Are you ready to lose some weight? You may have tried any number of diets and workout schemes. If the weight on your hips, legs, thighs, and butt still refuses to come off, it’s time to get serious.
You can move up to the big leagues with a new style of exercise. This is the elliptical workout and it’s here to reshape your body and fire you up with the fastest and most effective weight loss you’ve ever experienced.
Here are six of the best, most common, and effective elliptical workouts for you to start off with. You will notice that a number of relatively quick and simple exercises are alternated on this list with a number of more complex and intense workouts. This is to help you avoid burnout.
Table of Contents
Stand Up and Pedal Backward
Here’s a simple but handy elliptical workout to start your day. Stand up on the platform. Keep your feet toward the backside. Get a firm but comfortable grip on the handlebars.
Now begin pedaling but do so in a backwards motion as if you need to kick the platform away from your body. This is a very efficient exercise that will benefit your hamstrings and rear end.
Build Up Steam, Push, and Maintain
To perform this simple but effective elliptical exercise, you first need to warm up for 2 minutes at a slow but steady Resistance Level 3. Work up to Resistance Level 4 and hold there for a minute, then spiral up to Resistance Level 5 for a total of 2 minutes. Release and relax.
You will then be ready to perform the actual workout. This is a six minute exercise that is designed to be repeated for a total of 3 times.
- Your interval of build up will be one minute at Resistance Level 10
- Your period of recovery will be 30 seconds at Resistance Level 5
- Your push interval will be 45 seconds at Resistance Level 15
- Your period of recovery will be 45 seconds at Resistance Level 5
- Your maintain level will be a total of 30 seconds at Resistance 20
- Take some time to recover, a total of 60 seconds at Resistance Level 5
- If you want to pursue a more efficient recovery period, take a further 90 seconds at Resistance Level 5
Take 2 minutes to cool down, then repeat.
Look Ma, No Hands!
Are you looking for an exercise you can perform with no hands? To perform this simple but challenging exercise, you will need to move up to a higher level of resistance.
Plant your heels firmly at the rear of the platform. Clasp your hands in front of your chest, then hinge your hips back. The idea is to get a squat that inclines down as low as you can go. Press down your heels and begin pedaling backward.
Maximum Intensity
If you want to go to maximum intensity, you can try the following elliptical workout on a Nu-Step machine.
First, the warm up. Do 2 minutes at 110-130 steps per minute. Don’t worry about the level of resistance. The point is to be able to breath easy as you exercise. Don’t push too hard at this point.
Take the next 3 minutes at a somewhat faster pace. Move your steps per minute up to about 140-150. This should bring you up to a medium level of exertion.
Now it’s time for the Intervals. Adjust your speed to a higher level of intensity as you perform the following program twice:
- 10 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of relaxation
- 20 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of relaxation
- 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of relaxation
- 40 seconds of work followed by 40 seconds of relaxation
- 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of relaxation
- 20 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of relaxation
- 10 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of relaxation
Now for the cool down. Lower your steps per minute as well as your resistance back down to your initial warm up level. Slow down and come to a stop. Then repeat.
Ultimate Single Leg Ab Crunch Workout
Are you ready to flatten your abs? This handy elliptical exercise may just do the trick.
First, set your resistance level to a nice medium. Hold on tight to the handles. Lift up your right foot from the platform. Draw your knee up to your chest as you do so.
At this point, perform a quick crunch. After you do so, kick out with your right foot. This will give you the momentum you need to move up to the next level.
As you level upward, use your left foot to pedal in a forward motion. After you have pedaled as long as you are comfortable with, switch over to your right leg. Repeat the exercise, alternating between your right and leg foot for as long as you are able to.
Burn Up Your Body Fat
Next on our list of elliptical exercises is one that is expressly designed to burn up your body fat. This exercise should be performed on an elliptical machine with arms.
- First, do 5 minutes of basic warm up at Resistance Level 7.
- Follow it with 1 minute at Resistance Level 8. Go to 60.
- 1 minute at Resistance Level 9. Go to 55.
- 1 minute at Resistance Level 10. Go to 50.
- Take a minute to recover at Level 7. Stay at 50.
- Next, 1 minute at Resistance Level 8. Go to 60.
- 1 minute at Resistance Level 9. Go to 55.
- 1 minute at Resistance Level 10. Go to 50.
- 1 minute to recover. Go down to Resistance Level 7 and 50.
- 1 minute at Resistance Level 8. Go to 60.
- 1 minute at Resistance Level 9. Go to 55.
- 1 minute at Resistance Level 10. Go to 50.
- Now, take 5 minutes to relax at Resistance Level 7.