Elliptical trainers allow you to run hard and as fast as you can without enduring the recurrent, high impact paces of a treadmill run. However, a few disadvantages counteract these significant benefits. Luckily, you can prevent most of the elliptical dangers by either deciding your purchase wisely or investing in the machine for home exercise or taking some practical precautions, both in the gym and at home.
Protect all family members by closing the trainer off in a particular area if you can. If you’re unable to keep the elliptical away, pick a machine that includes a locking pin that will hold the handlebars and pedals motionless until detached. We’re going to explain the dangers of using elliptical machines, so keep on!
Missing Links
An elliptical machine offers cardio workout, but the low impact training you get doesn’t provide a great way to build muscle endurance. The little impact training also doesn’t deliver bone intensifying of weight-bearing workouts. Hence, you might have to include muscle and bone-strengthening training to your program. Speak with your doctor if you’re someone that needs low impact training.
Calorie Evaluations
For someone who weighs 155 pounds can burn 335 calories on an elliptical machine in just 30 minutes. This is on top of many exercises like low impact and high impact aerobics, lift weights, and modest cycling on an exercise bike. But you will burn calories more on other kinds of activities like stable cycling on an exercise bike, high impact step workouts and running at a 6-mph speed or faster.
Detachment Between Pedal and Foot
The worst danger of exercising on an elliptical is a detachment between the pedal and the foot. As per Cie Scott, author of the “Apparatus and Method for Enhanced Training Using an Elliptical Exercise Machine,” it can lead to lift-off and slippage of the foot. What happens in lift-off is you miss the touch between the pedal and your stand, and in slippage, your foot slipped out of the cycle. Either could provoke you to slide or, worse, fall off. Using gym shoes with good tread can lessen lift-off and slippage as the feet can clutch the cycles. Set the machine at a pace that you’re comfortable with if it’s moving too fast, more chances are your stand will slide off the cycle.
Body Mechanics
Running on a treadmill allows you to adjust the pace provided that you can match with the moving belt. However, on an elliptical, you’re stuck at the trainer’s fixed rhythm, which can substantially change your body mechanics. Test driving the machine for 10 minutes is one of the smartest methods of ensuring you invest in the right equipment. In fitness centers, use your 10 minutes to familiarize yourself with the motion of an elliptical. If you feel the movement isn’t smooth and regular, take your feet around in the cycles, correct the elliptical speed-length or slope, or change to a different model or brand.
Not the Right Choice
Ellipticals are not for everyone. Although these machines are safe on the knees, they might cause knee pain if you have knee problems or injuries. If so, an exercise bike or different kind of workout endorsed by a doctor or fitness coach might be for you. If you’re training for a marathon, a road running or treadmill will help you condition your body for running movements much better than an elliptical. However, it will offer some cross-training and change.
Wrong Use of Foot Straps
Quality straps help your stand from sliding off the cycles. But the wrong usage of these straps can cause fractures or wounds. If you can propel your feet over 1 cm in any way, the foot strap could slip off, having your stand to slide on the cycles. Likewise, if these straps are excessively tight, you might lose movement, and your position might feel numb. When strapping your feet, be sure that these straps feel comfortable, but not painful. Observe the straps during exercise, tighten if it loosens, and loosens if it’s very tight.
Reduced Circulation
The disadvantage of cycling an elliptical trainer is because your feet never take-off the pedals and your ankles don’t connect as they do during walking. You may suffer decreased circulation and casual discomfort in the feet and ankle bone. Resting to switch your feet in the pedals can lessen the pain, as well as having an elliptical that suits your speed-length is very important.
Malfunctions
If a part of the trainer malfunctions while you’re on it, you might fall or be injured. Most fitness-quality ellipticals are designed to endure continuous, heavy usage from people of all sizes; hence, if the gym equipment is correctly maintained and used as directed, the risk of danger is minimal. However, cheap home elliptical, which is made with less-durable parts and design and are assembled by nonprofessional and less maintenance than gym equipment, poses a higher hazard. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is an exceptional resource for checking which brands and models of the machine were subjected to recalls because of failure.
Overtraining
In the study “Research Consortium Exercise Physiology & Fitness and Health Poster Session” that was conducted by Diana Avans in 2005 using elliptical trainers to achieve the highest heart rhythm can result in overtraining. If you engage in a very demanding workout session and find it difficult to recover, it leads to exhaustion, reduced physical activity, and slight injuries. She discovered that to get a maximum heartbeat, veteran elliptical users who set the trainer at a very high endurance had a difficult time maintaining the workout. If you want to achieve the best heart rate, remember that you probably could not do this while exercising on the elliptical. You can also monitor your progress like the calories burned, pace, or range.
Not Helpful for All Sports
Although there are various sports and physical performances that you will enjoy using the elliptical trainer, it isn’t for everyone.
If the sport you’re playing involves jogging or running, perhaps a treadmill is for you. The reason is the movement linked with elliptical training is not the same as running, like sprinting on a treadmill.
Reminders
Like many workouts, the elliptical trainer can be risky if you are not familiar with how it works. If you’re not confident that you’re using the machine properly, talk to your coach or gym representative to learn the basics. Always stretching and warm-ups before and after working out in the trainer. Limit your use to half an hour three times per week to avoid the risk of muscle injury. Never forget to stay hydrated always. If you feel exhausted or parched, stop and drink more water.
