Lose Weight with an Elliptical Trainer

It's all about resistance if you want to lose weight with an elliptical trainer. I always find it interesting when you go to the health club and numerous people are going through the motions on an elliptical, but that is about all. They have the resistance level set at the lowest levels. They are neither breaking a sweat, or getting a proper cardio workout. Granted, it is better than sitting in front of the television eating bon-bons, but this is not how to take full advantage of elliptical exercising. And this will not result in losing any significant weight or getting your body in shape.

To optimize your workout you need to push it to the limits. Of course, the limits will vary for each individual, but pushing yourself is how you achieve results.

Utilize Programs for Motivation

One means of motivating yourself is to try different programs that are included with most elliptical trainers. The workout programs are variations of resistance. For example, the "Endurance" program on the Smooth CE 2.1 "starts in a warm-up mode, the program gradually increases in intensity to burn fat and calories and build stamina. The program ends with a cool down period." In other words, the program starts with light resistance, builds to a stronger resistance, and ends with a light, "cool down" resistance.

Another popular program is "Interval Training," where you alternate from low to intense resistance. This type of workout is proven to optimize your exercising. You burn more calories, lose more weight, increase your cardio capacity and get in shape in less time.

As with any elliptical trainer program you can adjust it to your level of fitness. But what is most important is to push your self, and to strive for new levels of personal best.

Upper Body Workout

One of the major benefits of an elliptical trainer is the ability to workout both your lower and upper body simultaneously. In the process you exercise more muscle groups than just about any other form of exercising. The combined upper and lower body workout utilizes more muscles, and consequently burns more calories in less time. Unfortunately, many people fail to apply adequate resistance to the upper body.

To get the full impact of a dual action elliptical workout it is important to equally divide the exercise. Elliptical users have a tendency to let their arms follow the motion of the handlebars, and let their legs absorb most of the resistance. It is important to transfer a degree of the exercise load to your arms and distribute the resistance more evenly. And if you want to exercise different parts of your upper body, change your hand position on the handlebars to a lower level.

So the next time you get on an elliptical trainer, either at the club or at home, crank it up baby! Get the full benefits of a full body workout, and burn those unwanted calories and tighten up those muscles. You'll find your workouts will be much more rewarding and you will lose weight at a faster pace.