Elliptical Anyone??

[Kat817 19]

I have had both knees operated on, the right one several times, and I have a tumor in the fibula of that leg, and have been told, nothing high impact. So the jogging/running is out of the question for me. I do take stairs when I can....a couple of weeks ago at the hospital, you could not access the stairs from most floors, you had to have a hospital badge, that logged who went in...because there had been some assaults in the stairways. I thought that was horrible---a hospital!!! A place to promote health, and stairs are only an option for staff...and in front of each elevator are signs not to use in case of fire....I guess if it catches fire, we would all have to wait for an employee!!! Ridiculous....but I digress!!!

I do use my elliptical, with my orthos blessing. He recommends it over my treadmill, because of the design of the footpads, and the give of them overall, reducing the stress on all of your lower joints, from the pelvis down.

This winter will be the first time I will be relying on it for most of my exercise. As it stands now, I use it everyday, but I also walk outside everyday! When the weather turns I will do 2 rounds on it.

We do light free weights for upper body toning....but I don't think my form is the best to be honest...I find myself getting very lazy with it!

Kat

[BlooEyez 13]

Well I'm still only able to do about 2 minutes at a time ... I'm starting to hate the darn thing and wish I would have gotten a treadmill instead. :rolleyes

I should have tried one in a gym or a store beforehand ... I honestly had no clue that it would be difficult. I can go outside and walk 2 miles in 30 minutes and not get nearly as tired as 2 minutes on the elliptical makes me. :paranoid

I'm still workin' it though! :nervous

[odamay 4]

congrats on your new machine you will will love it. Give it some time. all I did was watch the clock I couldnt beleive how exausted I was 2 min was forever. When they told me I should work up to at least 20 min I didnt think I would last. I really surprised myself. by the next week I was doing it. What a work out. Good Luck with your machine.

[TerriDoodle 6]

Well I'm still only able to do about 2 minutes at a time ... I'm starting to hate the darn thing and wish I would have gotten a treadmill instead. :rolleyes

I should have tried one in a gym or a store beforehand ... I honestly had no clue that it would be difficult. I can go outside and walk 2 miles in 30 minutes and not get nearly as tired as 2 minutes on the elliptical makes me. :paranoid

I'm still workin' it though! :nervous

What's great about intense machines is that you do get a very good workout in a short period of time! I burn 100 calories in 10 minutes on the rowing machine....but I'd have to walk 35 minutes to burn the same amount! I'm all about getting out of the gym ASAP!! And I am only able to do about 10 mins on the rower before I poop out, too! But I started out doing 4 minutes 3 weeks ago...so I'm already making progress.

You'd hate the treadmill eventually, too! You made a very good choice. Just be patient with yourself.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

The only way I can stand to be on the elliptiKILL is in front of the tv. I don't know if the ones that people have at home are the same as the one at the gym I go to. I usually set the resistance between 9 for one minute then 10 then 11 then 12. I hate that machine but I really feel it's a great workout.

My trainer tells me to vary the machines I use. I would be curious

if anyone uses a stairstepper. I can't decide which burns more calories, the stairstepper or the elliptiKILL.

[TerriDoodle 6]

Yeah you have to vary your routine because, as with any other repetitive action, your body is very clever and will adapt to conserve energy. We do NOT want to conserve energy!

[mis42 0]

I have a machine at home that was collecting dust. Recently, i dedided to start using it again & it's tough. I'm thinking of moving mine into the den, so I can use it while I watch the morning news. We can keep each other posted on our progress.

[stacy73 2]

i just started working out and I am only able to do 5 min but I mix it up with other exercise- I do notice in just 5 min I burn as many calories as i would riding the statiinary bike for 15 mintes- i will also be trying to work my way up to more eventually- I feel like I am working harder on the elliptical than on the treadmill or bike-keep it up, you will progress..

[BlooEyez 13]

Well I managed to do 3 minutes straight today ... thats progress! :eek:

[stacy73 2]

yay!!good job!!

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I do at least 30 minutes changing the resistance every minute or two, but I have been doing it for over 3 years now.

Are you able to lower the resistance?

[mis42 0]

I am proud of myself for doing my elliptical early this morning. All I could do was 10 minutes & then I went for a short walk to cool down. I was out of breath. Let's keep working at it.

[BlooEyez 13]

Are you able to lower the resistance?

My machine has 12 different programs and the resistance changes on it's own ... but I've been doing the lowest level.

I did 4 minutes straight this morning ... shootin' for 5 tomorrow :biggrin1:

[TerriDoodle 6]

That's the way, BlooEyez!!

You don't even have to go up a minute every time! Do 4 minutes for a week, then 5 the next week, etc. Or break up your workouts by doing 8 minutes with a 5-10 minute break in the middle. You're doing great!!

[stacy73 2]

well, i moved up from 5 min to 10 min last night- i set the machine on the cardio burn for first 5 min, then set it on normal mode after that- hope to move up to 15 soon.