It is scientifically proven that exercise is not only good for your body but also your mood. It is magnificent how people have now adopted workout routines into their daily agendas. Sometimes, managing your schedule may get difficult and thus going to the gym is not always easy.
People have now started buying exercise machines to use at home. These include treadmills, rowing machines, and ellipticals.
This helps people work out at home in case they are not able to visit the gym. These machines are also available at gyms. So, let’s discuss how much calories burned on elliptical in this read.
Read more: How much calories burned on elliptical
How to use an elliptical
An elliptical is one of the very few exercise machines that provide a full-body workout. From cardio to fat loss to muscle building, ellipticals can do it all.
Ellipticals are more affordable compared to other exercise machines such as treadmills and provide a wider variety of functions. They are easy to use at home and can also be folded to occupy less space when not under usage.
To use the elliptical, simply position your feet on the pedals. Your hands are supposed to hold on to the handles. Start mimicking the motion of a cyclist, the difference is that there is no seat on an elliptical.
As your legs push the pedals, the handles will move too thereby demanding a complementary force from your hands. Ellipticals come with an adjustment knob for resistance.
The more you increase this setting, the harder it gets to move the pedals and handles. Higher levels of resistance focus your workout more toward the side of muscle build-up and less toward the fat burning side.
Modern ellipticals are more automated than conventional ones. They can connect to your phone and allow you to listen to music too.
You will get more storage space for water bottles and your phone. Furthermore, the computer will be able to recommend workout routines based on your demand.
Why Use an elliptical
1. Full Body Workout
As discussed above, ellipticals are one of the very few machines capable of providing a full-body workout. This makes sure to help the user lose weight as well as build up muscle along the way.
Ellipticals require your muscles to work to apply the desired force. This helps to build and train your muscles. Ellipticals are also very good for cardiovascular health as they are a form of elevated heart rate activity. Since it is a full-body workout, the weight loss results are uniformly spread out.
2. Economical
As compared to other exercise machines, ellipticals are easier and cheaper to purchase. They are also cheaper to maintain as they are not completely electrical machines and have some sort of mechanical operation too.
How to gauge calories burned
Surprisingly enough, there is an actual formula to calculate a rough estimate of calories burned on an elliptical. Before that, we need to understand what MET is. MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) helps gauge the amount of work your body does to perform a certain activity.
To get a rough estimate of calories burned use this formula:
Calories = [ Time x MET x 3.5 x mass ] / 200
Note: Time must be in minutes and Mass in kilograms
1. Moderate Intensity
In a 30-minute workout session, at moderate speed and intensity, an average person will burn around 200 calories. To further put this into context, moderate intensity is around 5 on the elliptical resistance scale and around 4.9 on the MET scale.
A moderate elliptical workout is substantially better than an average 30-minute treadmill workout which burns around 120 calories at a speed of 3.5 miles/hour (5.7 km/h). The speed mentioned may not even be considered as moderate by many beginners thus may be classified under higher intensity for some.
2. Light Intensity
In a 30 minute light intensity workout (resistance 2 and MET 4.6), a person can burn around 180 calories. The calories burned here are quite close to the moderate-intensity workout since the MET is not that far off.
3. Higher Intensity
A higher intensity workout equals a resistance level of around 8 and MET of 5.7, using these figures the calories burned in 30 minutes come out to be around 225.
Thus we can see how beneficial elliptical workouts are. Moderate intensity workouts burn around the same calories on average compared to light and high intensities. Thus an elliptical is a very good machine to use for beginners and up to professional athletes.
The formula also conveys the message that a person on the heavier side will burn a higher amount of calories for the same workout.
The average mass of a person considered between 70 and 75 kilograms for calculation purposes
How to speed-up your weight loss journey
1. Maintain a healthy diet
Make sure to cut out any processed foods from your diet. Increase your protein intake and reduce your carbohydrate intake.
A post-workout whey protein drink can also do wonders in helping you lose weight and/or build muscle by assisting post-workout muscle recovery.
2. Increase overall activity
If you feel yourself slouching around apart from your workout time, it may be wise to get up and walk around every few minutes. You can also take a morning or evening brisk walk to ensure you get sufficient steps in for the day.
3. Drink lots of water
An underrated method to cleanse your body off of toxins is increasing your water intake. This helps to reduce water retention in the body and cuts down an initial few pounds. Continuing this habit will help you feel more energized and light, alongside purifying your inner systems.
Miscellaneous Information on Ellipticals:
- Ellipticals can easily be moved from one place to another.
- Ellipticals can easily be cleaned.
- Ellipticals are called cross-trainers due to their ability to provide a full-body workout.
- Elliptical workouts can mimic motions of cycling, climbing stairs, walking, and running.