With gym closures and stay-at-home orders, the demand for ellipticals, stationary bikes, and other home exercise equipment has surged. Some outlets saw a sales increase of over 600 percent for home gym equipment in 2020 (via The Guardian). As remote work continues into 2021, the appeal of home workouts seems here to stay.
If you’re planning to set up a home gym and find treadmills mundane, consider an elliptical machine. They’re popular in gyms for offering a cardio workout with less impact on your joints compared to other aerobic exercises, potentially benefiting your body significantly, according to Verywell Fit.
If you’ve ever wondered what an elliptical actually does, you’re not alone. We’ve got you covered. Here’s what happens when you use an elliptical every day.
Use the elliptical daily and your stamina and endurance will likely improve
Your first elliptical session might leave you fatigued, but it’s a serious workout. Stick with it, and it’ll get easier. Regular elliptical workouts can improve your stamina and endurance, which are related but distinct benefits.
According to Healthline, stamina is the ability to maintain energy for an extended period, while endurance refers to the capacity to sustain prolonged exercise. Both can be enhanced through regular aerobic exercise, which increases heart rate and oxygen delivery to muscles (via MedicineNet). Using an elliptical daily provides a solid aerobic workout, allowing for longer, more intense exercise, as highlighted by Healthline.
Your legs will get stronger when using the elliptical every day
An elliptical engages the entire body, particularly your legs. Daily use can strengthen your lower limbs.
Meghan Kennihan, a personal trainer, explained to Aaptiv, “[The elliptical] typically targets the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and anterior tibialis. When your thigh moves backward during the gliding motion, you will feel your glutes and hamstrings.” She continued, “Your quadriceps get worked when your leg is moving forward. The calves and tibialis contract to stabilize the lower legs.” Elliptical training is a great leg-toning exercise.
The elliptical’s settings allow you to target specific leg muscles. Alan Snyder, a physical therapist, stated, “A higher incline puts more emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings, whereas a flat level provides an overall lower-body workout, including the calves and quads” (via Yahoo Finance).
The elliptical machine can protect your joint health
While running lets you enjoy the outdoors and burn calories, it’s hard on the joints. If you suffer from runner’s knee, consider switching to an elliptical (via Healthline).
An elliptical offers a low-impact aerobic workout, gentler on the joints than running. According to the Mayo Clinic, ellipticals reduce stress on your knees, hips, and back compared to treadmills, and are beneficial for those with arthritis.
Low-impact cardio can protect your knee joints by boosting blood flow to the cartilage and strengthening surrounding muscles, providing extra support for those with arthritis (via Healthline). An elliptical could be ideal if you’re concerned about joint health.
You’ll burn a significant amount of calories when using the elliptical
Using an elliptical offers a solid workout and the chance to burn a substantial number of calories, more than many other activities.
According to Harvard Health Publishing, 30 minutes of elliptical training can burn 270 calories for a 125-pound person, rising to 400 calories for a 185-pound person. This is comparable to cross-country running.
Burning more calories than you consume leads to weight loss, as the Mayo Clinic explains. If weight loss is your goal, knowing the caloric burn from ellipticals might encourage daily use.
Your heart health will improve from elliptical workouts
Regular exercise benefits your body’s appearance and significantly enhances organ health, including the heart.
Elliptical training is effective cardiovascular exercise, prompting your heart to work harder to supply blood and oxygen to your muscles, strengthening your heart over time, according to Healthline. A 2018 study in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine found regular exercise reduces cardiovascular disease risk and mortality.
However, the study also notes potential negative cardiovascular effects from excessive exercise. If you use an elliptical daily, avoid overexertion.
Using the elliptical every day might lead to a fitness plateau
If you’ve exercised for a while without noticeable changes, you might be facing a “fitness plateau,” which can occur even on an elliptical. Sweat explains that a plateau happens when your body adapts to your workout’s demands, ceasing improvements and motivation.
Plateaus often result from repetitive exercises. Using an elliptical daily involves the same activity, leading your body to adjust and halt progress without variation. Personal trainer Ryan Halvorson told The Healthy that daily elliptical use makes you proficient at one task, eventually causing a plateau. Avoid it by diversifying your workout routine and keeping it challenging.
