Elliptical Trainer

ANGRYCivilian · Post by **ANGRYCivilian** » March 26th, 2007, 5:47 am

Since I'm a pussy and have had pretty severe shin splints for the past 4-5 weeks, I thought I'd try the elliptical in my neighborhood gym. I was skeptical at first, because I've never been able to maintain my balace enough to run on a tread mill or any of those other contraptions. So, I set the timer for 1 hour and chose the fat burning setting (I'm not sure what it actually does, though). I maintained 7mph pace (I know, it's slow as hell, but better than I've been able to do lately). After the 1 hour, I was feeling the typical muscle fatigue, but no shin splint pain.

Cat · Post by **Cat** » March 26th, 2007, 8:59 am

Thatâ€™s what I use most at the gym. No impact is all I do since my leg problems in the Army. Swimming is great also.

rgrjoe175 · Post by **rgrjoe175** » March 26th, 2007, 10:26 am

If it were not for ellipiticals I would probably weigh 300 lbs. I have bad knees and cant run distances anymore. Well at least if I want to walk the next day. Just raise the resistance to a level that does not stress the knee to much and go.

JP

Earthpig · Post by **Earthpig** » March 26th, 2007, 10:53 am

I just bought a stairstepper over the weekend for the same reason. The running is giving me nothing but problems.
RLTW
EP

hit_it · Post by **hit_it** » March 27th, 2007, 9:57 am

I have seriously gotten into those things while being deployed.

I have to get my ass outside before I forget what pounding pavement is like.

Invictus · Post by **Invictus** » March 28th, 2007, 9:34 pm

Tater Nuts wrote:I too was having a lot of knee pain before I switched to the 25 cent pony rides at the front door of the local Wal-Mart, I now feel much better about my exercise program.

That mental image is priceless. I shit you not, I'd pay to see the actual picture. Can you hook it up Terry? :D

bulldogg · Post by **bulldogg** » March 30th, 2007, 11:12 pm

Has anyone noticed a difference between the different models out there in terms of workout?

The air in my current location is so bad running outdoors is an absolute NO-GO. Trying to find something indoors as close to actually running as I can find and the treadmills are bloody boring day in and day out.

KKovac B Co. 2/75 · Post by **KKovac B Co. 2/75** » March 31st, 2007, 8:44 am

bulldogg wrote:Has anyone noticed a difference between the different models out there in terms of workout?

The air in my current location is so bad running outdoors is an absolute NO-GO. Trying to find something indoors as close to actually running as I can find and the treadmills are bloody boring day in and day out.

There is a definate difference in quality when it comes to elipticals. I bought a Lifefitness x9i last year for a little over $3000. It's the shit. The lower models suck when it comes to a good workout. They're smaller, have less bells and whistles and look like they'll fall apart in less than six months. Inaddition, a good heart rate monitor is an added plus. Mine has one built into the handgrips.

Charlie 51 · Post by **Charlie 51** » April 30th, 2007, 6:42 pm

Water running is the way to go for low impact. I use it during the off Marathon season to stay fit. You just need a water vest to do it properly. It will kick your ass and save you from looking like a fairy on an elliptical machine. No offense if your a fairy

bulldogg · Post by **bulldogg** » September 10th, 2007, 8:31 am

Nothing deep enough I have access to right now but it definitely looks like the shit Charlie 51.

In the meantime on the fairy runner at the gym I've encountered something possibly unique... its the Precor model with all the bells and whistles and when I get to kickin at anything above 14 kph the thing starts rocking... coming up an inch or so, just enough to make me think the thing is going to flop forward. Operator error or poor design?

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » September 15th, 2007, 6:51 am

So I hit the elliptical today after reading this thread and went for a calorie burn goal: 30 minutes = 368 cal

I knocked out 30 minutes, never got my heart rate over 126, but did still break out a good sweat. Whether that's due to the climate or not, I can't be sure of, but I can tell you I didn't feel smoked when I got done and hit 389 calories burned according to the machine.

Now if this is true and I am burning almost 400 calories in 30 minutes, then how come something much more physically demanding like running on a treadmill for the same amount of time produces less calories burned?

Has anyone ever been able to compare the physical impact in intensity between an elliptical machine and say a treadmill, stationary bike etc?

I just don't quite believe that less is more in this case.