should also go back in the direction, you know.
The same is the case with elliptical workouts too. You cannot cling on to the same workout for months or weeks unless you think it’s the best — which is never the case. You should try to change or at least optimize your elliptical trainer workout if you want to enhance your fitness in a gradual and efficient manner. You have an easier option here as well. Some elliptical trainers come with in-built program modes, which can simulate a wider variety of motions. You can simply click a button and choose the best one for you. Trust us, it’s going to boost your entire fitness experience.
#4 You Don’t Use the Elliptical Features in the Right Manner
Another mistake is that you don’t use the in-built useful features of your elliptical trainer. An elliptical trainer nowadays comes with a huge amount of features. We can take the case of the control panel, for instance. The Panel is used for a bunch of purposes, including the optimization and control of the elliptical machine, right? You can also provide some individual data, is used to select the best elliptical workout for your body. Similarly, there will also be some preset workout modes in the machine. Every workout would be different and will offer a unique simulation; some for fat burn and some for serious weight loss, to take an example.
Also, another mistake committed by people is the refusal to use movable handlebars even if available. It is indeed a problem because you are not giving your upper-body an opportunity to work out and lose some calories. For those who don’t know, cardiovascular exercise is complete if both the upper and lower bodies are involved in the process. Don’t you think this is a reason to avoid this mistake and start using both pedals and handlebars of your machine?
So, what do you think about these mistakes? Do you make these mistakes or know someone who is in need of these tips? Free feel to share and leave your opinion about our guide.