What is a cross trainer good for?

  • Cardio
  • Calorie burning
  • Upper body
  • Lower body
  • Low impact

What exactly is a cross trainer?

A cross trainer or elliptical trainer, as it is sometimes known, is a fantastic piece of equipment for an all round exercise routine. It is similiar to jogging on a treadmill but the combination of working your lower body, your arms and your shoulders provides a tougher, and lower impact workout session.

Many will contain a variable resistance and onboard computers to calculate speed, distance travelled and pulse readings.

Cross trainer workout techniques

The resistance built into cross trainers allows for a varied workout. A slow and easy warm-up period can completed before moving onto a more intensive work out. It is the ideal piece of equipment to allow for High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), increasing your speed and/or resistance for short periods of time and then slowing down to recover, but with out stopping.

A 30 minute training session can burn 500 calories or more so it can be more effective than an exercise bike or treadmill.

Cross trainer varieties

Stationary arm bars – cross trainers can come without the moving arm bars and are provided with a stationary bar for balance. Rather than a full all over workout the stationary arm bar cross trainer only provides a lower body workout.

Two-in-one – with a seat, this is both a cross trainer and also an exercise bike in one, ideal if you are short on space.

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