Last Updated on November 4, 2021 by Jeff
Elliptical machines are one of the most versatile trainers available at the gym or even at home, providing various exercises. Compared to treadmills, which are also cardio-intensive trainers, ellipticals offer more flexibility giving you the option to add resistance and incline at variable levels to maximize your workout.
These machines are perfect for burning off calories and building muscle with high resistance training plans, but equally, they provide scope for low-impact activities.
Continue reading to find out all the factors that make ellipticals a good choice for all workouts.
What Makes the Elliptical the Perfect Trainer?
Ellipticals are allrounder machines and are good for almost anyone looking to get fitter and healthier. They’re excellent when it comes to certain fitness factors; read below to find out precisely what these are!
1. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 
Elliptical trainers are ideal if you’d like to incorporate some HIIT into your exercise routine. Often, it isn’t easy to adapt a cardio machine to a HIIT training plan, but with elliptical machines, you can use a HIIT plan to burn calories in short periods.
HIIT training plans are straightforward, simple, and require 20 minutes of strenuous activity to improve aerobic capacity and shed body fat. Additionally, with the added resistance and incline levels on the elliptical, you simultaneously benefit from toned and increased muscle mass.
HIIT training is therefore excellent on an elliptical, as you’re easily able to change things up by having intervals of challenging and dynamic high-impact activity, ensuring that your muscles have to adapt and work at every interval.
2. Stamina and Cardio Workouts
Cardio training is classified as aerobic exercise, which keeps your heart and lungs healthy and provides muscles with blood and fresh oxygen.
Since ellipticals typically come with moving handlebars that coordinate with the pedals, the pushing and pulling motions from the handlebars work for the upper body muscle groups, giving you the advantage of a full-body cardio workout and boost your stamina in the long term.
Many other cardio machines disregard the arms, so you lose out on a full-body cardio burn.
3. Crushes Calories 
If you’re someone who is always rushed off your feet, then an elliptical trainer is an excellent way to crush your calories in a short period. Your elliptical trainer can help you crush about 270-400 calories in 30 minutes, depending on your weight.
In addition, having the versatility to change resistance and incline levels is a definite advantage of the elliptical. As our bodies adapt to the various levels of incline and resistance stresses, they become more efficient, and over time we burn fewer calories. So you’ll need more levels to allow your body to be challenged continuously and continue burning calories.
4. Joints are Protected
If you’re unable to use a treadmill because of the stress it places on your knees, ankles, and hips, or if you’re recovering from injuries, such as a runner’s knee, an elliptical trainer can be a good option to maintain your fitness level.
The reason why ellipticals minimally impact the joints is because of the closed-chain movement they offer. This type of bicycle movement protects your joints as your feet remain stationary, connected to the pedals. Therefore, your body requires less stabilization on your joints, putting less pressure on them.
5. Upper and Lower Body Workout 
Elliptical trainers are good for both upper and lower body workouts. You can maximize the upper body benefits by simply adding resistance and distributing your weight from your leg muscles to your arm muscles. As you pedal, you attain the benefits to your biceps and triceps by pumping the moving handles back and forth.
Equally, you can maximize the advantages to your lower body muscles. The elliptical is ideal for targeting various muscle groups in your legs, from your glutes to your quads and hamstrings. What’s more, the compound movements between legs and arms naturally give your chest, back, and core muscles aerobic benefits.
6. Balance
Since ellipticals come with resistance and incline levels, they have the same impact as weight-bearing exercises on the body. So if you’re someone who struggles with lifting heavyweights, such as dumbbells, hop onto the elliptical as it’s good for improving your balance through weight-bearing exercises.
When doing these exercises, you strengthen your bones that concurrently improves your posture and balance.
Simply standing up straight when on your elliptical and letting go of the handles makes your core take over and be in charge of maintaining the balance through your body’s frame; therefore, strengthening your core muscles and improving your overall body balance.
7. Quick Learning
Another good thing about the elliptical machine is that it’s perfect for beginners and novices alike. It doesn’t take long to master its usage, and even after learning all the tricks, it continues to challenge those who have been using it for time.
In the beginning, there’s a learning curve, but this curve is shallow as the elliptical is a straightforward machine to use and doesn’t require assistance from personal trainers. This Is why many have chosen to invest in one of these for their homes, as they’re versatile, risk-free machines that most family members could jump on, quickly use, and reap the benefits they give.
Some popular ellipticals for the home are the Sole E35 elliptical, the Proform Hybrid Trainer, the NordicTrack Elliptical Machine, and the Nautilus Elliptical.
8. Fitness Goals
If you have a particular fitness goal to achieve within a period, then the elliptical is a good trainer to use to help you get to where you want. With the various elliptical trainer fitness plans available, you can choose which one suits you best and set yourself 20-30 minutes each day to work towards that goal.
The elliptical tells you measurable data, such as how many calories you burn or what incline level you use, so you can set yourself a goal after each week to challenge yourself further and push your body more.
You can even use the set workout programs available on the elliptical machine that range from easy to hard. So if you’re new and just starting, begin at a manageable level and give yourself a goal that you can jump two levels up by the end of each month.
The Last Stretch
Elliptical machines are good for many fitness-related advantages, all of which help strengthen your vital organs, boost stamina, and burn unwanted calories. Along with that, some of the best elliptical trainers come with the versatility of offering various incline and resistance levels to challenge your body and build muscle mass constantly.
For those who don’t want a strenuous workout, the elliptical offers low-resistance exercise for maintenance and rehabilitation due to joint issues or injuries.
The elliptical trainer, therefore, offers something for everyone. To reap even more benefits for your health, it’ll be a good idea to incorporate this machine into your exercise routine to help you catalyze your health and fitness goals.