Elliptical Trainer

How to do it

1. Step onto the pedals and take the moving handles, or the fixed bars if you want the arms out of it.
2. Stand tall with the feet flat on the pedals and the weight through the whole foot.
3. Start pedalling forward in the machine's oval path, letting the handles move with the stride.
4. Push with the legs and pull-and-push with the arms in opposition, as in walking.
5. Keep the hips and shoulders facing forward and the head level.
6. Adjust the resistance and the incline for the effort you want.

Common mistakes

• Rising onto the toes. The heel stays down on the pedal; pedalling on the toes tires the calves and lifts the hips.
• Leaning on the fixed bars. Resting the body weight on the bars takes most of the effort away; they are for balance.
• Letting the machine's momentum do the work. If the pedals keep moving when you stop pushing, the resistance is too low.
• Locking the knees at the front. The knee stays soft through the whole path; a straight-leg push at the front jars the joint.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Quads

Secondary

• Calves
• Glutes
• Hamstrings