How to Actually Get a Good Workout on the Elliptical Machine

By Alison Feller, Greatist
To reap maximum benefits, put away distractions and pick up interval training.

Doing the same workout day after day may be effective at first, but it will eventually lead to a fitness plateau.
Out of all the cardio machines, the elliptical probably gets the most side-eye. People tend to think it's boring and ineffective (research even says so!), and the go-to source for an easy, mindless workout, if even that. But it turns out there are plenty of science-backed benefits to the elliptical, like raising your heart rate even more than the treadmill and improving fitness just as efficiently as the treadmill or Stairmaster.

What's more, there's actually a right and wrong way to use it. With the correct form and plan of attack, you can get a truly killer workout on the machine. To find out how to make the most of every stride, we asked top fitness experts for their best advice, plus an effective 20-minute workout.

Do: Make a plan before hitting “start.”

Before even stepping foot on the machine, set an intention for the workout. “Ask yourself what you want to achieve that day,” says Leanne Weiner, a personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist. “Then monitor your perceived level of exertion — where zero is like going for a leisurely stroll and at 10 you’re completely out of breath — throughout the workout to make sure you’re not just dialing

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Train Like an Olympian With Lindsey Vonn's Lower-Body Workout

Lindsey's lower-body workout torches calories and builds muscle in all the right places.

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1.Tone your legs and thighs

by Alison Prato

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Why not train like an Olympian? Lindsey is sharing her secrets. These moves tone and trim everything from your core to the floor. Do this series three or four times a week, and a better bottom half awaits. 

2.Single-Leg Box Squat

Stand on right leg in front of a plyo box (or bench), with toes of left foot resting on box and arms at sides, an 8-pound dumbbell in each hand (A). Lower body down until right leg forms a 90-degree angle (B). Return to "A." Do 10 to 12 reps, then switch legs and repeat.

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3.Single-Leg Lift

Start on hands and knees, with abs tight (A). Squeeze butt as you lift left leg up to form a 90-degree angle (B). Return to start. Do 10 to 12 reps, then switch legs and repeat.

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Exercising With Physical Limitations

As Dom Lassonde felt the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis creep into his body, the 40-year-old Vancouver Islander knew he needed a different way to stay fit. The autoimmune disease inflamed his synovial membranes—a connective tissue in joints that produces lubricating fluid for smooth movement—so much it felt like shards of glass were lining his joints. Ultimate Frisbee and hockey, two of his regular activities, were no longer feasible. 

After beginning a new medication regime about a year after his diagnosis, Lassonde could cycle and swim—activities that put less stress on his joints. He was right to keep moving: according to the American College of Rheumatology, regular aerobic exercise, especially when combined with strength training, can reduce joint pain.

Lassonde is one of many Canadians living with a physical limitation that makes exercise difficult. Two common issues, chronic pain and heart disease—which affect 3.9 million and 1.3 million Can­adians, respectively—make it challenging for individuals to achieve the 150 minutes of weekly moderate aer­obic exercise, or cardio, recommended by the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines (CPAG). 

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