Elliptical Workouts

Elliptical Workouts

So yesterday I offered you guys some killer treadmill workouts to spice up your cardio routine.

But what about the elliptical?

The elliptical is one of the most popular cardio machines at the gym, and for good reason – it gives you a total body cardio workout. It’s also easier on your joints.

But like anything else, boredom takes over. So here are some variations on the elliptical workout that will keep you moving!

For all of these workouts, I’ll give you the resistance, incline, and strides per minute (SPM) that you should be aiming for.

Let’s get to it…

Booty Elliptical Workout – You only need 35 minutes for this workout, but trust me, it’s intense. Your first goal is to increase your resistance to 9, and your incline to 11, by the 5-minute mark.

Then you’re going to keep things high until the last 5 minutes. While in your target zone, aim for getting up to a resistance of 10-11, and an incline of 13-15, increasing every 5 minutes or so. Your target SPM should be 130-140. This one will really target your glutes!

Core Elliptical Workout – This one focuses on your core, and it’s easier than you think. All you have to do is let go. That’s right, just take your hands off the grips and pump your arms like you’re running.

Every 3-5 minutes, alternate between resistance levels of 7 and 10, with SPM ranging from 140-160. For the last 5-10 minutes, spend your workout going backwards – this will really challenge your core stabilizers.

Short Interval Elliptical Workout – You can really push your interval training on the elliptical by doing shorter intervals. Start with a 5-minute warm up at a resistance of 5, and then increase to 7 for the next 3 minutes. After that, you want to change your resistance level every 2 minutes, alternating between 3-4 speeds.

For example, 2 mins at 8, 2 mins at 7, 2 mins at 8, 2 mins at 6, and repeat. Your SPM should be 130-140 at your lowest interval (your recovery) and 200-210 at your highest. End with a 5-minute cool down.

Total Body Elliptical Workout – By changing the focus of your movements, you can use the elliptical machine to work out specific muscle groups. Start with a five minute warm up at a resistance of 3. Spend the next 10 minutes at level 7 and 150 SPM, but don’t use the hand grips. This will be the core portion of your workout.

For the next 10 minutes, increase your resistance and SPM, and focus on pulling movements with the hand grips. This will work out your back muscles. Spend another 10 minutes focusing on pushing movements with your upper body. This will work out your chest. End with 5 minutes of backwards movement for your cool down.

Elliptical Workout Conclusion

So there you have it, 4 elliptical programs to jumpstart your cardio routine at the gym. Remember, the elliptical offers a number of options that can be used in different combination, including resistance, incline, speed, and handgrips.

Before I forget…

If you’re looking to burn extra fat during your elliptical workout, try adding a natural fat burning supplement to your diet, like Irwin Naturals Green Tea Fat Metabolizer. This will help maximize your fat burning efforts.

Have any questions or feedback about elliptical workouts? Please leave a comment below…

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