Saturday, July 31, 2010

Elliptical Trainer Guide


Get Fit with an Elliptical Trainer!


A newcomer has made its way through the gym to present itself among the endless row of treadmills at your local gym. It is oddly simple, yet conspicuously efficient. Eyes blanked in boredom sparkle when they see you start up the “newbie.” No more walking an endless belt only to discover you’ve burned half the calories you’d planned to burn. No more painful impacts on your knees (and everything below). No more wasted time doing one aspect of your workout at a time. No, you’ve found an elliptical trainer. 

Using very little electricity, the elliptical trainer is as energy efficient as it is in your workout. Unlike its treading counterpart, this machine only moves when you move, making it stable and quite simple to use. Simply step onto the pedals, hold onto the handles and begin a walking motion; your feet never leave the pedals.

New Balance 9.0E Elliptical Trainer

The elliptical trainer machine works by moving in the elliptical pattern of your foot while walking or running. Your legs extend and your hips rotate as though you are running, but the machine absorbs all impact you would normally take. This allows you to reap all the benefits of running, while sowing none of the pain. As an added bonus, your arms also work at the same time. Are you keeping track? That’s cardio, leg muscle toning and upper body toning all on one machine. It’s no wonder they are also known as elliptical “cross trainers.” 

Elliptical trainers are not all alike, however. The most noticeable of the differences is the front-drive versus rear-drive. The front-drive has the rotation coming from the front of the machine. Some front-drives have pedals that angle with the stride of your step. Front-drives are less expensive than rear and provide a less intensive workout. As you’ve probably guessed, the rear-drive is built with the rotation coming from the back. These do not have or need shifting (or, “articulating”) pedals; they have a truly elliptical movement without that feature.

Other features and differences include resistance systems and stride length. Cheaper machines feature magnetic or motorized brake systems for resistance, while the best machines are equipped with ECB, eddy current brake system), which is a durable, quiet resistance system powered electromagnetically. 

The age of the treadmill is ending, the day of the cross trainer has come.

Click Here to Purchase Our Favorite Elliptical Trainers!

We also offer information on the following Elliptical Trainers:   

IronMan® Aeros

Edge® 299e

Lifefitness

NordicTrack®

CrossOverâ„¢

Marcy Nimbus

Smooth®

Bookmark our site by Clicking Here.

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