I am going to start working out on my elliptical at home and I just was curious how much should I be working out a day? Is 45 min to an hour enough or should I strive for more as I work my way towards a healthier me? I realize I will most likely only be able to work out for 20 - 30 min to start but what should my goal end up being per day?

Totally depends on your goal and how you are using the elliptical. What is your heart rate at peak? How long are you maintaining it there? Are you in cardio zone or merely burning off calories? If you are going for cardio endurance, you will want moderate heart rate for at least 20 minutes. General exercise is just keep moving for the 45-60 minutes. If you are looking to improve cardiovascular peak performance, then you will need high heart rate for 10-15 minutes.

For example, I am going for cardiovascular endurance. I have an average 140 bpm heart rate for roughly 45-50 minutes (length of an episode on Netflix). On the days where I feel the need to push the envelope, I will up that into the cardio training zone of 170-180 bpm. But I can only maintain that for around 10 minutes then "rest" for 20 minutes, then pick up the pace again.

Thank you BigViffer for the info. I have no idea what I'm doing to be honest so you just gave me a lot of great information for me to use. Greatly appreciated.

If you are new to using the elliptical, I would keep the resistance low or even at nothing. Get used to the motion of the machine. When you can do the machine for 30 minutes without worry of falling off, start getting comfortable with no hands. (for the times you need to wipe sweat or take a drink). After that, start to titrate the difficulty by increasing the resistance. The sooner you can increase the difficulty the better. Spinning your legs with no resistance will burn calories, but nowhere near what actually fighting for it does.

Edited December 12, 20178 yr by BigViffer
grammar

@BigViffer Dayum shazam! (Where's the "I'm not worthy" emoji when you really need it?) How do you do it? Does your heart feel like it's beating out of your chest at that level?

Fluffy, it's all about progression. just like I said earlier. Start off with no resistance and short times. Progressively increase the duration and resistance over time.

And no, I just feel winded. Heart is beating fast, but I feel pretty good actually.

@BigViffer Thanks for the inspiration and the hope, bud! I guess for now, I'll keep walking my 20 minutes as fast as my little legs will allow!

22 hours ago, BigViffer said:

If you are new to using the elliptical, I would keep the resistance low or even at nothing. Get used to the motion of the machine. When you can do the machine for 30 minutes without worry of falling off, start getting comfortable with no hands. (for the times you need to wipe sweat or take a drink). After that, start to titrate the difficulty by increasing the resistance. The sooner you can increase the difficulty the better. Spinning your legs with no resistance will burn calories, but nowhere near what actually fighting for it does.

Good to know I have never used the elliptical before so I will begin with no resistance until I'm comfortable and then increase it. They really should have a book called "Exercise for Dummies" I would def buy one!!!!!!

Once you get the elliptical mastered, move on to resistance training, that is where the big calorie burns are as well as the body shaping benefit. General fat burn advice, you should be able to hold a conversation while exercising, if you cant your pushing too close to cardio levels. shoot for a target heart rate of about 120 bpm, then maintain that for 20 to 30 mins. This will target fat burning with little muscle loss in the process.

5 minutes ago, JerseyJules said:

Once you get the elliptical mastered, move on to resistance training, that is where the big calorie burns are as well as the body shaping benefit. General fat burn advice, you should be able to hold a conversation while exercising, if you cant your pushing too close to cardio levels. shoot for a target heart rate of about 120 bpm, then maintain that for 20 to 30 mins. This will target fat burning with little muscle loss in the process.

OK JerseyJules I will do that. You guys will help me to get into tip top shape yet!!! Although.......what is resistance training???? lol sorry I really don't have a clue.

11 minutes ago, jcb123 said:

OK JerseyJules I will do that. You guys will help me to get into tip top shape yet!!! Although.......what is resistance training???? lol sorry I really don't have a clue.

weight training!!! Lifting weights!! LOL...It could be free weights or machines. If your uncomfortable at first watch a few videos on Youtube on how to lift weights properly.

Focus on movements that incorporate a lot of muscle groups, like kettle bell swings, squats of any kind and core training.

Edited December 13, 20178 yr by JerseyJules

Resistance training is usually synonymous with strength training (i.e. weight training). However, I don't know if I agree with @JerseyJules. Obviously I am a big fan of strength training and will advocate it's benefits to just about anyone. And yes you will burn a ****-ton of calories doing it. However, there is no way I am going to even talk to anyone while doing it much less have a conversation. Even on the elliptical or treadmill, if you have enough breath to comfortably converse with someone, you aren't really burning much. Sure you are getting some exercise, but you aren't really working. And once you are in cardio level heart rate, calorie expenditure goes up very high.

It's kind of like a motorcycle. Once you reach a certain speed, say 185-ish, the amount of horsepower that got you there does not maintain a linear ratio above that. It takes a huge amount of horsepower increase to gain just 1 or 2 mph. In this example, increase wind resistance. In the gym, the reciprocating mass (e.g. you or me) starts demanding more fuel for the increased activity. So it's not just the heart that is working hard, it's the glutes, quadriceps, deltoids, latissimus dorsus, and trapezius when talking about the elliptical. So while a comfortable pace with a heart rate of 120-ish will burn calories, anything higher than that will burn significantly more. BUT! You will of course not be able to maintain that pace for long. Now you are getting into interval training. And honestly, you aren't ready for that discussion, lol!

Suffice to say, get comfortable doing a routine. Once there, reassess your goal. Do you want to be a cardio warrior like @jenn1 or perhaps a weight trainer like me? Or you might just want to enjoy a general plan of fitness and enjoying how everything just works easier now. You may find a new hobby that you enjoy and you can tailor your training to increase performance in that field.

I don't know which path I want to go down, I guess ultimately I want to "WANT" to work out and get in shape and of course, lose weight while doing it. I feel like there are so many different kinds of exercise to do and I just want to do the ones that give me the most weight loss and yet still make me feel good and makes me want to come back for more.

With that stated, the elliptical is a great start. Feel free to come back later with any questions later.

Sent from my phone. Please forgive brevity and spelling.

On 12/13/2017 at 1:30 PM, BigViffer said:

With that stated, the elliptical is a great start. Feel free to come back later with any questions later.

Sent from my phone. Please forgive brevity and spelling.

Will do. Thank you for the info!!!

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 1:23 PM, jcb123 said:

I don't know which path I want to go down, I guess ultimately I want to "WANT" to work out and get in shape and of course, lose weight while doing it. I feel like there are so many different kinds of exercise to do and I just want to do the ones that give me the most weight loss and yet still make me feel good and makes me want to come back for more.

I would recommend you start doing as much as possible to get a flavor of the various approaches, modalities and benefits. You can do this by taking group classes, working out on your own on a gym or participating in group sports.

As a 50 year old woman who took a brief 20 year hiatus from exercise, there are certain things that I have found out very quickly that I respond well to and certain things that I really need to work on. So while I have been working out only for 4 months, what I am initially focusing on is beginning to take shape. Weight training right now is giving me the biggest bang for my buck, but am also doing additional work to focus on cardiovascular and pulmonary health as well as balance (which was really horrendous). HITT, Strength training and yoga pretty much comprise my regimen now and as I learn and experience more this will evolve.

7.5 months out and 116 lbs down, I feel very strongly (for myself) that the exercise has been just as impactful as the weightloss in my experience of health, vitality, power, stamina and just general aliveness.