If you are new to your cross trainer, you need to make sure you introduce yourself slowly to the machine, to begin with, and warm yourself up before heading into intense physical activity.
There are many beginners workout routines you can do with an elliptical trainer to ease yourself in, but you should make sure your cross trainer workout is right for you, at a comfortable pace and the right duration.
So to help you out, we have composed a guide below that will go over how to use a cross trainer for a warm-up, how long should be using your elliptical trainer, how to perform beginner workout routines on your machine and our main teaching points to understand more about your cross-trainer.
If you are looking to do a full-body workout on either your treadmill or a different machine then an elliptical machine can be great for a warm-up.
This is because you have complete control over the resistance level, allowing you to set the cardio machine to activate your muscle activity and heart rate for warming up. They are typically low impact too, so will not tire you out too much before the main workout.
If you are wondering if cross trainers can be used for bodybuilding, this article will give you a detailed explanation.
If you want to warm up your legs muscles and body when using a cross trainer, you want to make sure you use your RPE to track how hard you are working. Your RPE refers to the rate of perceived exhaustion, or in other words, how much you feel you are working.
We have listed a short basic 10-minute warm-up to try on your cross trainer below.
There is lots of advice on how long you should work out with your cross trainer to get a good full-body workout in.
Typically, it is recommended to do at least 4x sessions a week for 30 minutes on your treadmill to get a recommended amount of exercise in as an adult per week.
But you should also consider your goals and time, for example, you might be keen to do 3x 20 minutes HIIT cardio workout programs to lose weight if you are short on time.
As a beginner, starting with 10 minutes on your cross trainer 3-4 times a week is a good way to ease yourself back into cardio exercise without burning yourself out. We would suggest upping the amount of time when you start to gain exercise confidence.
Doing 3-4 times 30-minute sessions on your cross trainer is more than enough for effective workouts, these can be used to help you lose weight or just maintain and improve your cardiovascular health.
Cross trainer elliptical workouts do not have to be exhausting as a beginner, they are simply about easing yourself back into a low-impact workout a couple of times per week.
We have listed a 25-minute beginner workout for you to try out below to get some calorie burning.
Cross trainers are a straightforward machine to understand once you get to know more about elliptical exercise and its benefits.
We have put together a shortlist of the main teaching points about using this low-impact cardio exercise machine below.
Cross trainers are great for losing weight, but to achieve results you have to make sure that you are watching your calorie intake and that you are in a deficit. You should be eating below your maintenance calories while working out with your cross-trainer at least 3-5 times a week to help with burning calories and fat.
Although cross trainers do target legs muscles, they are not the best for building muscle, instead, they tone it through resistance exercises. To avoid losing muscle make sure you are in a calorie surplus or to help tone your muscle you can try using a higher resistance exercise mode. Find out here if cross trainers are the best for building your muscles.
An elliptical exercise machine cannot help your spot reduce fat, but it can cause weight loss all over your body which might lead to reduced belly fat. Once again this has to be combined with a healthy diet and a calorie deficit, however.
Using a cross trainer is easy, just make sure that your weight is on your heels when you pedal, you make use of the handlebars and keep your back straight to avoid strain on the upper body.
What are the benefits of warming up with a cross-trainer?
Cross trainers are very low-impact machines, so are perfect for people who have knee issues or do not like the impact of normal running.
How many times a week should I use my cross trainer?
This all depends on your goal, for weight loss 4-5 times, but for beginners, 3x sessions a week is more achievable.
Can I use a cross-trainer to cool down?
Yes, just simply set your cross trainer to a comfortable pace and cool down for around 5 minutes until your heart rate starts to slow.
Overall, cross trainers are a great machine for warming up with or working out within general as a beginner, just ensure you follow a structured beginner workout plan like our one above and follow our main teaching points to understand more about your machine and what it can do for you.
What type of cross trainer you should use? Check this comparison between magnetic cross trainers and flywheel cross trainers.
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