First time Eliptical User

SparkPoints: (34,069)
Fitness Minutes: (30,364)
Posts: 1,306
2/1/13 7:13 P

Go slow at first with low resistance. You will have some soreness at first. Take an anti-inflammatory like ibuprophen if it's okay with your doctor. It's great, I use my laptop on mine while I exercise but don't knock yours off like I have mine many times.

Good luck!

Pounds lost: 26.0

0 7.5 15 22.5

30

SparkPoints: (345)
Fitness Minutes: (305)
Posts: 15
2/1/13 6:41 P

Don't judge yourself by a level on a machine. Instead think about how hard you were working. Think of a scale of your effort from 1(easy) to 10(reallly really hard) and you should be working between level 6 and 8 (remember this is how you feel NOT the level on the machine) for around half an hour.

It sounds like you were putting in a lot of effort which is great! The elliptical is a lot harder because you have to use your upper body as well as your lower, and you are using not only your own body weight, but the resistance of the machine as well. Keep going, and each time you use it, try and beat your time or go a little further. This will keep you pushing yourself and increasing your fitness levels.

Eli
www.elikingfitness.com

Posts: 33,293
2/1/13 5:43 P

It's not really about how far you went and how quickly. Heck, if it was, nobody would ever get off level 1 cos you can go the fastest on that!

Just keep doing it at a level that feels challenging. You'll find you can increase the machine's level as you get fitter.

SparkPoints: (5,391)
Fitness Minutes: (2,023)
Posts: 823
2/1/13 3:55 P

Im not an expert by any means but id say it depends on your weight, heart rate, etc. I have an elliotical machine and can do a resistance or level 4 and do about 13mph, I usually do about 30 to 35 minutes and im sweating and tired. I do this several times a week.

current weight: 198.6

224 205.5 187 168.5

150

Posts: 2
2/1/13 3:20 P

I work out 4-5 times a week and consider myself in pretty good shape. I walk, do home dvd's that incorporate strength and cardio. It has been so cold here that I have been unable to go on my 2 miles walks. I walk 2 miles in about 35 minutes. I do not know if that is good or bad??? I went to the gym today (which I NEVER do, I'm a home workout person) and did the eliptical for the first time today. I think I was on level 1 and I went 1.5 miles in 25 minutes. Is that good, bad, average???? I was sweating like a ran a marathon but unsure of what is a good workout on the eliptical.