The elliptical is one of the machines preferred by many in the gym: it is not as demanding as the treadmill (we can say that it is an intermediate step between walking and running) and it is very effective for a good cardio workout.

If you are a big fan of this machine or if you want to start using it, we give you the seven keys that you have to know to get an effective training on the elliptical .

• Perform a warm-up before starting to train: before starting to run or train in the fitness room we always do a warm-up, but it seems that we forget this when we get on the elliptical. Perform a warm-up in which we work the mobility of our joints (both legs and arms will come into play in our training) will benefit us to get the most out of the machine.
• Start slowly and watch the intensity increase : raising the pulsations little by little is basic when training on the elliptical or on any other cardio machine. Start pedaling at a gentle pace and increase the intensity as the minutes pass: you can dedicate about five minutes of your routine to this part of the workout.
• Maintain a correct posture throughout the training: some time ago we did a guide on how to maintain the correct posture on the elliptical , with the feet in the center of the pedals (if you put them too close to the front you will probably fall asleep with the passage of minutes), the shoulders and neck relaxed and the grip of the arms at the height of the elbow approximately (if you do not get well to the mobile bars it is preferable that you hold on to the fixed ones).
• Activate your core to improve posture: as the minutes go by in our training, fatigue usually appears, and with fatigue comes bad posture. To avoid throwing ourselves on the screen or console of the machine or letting us fall backwards, what we have to do is activate the internal muscles of our middle area, responsible for maintaining a correct posture. The axial elongation (imagine that a thread pulls your head towards the ceiling while pushing the pedals with your feet) will help you to achieve it.
• Stay properly hydrated: and train with appropriate clothing. If you are going to do hours and hours of elliptical without drinking any water and covered with three sweatshirts with the idea of ​​sweating to lose weight, you should know that besides it does not work (you will only lose water, but not fat) can be dangerous for you Health. Carry a bottle of water with you and train with breathable and cool clothes.
• Do not limit yourself to always roll at the same pace: cardiovascular training produces metabolic adaptations in our body. This means that the body gets used to work, if every day we do the same (imagine doing an hour of daily elliptical always at the same pace), and end up being more efficient: this means that after time you need to be more time pedaling to burn the same calories as at the beginning.A good alternative can be the training sessions with changes of rhythm , with an ascending rhythm ( here you have a session of music that you can downloadand that will mark the rhythm of the training) and, of course, combine the elliptical with strength training .
• Return to calm and stretching: when you are going to finish your training session, do not do it “out of hand”. It is better to spend five minutes at the end to make a return to calm reducing the intensity and speed and lowering the pulsations little by little. Also remember to perform a subsequent stretching insisting especially in the area of ​​the twin, which is the most often loaded when training on this machine.

With these tips you are ready to give everything on the elliptical and get an effective training. Now we just have to get down to work.