The Truth About Elliptical Machines Exposed

!±8± The Truth About Elliptical Machines Exposed

I'm willing to bet that almost every gym-goer has stepped on an elliptical machine at some point in their training career.

Elliptical machines are most popular with women, and I have even seen people waiting in line to use the machine! Now, you need to ask yourself: am I really getting a great workout and burning a lot of calories on the elliptical machine?

And the answer is... no. You are not getting a great workout or burning as many calories as you think.

First, you should understand this principle: people take the path of least resistance, and working out is no exception. Think about it: what are the most popular machines? Obviously the most popular is the elliptical, and I would say the bike is a close second. These are the easiest to perform.

When you use an elliptical machine, for the most part you are using momentum and just gliding along. It doesn't matter if the machine says you burned 300 calories in 30 minutes; those numbers are usually off by about 30 percent, or more. Furthermore, the elliptical machine does absolutely nothing to help "tone" your muscles. I don't care what the programs on the machine say they do; the elliptical will not help you build lean muscle.

Now that you know the elliptical machine is not great for building a better body, where do you go from here?

If you are going to spend 30 minutes at the gym, you might as well spend that time doing whatever will get you the best results in the least amount of time.

Spend that time doing a weight training circuit. What you will do is pick 3 exercises--one for your lower body (reverse lunges), one for an upper body push (push-ups or dumbbell bench presses), and one for an upper body pull (chin-ups or dumbbell rows). I would start out doing sets of 10 reps for each exercise, and rest 60 seconds between each exercise. One more thing: make sure you use a challenging weight.

Here's how that would look:
Reverse Lunges x 10
Rest 60 seconds
Push-ups x 10
Rest 60 seconds
Dumbbell rows x 10
Rest 60 seconds

And then repeat that entire circuit 3 more times. That workout will help you build lean muscle which will give you that lean, athletic, healthy look. The elliptical machine will never be able to do that.

You can follow that same workout format to design your own workouts. Also, if you want to train your core, stick with movements like planks, side planks, stability ball rollouts, and ab wheel rollouts. They will do much more for your core than crunches and sit-ups, and they are much safer on your spine.

Now when you enter the gym, walk past the elliptical machine and spend your time doing exercises that will build you the body you truly want!