The Elliptical Trainer: How do you use it to lose weight?
Spend calories thanks to cardio exercises, directing the muscles of the legs, thighs and buttocks to improve the silhouette ... The elliptical trainer, in the gym or at home, is a physical activity that allows you to lose weight. Discover the coach's advice for losing weight with the elliptical trainer.
The elliptical trainer is a cardio-type machine (intended for cardio training). Practiced standing, it allows to reproduce the movement of the running, with the feet in constant contact with the "pedals/toes".
It is a must in gyms, which can also be found for sale to individuals who want to have this gym machine at home.
What are the benefits of the elliptical trainer?
The elliptical trainer allows you to work on endurance such as cycling, running or rowing for example. Its benefits are multiple, for health, well-being and silhouette:
Strengthens the heart and lungs, by stimulating the heart and respiratory system.
It is excellent against stress: like any physical activity, it allows you to release stress and thus reduce stress.
It is an ally in the search for weight loss, as it helps burn calories and stimulates many muscles.
What parts of the body does the elliptical machine work on?
The elliptical trainer will work mainly on the lower body, thighs, calves and buttocks, since it is the mechanical work of the legs (and partly the arms) that will allow the movement to be performed.
Therefore, performing the elliptical machine regularly is ideal for strengthening the body, especially the lower body, and obtaining a toned, toned silhouette.
Does the elliptical trainer make you lose weight?
Using an elliptical machine allows us to expend energy and thus burn calories. The advantage of cardio exercises that we do thanks to the elliptical trainer, for example, is that it allows you to burn a lot more calories (depending on the intensity of the exercise and the level of the practitioner), unlike simple muscles. Construction work.
The desired effect when you want to lose weight is to expend more calories than you consume. Conversely, if we consume few or no calories compared to what we eat, we gain weight. Exercising several times a week, and combining this physical activity with a balanced diet will actually help you lose weight.
Be careful not to ban muscle-strengthening exercises, which will help tone the body and improve the appearance of the silhouette!
How do you use the elliptical machine to lose weight?
Conditioning exercise intensity
To improve your elliptical sessions with the goal of losing weight, you should adapt the exercises to your level: the exercise should not be too simple or too difficult, as this can lead to a lack of motivation especially for beginners.
“What we suggest in our gym is to tailor the exercise to the practitioner’s perception of effort. For example, during a 20-minute elliptical trainer period, we ask our members on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 represents easy effort and 10 represents very hard effort) to rate your effort. The ideal would be to put in a little bit of effort (6 out of 10) for a beginner, or even a little more if he's a regular exerciser. Of course, regularity in practicing the elliptical trainer will be just as important!" explains Guillem Sanz, Keep Cool Arcueil Athletic Trainer.
Prioritize short sessions
Note that for results, the duration of the sessions will depend on the level of practice and the intensity of the exercise. Work out on the elliptical machine at a high intensity, and generally a fairly short session is recommended, as opposed to moderate intensity that requires a longer session.
Beginners can, at first, do moderate intensity exercise, for 20 minutes to 30 minutes (without warming up).
A person accustomed to practice can opt for intermittent work instead, i.e. alternate moderate intensity with high or very high intensity for a session duration of 10 minutes to 20 minutes (no warm-up).
But again, it all depends on the level and physical shape of the person. If you want to lose weight and get slim, feel free to seek advice from a sports coach, in order to draw up a training plan according to your level and change the time and intensity of exercises in a gradual way.
Choose a complementary physical activity
All sports can allow you to lose weight, because all physical activities allow you to expend energy. But what really matters is the exercise you love: because the more you love what you do, the more regular you are, and the better results will be. At the gym, you can complete an elliptical trainer session with a treadmill, rowing machine, group classes, or weightlifting exercises. Outside, swimming, biking, water bike or any other exercise will be beneficial for the silhouette!