Advertising beautifully describes to us the miracle of technology, demonstrating what an attractive figure you can get with it. Of course, you can get ideal forms without any extra effort on your part, as soon as the simulator appears at your place, you can also forget about poor health and extra pounds. The task of advertising is to sell, and ours is for you to figure out why we need this device and how to deal with elliptical trainers correctly.
let's get acquainted
Before you is actually a very interesting design. This is a compact machine with moving pedals and handrails. At first glance, you can understand that this is a kind of symbiosis of a treadmill, exercise bike and stepper. Such versatility helps replace a whole set of devices that take up a lot of space even in the gym, not to mention a city apartment.
Features of these simulators
When performing exercises, the pedals describe an ellipse, which gave the design a name. This is a cardio simulator, which, unlike its predecessors (treadmill), gives less load on the cardiovascular system, so it is recommended for most people who want to play sports. Do not forget that in the presence of any disease, you need to consult a doctor and a trainer who will tell you how to deal with elliptical trainers in accordance with the characteristics of your body.
The second interesting point is that the airborne position of the pedals minimizes the shock load on the knee and ankle joints, as well as on the spine. It is no secret that treadmill activities are often canceled precisely because of this harmful effect.
Types of elliptical trainers
They are divided according to the principle of work. Today, there are three types of such simulators:
- Electromagnetic. These are elite cars that are actually able to replace a whole fitness room. Their feature is the ability to set the load parameters, thus adjusting the training depending on the goals. You can set the distance, training time and optimal heart rate in advance. Thus, the program will not allow you to take off the load during the workout. These are the most silent, reliable and durable cars.
- The elliptical trainer is magnetic. In it, the athlete sets the pace and rhythm of work, respectively, the effectiveness of training depends on his motivation. Due to the permanent magnets that move along the flywheel, the load is regulated, smoothness and low noise are ensured. This is a more economical and fairly reliable option.
- Mechanical. Here, the athlete himself is responsible for the intensity and smoothness of the pedal movements. This leads to uneven load, which is not very good for the joints. The advantage can be considered low cost, but today such simulators have virtually ceased to enter the market.
When preparing for the purchase of a simulator, talk to your family members in advance, as each of them is likely to plan simulators. An inexpensive magnetic device is suitable for maintaining shape. If you want to achieve maximum effect in a short time, you will need a professional model. The latter also have their own set of characteristics that affect the result of the training:
- The step length is the amplitude of the pedal movement, which directly affects the result. Small machines for home use have stride lengths of up to 400 mm. If free space and budget allow, it is better to pay attention to professional simulators, in which this figure is much larger, in addition, it is possible to adjust the step depth.
- Flywheel Weight The larger it is, the smoother the movement and less load on the joints. The average weight is about 10 kg, if possible, you can choose more.
- Heart rate meters. Usually they are only on expensive models. This allows you to track cardiac load and build a heart rate program. The optimal training pulse is easy to calculate, you need to take away your age from 220 and calculate 70% of the received number. This will be the heart rate, which will allow for a normal workout, not to be exhausted ahead of time and achieve the desired results.
If you choose the right simulators for yourself, a photo and description will help you navigate.
What are they for
As already mentioned, elliptical is a cardio or aerobic exercise machine. It performs all the basic functions that are required for home use. This is primarily weight loss and muscle lift, in addition, an important task is to strengthen the body, the development of endurance of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.
The simulator itself will not work for you, but the load is perceived much softer than the usual workout in the gym. This is important for beginners, people of age and with health restrictions. The main unique feature that distinguishes an elliptical trainer is that it is designed for exercises with a weight load, that is, it uses its own body weight. It trains not only the lower, but also the upper body - with the help of handles. This may be commensurate with the work of a skier who uses sticks.
Health restrictions
Training on an elliptical trainer is a serious physical activity, so you must definitely weigh your strengths and capabilities. Severe cardiovascular insufficiency, bronchial asthma, tachycardia and angina pectoris are diagnoses in which physical activity should be carried out in strict accordance with the instructions of the attending physician.
If you do not suffer from chronic illnesses, but felt dizziness, pain, weakness and nausea during training, stop exercising immediately and consult a doctor. Listen to your body, do exactly as much as you can, and next time add one to two minutes to the time of training.
How to deal with elliptical trainers
It is not recommended to train within 2 hours after waking up and less than 2 hours before going to bed. The interval between meals and classes should also not be less than 1.5 hours. Be sure to prepare the body for stress, do a warm-up. This is a series of easy exercises, squats and bends.
Turning to the workout itself, remember that it must be completed to the end. Therefore, if you are a beginner, plan initially lesson for 5 minutes, with a subsequent increase in time each time for two minutes.
Training Rules
To begin, adjust the height of the handrails and the step length for yourself. Position the body vertically, and the closer your feet are to the edges of the pedals, the more load the body will receive. Do not forget that the main emphasis is on the heel, and the toe is loose, the knees are slightly bent. The head does not need to be lowered down. Now start moving forward. If you want the load to be also on the arms and back, use movable handrails.
After some time, you can change the movement. Now take your buttocks back so that your knees remain bent and start walking backward. This will give a load on the gluteus maximus muscles. To strengthen the quadriceps and calves, tilt the body forward and continue to move.
Another difficult but extremely effective move: lower yourself as low as possible, as if trying to sit down, and start pedaling.
Achieved result
You start training and use the elliptical trainer. What muscles work with it? It is difficult to answer unequivocally, because it all depends on the intensity of your load, because a dreamy “walk” on the best simulator will not give a result. If you do the exercises correctly, your buttocks will change, a slope is used to pump these muscles. When increasing the intensity of the workout, the quadriceps femoris works well .
When moving backward, the hamstrings and hind muscles of the thigh work fine. Alternating back and forth trains calves and lower calf.
The list is not limited to this. If you know how to deal with elliptical trainers correctly, you will also bring your upper body into shape. The pectoralis major muscle, biceps and triceps, i.e. forearms and upper arms, work (but not too intensively).
Concluding the topic of elliptical trainers, I want to say about their obvious usefulness. They make it possible to conduct training as efficiently as possible, at a convenient time.