7 Low-Impact Elliptical Workouts for Beginners
There is a consensus among scientists that everybody should put in a good 150 minutes of cardiovascular workout weekly. Even though this looks like a daunting task, it means putting half an hour of exercise every five days.
We all know that exercises are good for weight control. However, it they also reduce your risk of getting high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, stroke, and heart diseases. For those not gym rats, the first time going into the gym might be a daunting task. The good news is they can start with an easy-to-operate machine known as the elliptical trainer.
Elliptical machines give a low impact workout. They are easier on your joints than when you choose to run or jog on a treadmill, and since most of the elliptical comes with handles, they allow you to work on your lower body and the upper body.
7 Elliptical Workouts for Beginners
Here are seven elliptical workouts for beginners:
1. Total Body Workout
If you have an elliptical machine with handles, what you are doing is combining the motion of skiing and climbing stairs. The resistance and the inclines in the machines are adjustable for ease when maintaining pace. You can do this for an hour. When you work both your upper body and the lower body simultaneously, you are getting a full-body workout.
To work on your hamstring, you can do a backward pedal. While doing your workouts, always hold the handle lightly, and as much as it can be tempting to raise your heel during an exercise. However, it is advisable not to.
Always keep your feet flat on the platform, to prevent excessive stress on your back. Do not forget to face forward, with your shoulders back and down. Over time, you should be able to add speed for more challenge.
2. Butt and Core Workout
People like a well-chiseled butt. The elliptical can help you, as a beginner get one. Peddle on the machine on an incline position. As you get more comfortable, increase the speed slowly. When you exercise with different inclines, then you will be targeting different parts of your butt.
And if you want to challenge the glutes, you can also add more resistance. A lot of machines will tell you about the muscle you are working on based on your incline. Avoid grabbing the handle if you want to work on your core at the same time. Grabbing the handle will only mount more and put pressure on your core to keep you upright and balanced on the machine.
3. HIIT Workout
This is also known as High-Intensity Interval training, which is done on most cardio exercise machines. If you are beginning to get bored with your routine, this is challenging and would eliminate it. HIIT is also the most effective form of exercise to burn fat.
A beginner would require at least five minutes to warm up at speed they can easily maintain. Then, crank the pace up for thirty seconds till you breathe heavily and can no longer talk. After half a minute, go back to the comfortable pace speed. Follow the routine for 30 minutes.
You can mix up your interval, and instead of going fast, increase the incline’s resistance. HIIT is known as an advanced workout. However, because of how easy it is to be personalized to a fitness level, they are useful for beginners.
4. The Incline Game
To beat boredom with the elliptical, you can play around using different inclines. This is called. “the incline game.” Simply increase the incline every two minutes by two percent and then get it back to the original incline after 14 minutes and repeat this.
You can also choose the intensity you want to work with. However, d not go below level eight and nine. Make sure that you are getting challenged. If the incline is low, increase the intensity, and when it is higher, reduce the intensity.
5. Tempo Workout
This is mainly for runners. Start with a 20-minute warm-up at a moderate speed with slow intensity, and then increase the machine’s resistance. While doing this, focus on your quad muscles while you engage your core. After doing that, drop the resistance again and finish with a resistance of 5-7 in ten minutes.
6. Interval Workout
Get a 10-minute warm-up with the resistance at level 1-4. Then. Then do 90 seconds of high-intensity work between 10and 15, 8 times. Recover with a low-intensity workout for 90 seconds. Finish your interval workout with ten minutes of moderate-intensity exercise for 10 minutes.
7. Well-Rounded 35-Minute Routine
What makes the elliptical great is that you get to work all of your muscles very efficiently. Remove your hands from the handle and work your core, pedal backward to work your hamstring. You can mix up your routine for thirty-five minutes with the information you have
Elliptical Workout Tips for Beginners
To get the most from your workout, use the machine to the fullest. This implies that you pedal forward for your quads and get the hamstring and glutes to work by pedaling backward. Work your chest muscles also by pulling the handles and target your back. Remove your hands from the handle to work your core. Finally, the elliptical machine would get you a test of your cardio endurance.
Conclusion
These options we have given you definitely takes away all of your excuses. Now, you know what to do. You can also use the preprogrammed routine that comes with most modern trainers. They are also great to train with. Finally, do not forget to eat healthy as they are important for you to reach your fitness goal.
FAQs:
Q. 1: How Long Should a Beginner Workout On an Elliptical?
Ans: Depending on your fitness level as a beginner, you can go as long as your body can take you. Just follow the tips, and you will be fine.
Q. 2: Are 15 Minutes On the Elliptical Enough?
Ans: Yes, fifteen minutes of workout daily will boost your life expectancy by three years and reduce your death risk by 14%.
Q. 3: How Long Is 1 Mile On the Elliptical?
Ans: It is 63,360 inches. Calculate the mile you have gone in an elliptical, by calculating the number of inches in a mile, and divide it by the length of your stride.
