|
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A CROSS TRAINER/ELLIPTICAL.
MAIN BENEFITS.
One of the newer categories of home fitness equipment. Cross trainers are extremely
popular now, predominately as they are so low impact and don’t put any
stress on any joints. Also they provide an upper body workout as the arms are
moving at the same time as the legs. If the resistance is at a high level they
will also help slightly improve muscle tone in the arms and legs, hence the
name cross trainer are they are combining aerobic and resistance training. There
two main types of elliptical: = ‘Front Driven’ and ‘Rear Driven’.
The ‘front driven’ has a shallower elliptical movement and feels
a little like running. The ‘rear driven’ has a deeper elliptical
movement and feels a little more like a stepper. Generally in many years of
selling ellipticals and watching people test them I have observed that females
prefer the rear driven and men prefer the front driven!! It is also possible
to move backwards on an elliptical this places more emphasis on the muscles
in the back of the leg and the bottom, and helps improve tone in these area’s
. It also increases variety whilst training. They are suitable for most levels
of fitness from novice to accomplished athlete. I would say they are probably
not the best choice for older people as they maybe a little to taxing even on
the easiest level. Also they do require a small degree of coordination and a
minority of people find them a little difficult to start with. Some model’s
will fold away to save space when not in use. Elliptical’s improve general
health and well being in many ways. When used at a comfortable level for 30
minutes 3 times per week they will reduce blood pressure, reduce the risk of
heart problems, reduce the risk of diabetes, help lower body fat levels and
not stress any joints. When used at a moderate to higher level they are excellent
for body fat loss. This is due to the fact they are so low impact so minimum
muscle tissue will lost when training at mid and high levels.
People wishing to lose body fat but maintain maximum muscle tissue, such as
bodybuilders, could happily choose an elliptical to train on at a low to moderate
level.
Even though they are low impact they do provide a very good workout and it is
possible to elevate heart rate to very high levels (+90% of Maximum Heart Rate).
In the home fitness buyers guide cross trainers are given a high fat loss score,
this is due to the fact they are so low impact so whilst using very little muscle
tissue should be lost so the ratio of fat loss is higher.
KEY FEATURES.
1. WARRANTY.
First of all it would be wise to decide how long you intend to keep the Elliptical.
If you think you will change it in a few years for an updated model or different
type of equipment then the length of warranty is not as critical. If however
you think you will keep for a long time then go for a model with a good warranty.
Also consider the parts and labour cover this usually ranges from 1 to 3 years.
2. FLYWHEEL WEIGHT.
This will be given on most models except maybe the most basic. It is measured
in Kilogram’s. It determines how smooth the movement is on the elliptical.
On very basic models the elliptical can feel like it is ‘sticking’
at the top point of the movement. This means the user has to apply more pressure
at the top of the movement which is sometimes not good for your knees. It also
makes the machine slightly less comfortable to use. The higher the value of
the flywheel weight the smoother the movement on the elliptical.
3. RESISTANCE LEVELS.
This indicates the range of resistance levels the machine is capable of. The
lower the value the easier it is to move the elliptical through the movement.
The higher the value the harder it is to move the elliptical through the movement.
Obviously the more levels of resistance there are the more variety available.
You could use a low resistance level at high speed to increase the heart rate.
Or you could use a high resistance level at low speed to increase the heart
rate. The second option will also improve muscle tone in the lower parts of
the body, but will not increase stress impact.
4. MAXIMUM WEIGHT OF USER.
Quite explanatory just ensure you select a cross trainer with a heavy enough
weight limit. There is a little more to this though the more sturdy and robust
model’s tend to have heavier user weight limits. So even if you are no
where near the top limit it may be worth considering as an indication of the
robustness of the machine.
5. INCLINE.
A very few top of the range models will have a motorized incline. This is a
feature only found before on gym ellipticals. The incline feature lets you increase
the intensity and vary the workout.
6. PROGRAMS.
Most machines except the very basic will have some form of program. Some have
as many as 22! I will describe below the different types. The main benefits
are variety, safety, effectiveness of training, detailed feedback of progress
and individual monitoring of progress. Some models offer a recovery mode; although
this is not a program it measures how quickly the heart rate decreases after
training and is a recognised measure of fitness level.
MANUAL. The user varies all the components. I.e. Speed, time and incline.
PRE-SET PROGRAMS. Set by the computer. For example Hill run or Weight Loss.
These are fixed in time length and the computer will vary the speed and incline.
On some models it is possible to increase or decrease the speed and incline.
HEART RATE PROGRAMS. These are probably the safest and also most effective method
of training. The user chooses a target heart rate zone and the machine will
increase or decrease speed or incline to ensure the heart rate is kept within
the zone.
USER PROGRAMS. This is the ability of the computer to store individual data
for people and store and retrieve the programs they have designed themselves.
Some models will only store 1 set of data, some will store 5.
7. PIVOTING FOOTPLATES.
Some models will have pivoting footplates. This means as you use the cross trainers
the foot plates you are standing on change angle to match your natural foot
position. The benefit of this is there is no over stretching of Achilles tendon
or ankle.
RECOMMENDED MODELS.
MARCY STRATUS ELLIPTICAL 284
BREMSHEY CONTROL ELLIPTICAL 475
HORIZON ANDES 408 ELLIPTICAL 599
|
