Personally, I LOVE the elliptical trainer. However, I learned some information that I would like to share for those that use the elliptical trainer and track the exercise that they're doing.

In my human physiology class (college, 300-level) we were talking about the work the body does during exercise. We started talking about the elliptical trainer and the professor presented some shocking news. Apparently, some graduate students did an intensive study on elliptical machines. They hooked subjects up to various machines to compare how much work (calories burned) the elliptical machine said they did vs how much work they actually did (determined by machine readings). It turns out that the elliptical machine manufacturers across the board - as they tested several brands and models - failed to take into account that the flywheel on the machine adds momentum to your stride and reduces the amount of work you have to do. It turns out that the elliptical machines overestimated the actual number of calories burned by 40% to 50%.

I found it interesting. It also explained to me why the elliptical trainer felt like I was doing less work than the treadmill, even though the machine said I was burning more than twice the calories.

I was just thinking about this this week because I'd rather do the elliptical instead of the bike because I can actually feel my legs working on the bike (blech!) vs just swinging along on the elliptical. I too thought that it was funny that I prefer the elliptical, but it makes sense if I'm not really working as hard as other machines!

PS- I see you've lost 50 lbs AO today!
VERY COOL!!! HAPPY DANCE!!

Congrats on your weight loss, Melissa!

Thanks for that info. It's ironic--I've been telling myself that I really need to use the elliptical, even though it KILLS my legs, instead of the treadmill, which I enjoy and have at a pretty fast setting and a significant incline. So now I don't have to! YAY!

Hmmmm....I would think if you added resistance -which most machines have you do, that you could still get a good workout.

Good information but I'll stick with my machine - less pounding on the joints.

Are we talking about the full body elliptical (the handles that move) or just the lower body elliptical? Twenty minutes on a full body elliptical is like torture for me compared to the treadmill.

That's a good point the study makes, although I always thought those "calories burned" numbers were inaccurate anyway. Kinda like the scale. For instance, at certain speeds/inclinations on my treadmill, I can either run or walk but it says I'm burning the same number of calories. If anything, I'd rather go with a heart rate monitor.

Wanda

Like some of you here, I find running infinitely easier than the elliptical machine.

A couple of weeks ago, I had strained my hamstring and couldn't run. So, I tried both the excercise bike and elliptical machines and found them much harder than running. I remember quitting after about 15 minutes on the elliptical machine, while I can easily run about 40 minutes at 8 mph.

Everyone keeps telling me it's just a mental thing, and the machines are easier than running; but, it just doesn't seem that way to me.

For me, I was shocked to read that an elliptical overstates the energy expended. It feels like it understates, if anything.

Frederick

how strange. i'm the opposite. i find the elliptical to be the easiest machine at the gym. the hardest machine for me is the stairmaster, then the treadmill.. i barely break a sweat on the elliptical (at 10 incline and 7 resistance and i'm going at a decent phase of 180/min). i've always had that feeling that the calorie burned number on the elliptical machine was overstated.

It is perplexing how different people can be, isn't it? You won't break a sweat, whereas I'd literally die in about 15 minutes.

I use the eliptical daily at my gym. I usally just concentrate on heart rate and not calories. Is that okay?

I used to enjoy the elliptical crosstrainer at the gym... then I realized, wait a minute... I rather be jogging/biking outside to breathe fresh air and enjoy the wonderful weather of late....

Sure, just add salt to the wounds why don't ya!

Wanda

One of the benefits living closer to the equator...

In the most basic sense of the term, work (i.e. exercise) is force times distance. Force, in turn equals mass times acceleration due to gravity. In the case of the elliptical trainer, your distance will actually be the total of how much your center of gravity changes (vertically) times how many times it changes.

So, if you take two people of identical mass and put them on elliptical trainers for the same amount of time at the same pace, they will do the exact same amount of work. What will differ is their individual perceptions of how the work "feels," which is based on things such as age, gender, physical fitness, lung capacity, etc.

But, if two people are on identical elliptical trainers and they are either two different masses or going at different speeds in the same duration of time, they will be doing different amounts of work.

I have found that most "machines" suck at calorie burn anyway. They have no real clue because even if they take HR into consideration, they don't normally have enough other data (body weight, power output...) to be anywhere near correct. Even if they did, I have yet seen a machine that also allows an individual to program in their identified HRmax which is critical in achieving a reasonable estimate.

For that reason, I always use my personal HRM (Polar 710i) to monitor my efforts. I have found it to be a very reasonable tool in terms of accurate data. No, I can't say that it is absolutely correct but I track my exercise and food intake with DIET POWER and my weight trends indicate that "the numbers" add up in a sensible way to expectations.

YMMV