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Lose Weight with an Elliptical Trainer
Could you afford to burn some fat? What if in the process you were able to tone both your upper and lower body? Sound good? Then an elliptical trainer may be the ideal choice for a low-impact, total body workout.
A few years ago, elliptical trainers were novelties. Lately they are taking the exercise world by storm. In fact, they are gaining in sales on the tried and true treadmill. In addition to the benefits of a low-impact, upper and lower body workout, an elliptical trainer is an efficient method for losing weight.
More Muscles Exercised = More Calories Burned
You can burn more calories in less time with an elliptical trainer. The fact is, when you exercise more muscle groups simultaneously, you burn more calories in less time. Billions are spent each year in trying to lose weight in as little time as possible, most of that money is wasted. Well an elliptical trainer accomplishes that task better than any other fitness equipment.
With the upper and lower body exercise, you workout your back muscles, triceps, biceps, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and chest. This is the only fitness equipment that offers such a full range of exercising.
By exercising more muscle mass you build muscle endurance, burn more calories and fat in less time, improve fat mobilization, and reduce your perceived rate of exertion. It is suggested you exercise harder on an elliptical trainer, and yet do not notice the extra exertion. By exercising more muscle groups at once, you get more results with less effort.
With a treadmill or exercise bike, you exercise only lower body muscles. There is no upper body resistance, and that is where the advantage of the elliptical trainer lies.
Of course, to gain full advantage of the upper exercise you must apply adequate resistance to the handlebars. Many people just go through the motions of moving their arms back and forth. They let their legs do most of the work. You want to distribute the resistance evenly between your lower and upper body. This allows you to lose the most weight while toning your upper body.
The energy expenditure on an elliptical trainer is particularly effective for overweight individual. It surpassed both treadmills and stationary bicycles in decreasing excess body fat.
Lose More Weight with Interval Training
The current craze in exercising is interval training, where you alternate between high intensity workouts and cool down periods. You burn an intense amount of calories for a limited period, recover, and do it again. Interval training is proven more effective in burning calories than a sustained level of exertion. You’ll find most elliptical trainers offer a version of interval training in their pre-select programs. Of course, you can simulate interval training with the manual controls.
If you are determined to lose some weight and get into shape, you owe it to yourself to check out an elliptical trainer. The low-impact, full body exercise will not only shed the pounds, but also tone the bod.
About the Author: Fred Waters worked in the fitness equipment industry for a number of years, and is author of the Elliptical Trainer Review site. Check out the latest reviews on the most popular elliptical trainers, and get important buying tips from his Elliptical Trainer Buyer's Guide.
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