» Your Questions About Elliptical Resistance Problems

Your Questions About Elliptical Resistance Problems

Written by john on August 11, 2011 – 4:20 pm -

Donald asks…

Elliptical machine help?

Recently I got an elliptical machine and while it wasn’t an expensive type, it wasn’t a cheap either.
Anyways, my friend helped me put it together and the thing has really tight resistance. I only have it set to level 1 manual and it is too hard to use. I am worn out after only 5 minutes. And the incline? Forget it.
I have never had this problem on an elliptical and was wondering if there is a way to loosen the resistance any?
(I’ve read the manual–doesn’t say anything about it)

Answer:

When you were assembling it you probably done something wrong with the resistance. You might have put the piece(s) in the wrong way, or maybe tightened something too much, when I bought a multigym I had the same problem then I realised that I put the cable reels in the wrong way and tightened the bolt too much, hope it helps.

Linda asks…

Elliptical Orbitrack at home..will it help tune a pear-shaped bottom?

I’ll start my diet tomorrow, will wake up and walk for 30 mins, do workouts on my matt then use a machine to do the rest workouts at home (no more money nor time for a gym). I didnt buy the machine yet but am confused my problem areas are hips and bottom, should I buy an elliptical orbitrack?(http://www.thane.com/products/fitness/orbitrekplatinum/orbitrek.php)
AND which 1: 2 arms or 4 arms?
or a sport bike (http://www.overstock.com/Sports-Toys/Stamina-Magnetic-Resistance-Upright-Bike/3465505/product.html)
Thanx
uha and a good meal plan will be appreciated too LOL
i dont hate my shape am 5.5 and 138 lbs, with big boobs, big bottom, small waist but all i want is to embrace my curves dont wanna erase them. i live in egypt (am egyptian) and believe me even foreigners i met love my figure, and i look good when am toned and weight around 58-60 kgs. i dont hate my shape am 5.5 and 138 lbs, with big boobs, big bottom, small waist but all i want is to embrace my curves dont wanna erase them. i live in egypt (am egyptian) and believe me even foreigners i met love my figure, and i look good when am toned and weight around 58-60 kgs

Answer:

Pearshape is GENETIC. It is pretty much impossible to get rid of it completely – so don’t have any high hopes :/ sorry just need to warn you about that!!!

Anyway – If you need to get a machine, get a running machine.

Why? With bikes or ellipticals, people ‘think’ they’re exercising and loosing weight but they’re really not. All they’re doing is letting the machine do the work for them – they never do it properly cause it needs ALOT of speed and resistance to make it effective…

Get a track-running thing. It’s SO much better and will work wonders, like 10x faster than an elliptical. The main thing is to get your heart beat up and pumping for 20 minutes – after that, you start to burn fat, so continue on for 15 minutes of good heart pumping exercise.

If you aren’t breathing heavily, sweating or panting after a workout – YOU HAVEN’T DONE A THING.

Diet: stick to 3 small meals and 2 small snacks in between – Avoid carbohydrates FOREVER. Focus on Vegetables and fruits because these will help shed weight.

And remember, pear shape is genetic – my friend is a super workout freak and she has, and always will have, a pearshaped body. But don’t fret, she’s sexy too! Pear shaped people can be sexy if they aren’t so shy!

Ken asks…

I just bought an elliptical trainer… Now what?

Today I am picking up my elliptical trainer I bought. It’s really nice with adjustable resistance, digital meters, etc and I can’t wait to use it! But, I need some advice on how to use it effectively so that I can actually tone up and get into shape.

I have never been the athletic type, so this is a big step for me (but a positive one, since I really want to get into shape so that I can be athletic) and I don’t want to end up killing myself in the first week of doing this. However, I still want to be doing something right and effective.

I am not terribly overweight. I have some problem areas to work on, but I only need to lose about 10-15lbs. I am 125lbs, and for the record, only 5’3″. Can anyone give me some pointers on what will get me into better shape? My problem areas are my upper arms (flabby), my thighs and butt, and my love handles.
I don’t know what the ‘fat burning program’ is. There are loads of different elliptical trainers out there, but mine didn’t come with any programs. Just the machine.

Answer:

Well, go at a steady pace, and drink plenty of water to keep you hydrated is my first tip.

Also, do it for as long as you can and time yourself. Do it about 3 times a week to help you improve stamina on top of getting in shape. Hopefully you should improve by a little time each week. Set yourself a target, for instance ‘to improve by a minute each week’. Make it realistic too!

One last thing – warm up and stretch to ensure you don’t get any injuries!

Ruth asks…

How many calories does an elliptical burn?

The machine I’ve been doing my workouts on is a Elliptical PS900 by True Fitness.

About every hour or so during the night, I sneak in 5 minutes on it (enough to burn some calories without getting sweaty) with the resistance set to 14, my weight entered as 195 and with it on the Manual setting (resistance does not change during the workout).

After I get off work in the morning, I change clothes and spend 40 minutes on it with the resistance set to 9, my weight entered as 195 and with it on the Fat Burn setting (every 2.5 minutes, resistance goes up, up, up, up, down, up, down, up, down, down, unchanged, down, down, stop).

According to the machine’s readout, I burn 78 calories on the 5 minute workouts and 506 calories on the 40 minute workouts. But there’s a problem. In figuring the calories burned, the machine’s electronics only takes my weight and the resistance level into account. Speed is not taken into account. I could be going 20rpm’s or 100rpm’s and the amount of calories it says I’ve burned remains unchanged.

I like to maintain 70rpm’s during both workouts. How many calories might I actually be burning?

Answer:

You could use a heart rate monitor, and try to keep your pulse at your target level for the longer workout and ignore the five minute workout, as it is useless. The first five minutes are a warmup. In general, instead of the calories, burned, which is an estimate, consider the results over a period of time. Or call the company and ask directly. There should be a warranty with it and an 800 number.

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Elliptical Resistance