The Elliptical Machine

...Among the Top Calorie Burning Machines for Home Cardio Workouts

The current lineup of home elliptical machines are affordable and they don't take up too much space in your home. They plug into regular household AC outlets and are much quieter compared to treadmills.


While treadmills are still used widely, elliptical machines are fast becoming the preferred machine to exercise aerobic and anaerobic workouts for those who suffer from minor joint arthritis and patients with a rehab condition.


With an elliptical training machine, there is no impact on the feet at all, as on a treadmill. The way they are designed makes them easy to use and they have a low impact on joints such as the knees and ankles, which normally take a beating in other exercises, such as running.

The user simply places his or her feet into the machine's pedals and simulates the acts of walking or running in fluid, continuous movements.


However, there is a unique function on these machines that separates the elliptical machine from many other aerobic exercise machines when it comes to motion. That function is the forward and reversible feature on the foot pedals.


What to Look for in Elliptical Machine

Some of the brands like, the Precor elliptical trainer, has several programs, an optional heart-rate monitor, up to 20 resistance levels (that's plenty), an incline that adjusts from 12 to 25 degrees (a very important feature) and a long, 19-inch stride. This makes it one of the largest home models, with a footprint measurement of 75 x 30 inches.


Some elliptical models incorporate arm movements (a better choice) and others do not. The arm movements give you some upper body endurance; so, for the busy women who are trying to burn calories and trim down in a short time, the weight-bearing arm/leg exercise optimizes energy expenditure very effectively.


Also look for a good warranty for parts and labor. One year is much better than the 90 days warranty which tells that the machine is not that of a quality if it has only 90 days.

Wrap Up

Here is another effective aerobic/anaerobic machine beside a treadmill to decide which one fits you best for your indoor/home workout. Make sure you do your research between the home and commercial grade of Elliptical machines, and then look for the other features listed here…

- Has upper body training (moving arms)

- Good warranty service includes: parts/electronics 1 to 3 years (ideally 3 years). Labor: 1 year

- The foot pedals function in a forward and reverse motion.

- Has an incline feature with different levels

By all means this list is not an extensive list. So make sure you review different brands and test out some of them to see which one you like the best.