Ellipitical trainers: what say you? Gimme the good, bad and ugly

[big whoppa]

I prefer spinning but elliptical machines give a good cardio workout. We have the Precor EFX with a monitor and dvd player for watching cable, dvds, or cds. As in most exercises, I think results will often vary based on intensity of workout. Many people I see who use this machine or others don't seem to break a sweat.

[jfoobar]

Originally Posted by al_bundy

just bought one of these babies today

OK, I recognize a bait casting reel when I see one but that has got to be the funkiest looking rod I have ever seen.

[Trigger]

fishing rod? I thought it was for turning and carving really short table legs.

[Buford T Pusser]

double oooffff!

I have one of those with the bracket to hold the front wheel and I never used it once.

[Buford T Pusser]

Originally Posted by Al Padrino

Maybe he's referring to the last portion of the thread title. At least, I hope so. Maybe he's just posting pics of people who endorse ellipticals.

hmmmm.

I would have expected pix from a spaghetti western.

[bigsoos]

my wife and I picked up this NordicTrack model from Sears:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...at=Ellipticals

good machine, resistance levels are very tough. You can also download fitness routines from the web (for a small fee).

[redinger]

Ever since I figured out I could play Halo 2 while using my elliptical, it's been my favorite form of exercise.

[al_bundy]

Originally Posted by JustinS

OK, I recognize a bait casting reel when I see one but that has got to be the funkiest looking rod I have ever seen.

It's a bike trainer

I have an older version of this bike



The back wheel goes in the trainer and you can ride without going anywhere

[Checkmate]

Here's my take:

Any machine is good as long as you use it. Which ever one gets you to excercise is good. With that being said you have to look at your goals when excercising. If you are trying to train for a 5K run or something, an eliptical is not the way to go. As I understand it runing outside is the hardest on your body (shins, knees, etc..). I run on a treadmill, so when I try and run outside it is a lot harder on my body to get used to it. I run for 30 minutes using interval training (1 minute walk, 1 minute run) on my treadmill and running outside still takes alot out of me. An eliptical is much easier than a treadmill and will be much harder to get used to running outside then with a treadmill.

If you are looking for a non-impact cardio machine, then the eliptical is the way to go. If on the other hand you don't have any impact problems, go with the treadmill. By the way for those of you that think you are burning more calories on a eliptical than anything else, you are way off. None of those measurements are accurate on any machine I have seen or used. Just my $.02

[Kittydreamer]

I have one and it sits upstairs in my bedroom collecting dust. My husband uses it to hang his bathrobe on. It's great.

[Tommy Ceez]

If you can read the paper, talk on the cell phone, work on your PDA, or play X-Box while doing your cardio...your NOT working hard enough.

After my eliptical time I have to sit on a gym bench and hold my head in my hands, actively choking back the vomit.

[Thor Simpson]

Originally Posted by Tommy Ceez

After my eliptical time I have to sit on a gym bench and hold my head in my hands, actively choking back the vomit.

See, I can do that with no exercise at all. Guess that means I'm in better shape than I thought?

[Buford T Pusser]

Tommy-you paint a pretty picture. I was 50-50 on getting one, but you've just moved the percentage to 52-48.

[redinger]

Originally Posted by Tommy Ceez

If you can read the paper, talk on the cell phone, work on your PDA, or play X-Box while doing your cardio...your NOT working hard enough.

After my eliptical time I have to sit on a gym bench and hold my head in my hands, actively choking back the vomit.

Yeah, sometimes I feel like this after playing HALO, too.