You’ve seen them. Rows and rows of people at the gym, staring at TV screens, legs moving in that rhythmic, oval-shaped loop while their arms lazily pull the handles. It looks easy. Maybe too easy? It’s why the "dreadmill" gets all the glory and the elliptical often gets relegated to the "recovery day" pile. People ask me all the time, is the elliptical a good workout, or am I just spinning my wheels?
The short answer? It’s a beast if you know how to use it. The long answer is a bit more complicated because, honestly, most people use it wrong. They lean on the handles, let momentum do the heavy lifting, and wonder why their fitness level hasn't budged in six months.
If you're looking for a way to torch calories without feeling like your knees are exploding, this is your machine. But you’ve got to stop treating it like a casual stroll through the park.
The Low-Impact Myth and Reality
People flock to the elliptical because it’s "low impact." That’s a medical fact. According to a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, the elliptical trainer significantly reduces weight-bearing pressure compared to running on a treadmill. But "low impact" doesn't mean "low intensity." That’s the trap.
Think about it this way. When you run, your foot hits the ground with a force of about 2.5 times your body weight. That’s a lot of shock for your ankles, knees, and hips to absorb. On an elliptical, your feet never leave the pedals. No impact. No jarring.
But here is where it gets interesting.
Because you aren't fighting gravity in the same way you do during a sprint, your brain tricks you. You feel like you aren't working as hard. Researchers call this the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE). Studies have shown that people on ellipticals often have a higher heart rate and oxygen consumption than they think they do. You might be burning 400 calories while feeling like you’ve only burned 200. That’s a massive win for consistency. If it doesn't hurt, you'll actually come back tomorrow.
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Why the "Glider" is Secretly a Total Body Tool
Most cardio is lower-body dominant. Running? Legs. Cycling? Legs. Rowing is the outlier, but let’s be real, most people’s rowing form is a disaster waiting to happen. The elliptical is unique because of those handles.
If you actually push and pull—I mean really engage your back, chest, and shoulders—you’re turning a cardio session into a full-body metabolic hit. You’re spreading the work across more muscle groups. This means you can sustain a higher heart rate for longer because no single muscle group is fatiguing as quickly.
Stop holding the stationary bars in the middle. You're cheating yourself. Grab the moving handles. Push with the heels of your hands. Pull with your elbows. Feel your core engage to stabilize your torso. Suddenly, is the elliptical a good workout stops being a question and starts being a physiological certainty.
Calorie Burn: The Numbers People Obsess Over
Let's talk cold, hard numbers. A 155-pound person can burn roughly 324 calories in 30 minutes on an elliptical. Compare that to a moderate pace on a stationary bike (about 250 calories) or a brisk walk (about 170 calories). It holds its own.
However, we need to address the "machine math." You know those digital displays that tell you you've burned 800 calories in an hour? They’re usually lying. Most gym equipment overestimates calorie burn by 20% to 30% because they don't account for your specific basal metabolic rate or the efficiency of your movement.
Don't chase the number on the screen. Chase the sweat on your forehead.
Resistance is Not Optional
This is the biggest mistake I see. People hop on, set the resistance to "1," and zip along at 100 RPMs. Their legs are flying, but there’s no tension. It’s like riding a bike downhill. It does almost nothing for your muscle tone or your bone density.
To make the elliptical a "good" workout, you need resistance. You should feel like you’re pushing through thick mud, not air. Higher resistance builds the glutes and hamstrings. It forces your heart to pump harder to get blood to those working muscles.
- Try this: Bump the resistance up to a level where you can’t talk in full sentences.
- Then: Reverse it.
Going backward on an elliptical isn't just a gimmick. It targets your quadriceps in a way that forward motion doesn't. It also challenges your coordination and hits your calves differently. A 2012 study in Gait & Posture found that backward elliptical exercise increased quadriceps activation and could be a vital tool in knee rehabilitation.
Comparing the Elliptical to the Treadmill
It’s the age-old gym rivalry. In one corner, the treadmill—the gold standard of heart health. In the other, the elliptical—the darling of the physical therapy world.
The treadmill is objectively "better" for building bone density because of the impact. Stressing the bones makes them stronger. If you’re a healthy 25-year-old with no joint issues, the treadmill might give you a slight edge in raw caloric burn because you have to lift your entire body weight off the ground with every stride.
But what if you have a lingering ACL injury? Or chronic lower back pain? Or you're carrying an extra 50 pounds that makes running feel like a punishment?
Then the treadmill is a liability. The elliptical allows you to reach the same cardiovascular zones—Zones 3, 4, and even 5—without the systemic inflammation that comes from pounding the pavement. For longevity, the elliptical often wins. You can't train if you're sidelined with a stress fracture.
How to Actually Get Results (The Plan)
If you want to stop wondering is the elliptical a good workout and start seeing the scale move, you need a strategy. Steady-state cardio is fine for heart health, but intervals are where the magic happens.
The "Power Hour" (That only takes 30 minutes)
- The Warm-up (5 mins): Start at a low resistance. Get the joints lubed up.
- The Build (5 mins): Every minute, increase the resistance by two notches. By the end of this, you should be breathing heavily.
- The Intervals (15 mins): * 45 seconds: Max effort. High resistance, high speed. Use those arms!
- 90 seconds: Recovery. Drop the resistance slightly but keep moving.
- Repeat this 6-8 times.
- The Reverse (3 mins): Switch to backward motion at a moderate resistance. Feel the burn in the front of your thighs.
- Cool Down (2 mins): Slow it down.
This isn't a leisure activity. This is a workout. If you do this three times a week, you will see a massive shift in your aerobic capacity.
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Common Pitfalls to Avoid
- The "Toe Lean": Many people put all their weight on their toes. This leads to numb feet and tight calves. Keep your feet flat. Push through your heels.
- The Slump: Don't hunch over the console. It kills your lung capacity and wrecks your posture. Stand tall. Imagine a string pulling the top of your head toward the ceiling.
- The Phone Trap: If you can scroll through TikTok while you're on the elliptical, you aren't working hard enough. Period.
Is it Good for Weight Loss?
Weight loss is 80% nutrition, but the elliptical is a fantastic tool for creating that necessary caloric deficit. Because it’s easier on the body, you can often go for 45 or 60 minutes without the "beat up" feeling that comes from an hour of running.
More minutes = more calories burned.
It’s also an incredible tool for "active recovery." On days when you’re too sore to lift weights or do a HIIT class, 20 minutes of light gliding gets the blood flowing to your muscles, flushing out waste products and helping you recover faster.
The Verdict on the Elliptical
Is it a good workout? Yes. Is it the best workout? That depends on your goals.
If you're training for a marathon, you need to run. If you're a powerlifter looking to stay lean without sacrificing strength, the elliptical is your best friend. It provides the cardiovascular stimulus you need without the eccentric load that interferes with muscle recovery.
It's a tool. Like a hammer or a scalpel, its effectiveness depends entirely on the person holding it. Stop treating it like a chair that happens to move. Treat it like a mountain you’re trying to climb.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check your heart rate: Use a wearable or the sensors on the machine. Aim for 70-85% of your max heart rate during your hard intervals.
- Adjust the incline: If your machine has an incline feature, use it. A higher incline mimics a stair-climbing motion, which targets the glutes and hamstrings even more aggressively.
- Mix it up: Don't do the same 30-minute program every day. Your body is an adaptation machine; it will get efficient at the movement, and you'll stop seeing results. Change the resistance, change the duration, and change the direction.
- Focus on the arms: For one minute out of every five, let your legs go on autopilot and use 90% arm power. You'll be surprised how quickly your heart rate spikes.