Your arms may get more toned when you start using the elliptical daily
Unlike a treadmill, ellipticals engage your arms. While primarily a cardiovascular exercise, elliptical training involves arm movement, flexing and extending at the elbow, working your biceps and triceps, and engaging your shoulders, according to Livestrong.
Ellipticals can be adjusted for resistance, allowing focus on arms (or other areas), providing a more intense workout as desired, as stated by Nordic Track. Your elliptical offers more than just a cardio workout.
Your balance will improve thanks to a regular elliptical practice
Beyond perfecting your physique, regular elliptical use enhances balance by strengthening core muscles—those in your torso and hips (via Harvard Health Letter).
Kailin Collins, a physical therapist, explained to Harvard that a strong core affects balance and movement of other body parts. “You need good stability at your core to have safe and effective movement at the hip, knee, and ankle.” Strengthen these areas by using the elliptical daily.
Your lung capacity will improve when you use the elliptical every day
Cardiovascular exercise, like using an elliptical, increases lung capacity, according to Harvard Men’s Health Watch. Your lungs work harder during exercise, becoming stronger over time. The American Lung Association explained, “As your physical fitness improves, your body becomes more efficient at getting oxygen into the bloodstream and transporting it to the working muscles.” This reduces exercise-related shortness of breath over time.
To boost lung capacity through exercise, support your body with healthy choices, like quitting smoking. In as little as two weeks after quitting, you’ll be able to exercise longer, Breathe revealed. So, ditch the cigarettes and hit the elliptical—your lungs will appreciate it!
Using the elliptical every day might have you feeling the effects of overtraining
Daily elliptical use can yield great health benefits, but more isn’t always better. Excessive training risks overtraining. Livestrong warns that intense daily elliptical workouts without rest days can lead to burnout or sleep issues—signs of overtraining.
While post-workout fatigue is normal, overtraining isn’t ideal. Men’s Journal lists symptoms from prolonged muscle soreness to mental issues like depression and low self-esteem.
Remember, exercise is a marathon, not a sprint. Allow rest days when using the elliptical.
You may see an improvement in your abs from using the elliptical
Though an elliptical involves your arms and legs, much energy is generated from your core, engaging your abs during workouts, potentially leading to a stronger six-pack with daily use.
Proper form enhances ab engagement on ellipticals. Livestrong recommends standing straight and tall on the machine to activate abs more and strengthen your stomach.
Increasing machine resistance can boost muscle activation. You could also try workouts using only your legs, as Healthline suggested, challenging your core. This versatile machine can target specific muscles.
Your mental health can improve through regular use of the elliptical
The elliptical not only benefits physical health but also mental well-being. Daily use can improve mood and self-esteem and may alleviate anxiety and depression. A study in The Primary Care Companion to The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found aerobic exercise significantly boosts mental health.
The study also noted improved sleep, enhanced sex drive, and reduced stress. Mental health professionals should emphasize exercise benefits to patients. Daily elliptical workouts, a form of aerobic exercise, can offer these mental health advantages.
You could improve your posture, as long as you’re using the elliptical machine correctly
Want to stand taller? Using an elliptical daily may help counteract poor posture from long hours at Zoom meetings. As a machine you operate upright, ellipticals can improve posture. Ryan Halvorson, a personal trainer, told The Healthy, “Elliptical machines allow you to stand nice and upright to help improve posture, promote better circulation, and work muscles more efficiently.”
However, poor posture on an elliptical won’t improve posture and may lead to ineffective workouts (via Fitness). Stand tall on the elliptical. As Halvorson said, “We already spend a lot of time slouched, so why reinforce it while you exercise”?
Don’t expect stronger bones from your daily elliptical routine
While ellipticals offer numerous benefits, they may not enhance bone density. Elliptical training is low-impact, suitable for joint issues or arthritis, according to the Mayo Clinic.
However, regular ground contact during exercise, like jogging or running, prompts bones to build density, strengthening them against fractures (via WebMD).
For increased bone density, daily elliptical use may not suffice. Instead, the Cleveland Clinic suggests running on a treadmill, which stimulates bone growth through repetitive impact.
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