How Effective Is An Elliptical Trainer At Burning Calories?

Elliptical trainers are an excellent way to improve your health. This fitness machine can improve cardiovascular function, increase fitness, strengthen muscles, and build bone density. One of the most sought after benefits of exercise is to burn calories. How many calories you burn on an elliptical depends on a number of factors, as this machine allows the user a variety of workout routines that can have a significant impact on how many calories you burn off during that workout.

Basically, the amount of calories you burn when exercising on an elliptical trainer depends on 3 things, your weight, the intensity of the workout, and the duration of your workout.

Your weight - The amount of calories you expend during exercise depends on how big you are. Harvard Medical School says that, in general, during a half hour workout on an elliptical trainer, you will burn 270 calories if you weigh 125, 335 calories if you weigh 155, and 400 calories if you weigh 185. These are very basic statistics that have been generalized. The amount of calories expended can vary greatly depending on the intensity of the elliptical workout.

Intensity of Your Workout - Elliptical trainers have a number of features that allow you to vary the intensity of your workout. You can increase the intensity by moving the pedals faster which increases your strides per minute. The higher end models will count and display strides per minute for you. You can also increase the intensity by setting the resistance at 

a higher level. An elliptical with moving handlebars will allow you to work your upper body as well, making you expend more energy and burn more calories. Some machines allow you to vary the incline, and increasing the incline will also cause you to burn more calories per hour. Interval training will ramp up the intensity of your workout considerably. 

Instead of staying at one speed throughout your workout, increase the resistance setting for 30 to 60 seconds, recover at a lower setting for 30 to 60 seconds and repeat this cycle for 10 to 20 minutes or longer depending on your level of fitness. Interval workouts challenge your heart and muscles to work harder for short bursts, which causes your body to 

work harder and burn more calories. You can get an idea of how intensity affects calories burned by going to caloriesperhour.com. According to this website a 150 pound person who does 60 strides a minute with a resistance of 4 (out of 20) will burn about 200 calories in an hour. That same 150 pound person will burn 382 calories an hour by increasing their strides per minute to 70 and the resistance to 10.

Duration Of Your Workout - This is pretty simple, the longer the workout the more calories you burn. So if you double the length of your workout you will burn twice as many calories.

If you are looking for an exercise routine to burn calories you should try an elliptical workout. A higher end new or used elliptical has all the features you need to design a workout that can maximize calorie burn based on your fitness level.

Consider purchasing a health club quality used arc trainer or elliptical trainer that has been professionally refurbished from [http://www.ellipticaltrainersdepot.com]. Purchasing a refurbished elliptical or arc trainer can save you 50% or more off the price of a new machine, which makes it more affordable for you to own the top brands such as a used Precor elliptical, refurbished Life Fitness, or a Cybex arc trainer.

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Diet And Exercising For Weight Loss

Obesity is now being called an epidemic in the health community. In fact, it will soon be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, even ahead of cigarette smoking. Obesity leads to type two diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke and even 

an increased risk of cancer. With all of these health risks, as well as the general improvement in the quality of life that can occur, losing weight is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.

No matter what we would like to believe, there simply isn’t a magic solution to losing weight. The body will shed excess fat when it needs more calories to function through the demands you place on it in a given day than the amount of calories that you feed it. It’s that simple. So, in order to lose weight, you need to decrease the number of calories that you eat as well as increase the amount that you burn.

There is a wide range of options to choose from when looking for a weight loss program. All of them often spend a lot of time explaining what to eat, in what amounts and even at what times or in what combinations. But few of them emphasize the importance of exercise – not just for losing weight, but for your general health and wellbeing. Exercise is vital when trying to lose weight for several reasons:

First, as you start to eat less, your metabolism will slow down somewhat. Exercising helps to elevate your metabolism back to an efficient level.Second, as mentioned, exercise burns more calories so that you can lose weight faster and stay motivated in your efforts.Third, exercise actually releases endorphins, chemicals that keep your mood elevated.

Exercise doesn’t have to mean spending hours at the gym or straining through exhausting workouts. In fact, in order for you to stick with it on the long run, exercising should be something that you enjoy. Start by increasing your activity level in an overall way. Take the stairs when you can. Park further from the mall door when you go shopping. Go for a walk in the park or through a neighborhood you love and bring a dog or a friend along for company. Take dance or martial arts lessons.

Once you become more active in general, you’ll find it easier and more natural to move into regular exercise. Which you’ll need to do eventually in order to get regular, noticeable health benefits. You need to raise your heart rate to a fat burning level and keep it there for at least 20 minutes, 3 times or more a week. However, if you don’t want to go to a gym, there are other options. Videos and DVDs are now available in all kinds of exercise types. That way you can change your routine whenever you want so that you don’t get bored with what you’re doing. Try a range of aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, or pretty much any activity you want right in the comfort of your own home.

If you have physical limitations that would keep you off from exercising, you can still find a way to increase your activity level. Water aerobics is a wonderful option for those who have joint problems or limited mobility because it relieves the pressure on your body that your weight provides. But you still get the resistance to challenge your muscles from the water. There are even classes and videos available that let you exercise in a seated position.

Whatever kind of exercise you choose, it’s important to stay motivated and keep it fun. Try gathering a group together to make it a social event. Or get a pedometer, a device that tracks how far you walk, and see how many miles you can walk a week. Make a competition amongst your friends or family members and treat the winner with something special (not food related!). Make the experience of exercising something that you look forward to, and it will soon become a regular part of your healthier lifestyle.

4 Strength-Endurance Goals for 2013

Many strength athletes are creatures of habit. They do the same thing day in and day out. They get big, they get strong, but sometimes they get bored! And how do you cure boredom? Set a challenge! Forget about adding more weight to the bar - do something different. In fact, forget the bar altogether. Set a challenge that involves strictly your body weight - something for your upper body, lower body and core. Here are four strength-endurance goals that any bodybuilder or powerlifter should be able to do and if you can't, then you must! The challenge has been set..