October 26, 2024, 10:46 am | Read time: 5 minutes

Ellipticals are very popular – both in the gym and in private households. Above all, the joint-gentle movement sequence and the strain on the muscles throughout the body make the training device ideal for a broad target group. But is the elliptical also good for losing weight? FITBOOK author Martin Lewicki has investigated.

Training that is easy on the joints

Unlike running, where the feet impact the floor, the elliptical prevents joint strain or overloading since your feet maintain constant contact with the pedals during the exercise. In addition, the arms are also used, which, in contrast to the treadmill or bicycle ergometer, also trains the upper body. It’s no surprise, then, that the elliptical, also called a cross trainer, has become a favored piece of fitness equipment. But how useful is training on the machine if you want to lose weight?

Caloric burn during elliptical workouts

The most important question first: How many calories does an elliptical actually burn? According to the FITBOOK calorie calculator, a 35-year-old man with a height of 1.80 meters and a weight of 80 kilograms burns around 289 calories in 45 minutes on the elliptical, while a 35-year-old woman with a height of 1.70 meters and a weight of 65 kilograms burns around 222 calories. Of course, these are average values. The actual value depends heavily on the intensity level selected for the machine. If you train at a higher intensity, the calorie consumption is significantly higher.

Is an elliptical better for losing weight than other machines?

The elliptical is usually a good alternative for people who don’t like jogging or swimming. Additionally, its compact design allows it to fit conveniently into a small corner of a typical home. But is the device really good for losing weight? If you look at the pure calorie consumption, then the elliptical is at a disadvantage compared to the treadmill or jogging: Even if our example man only runs at a pace of eight kilometers per hour for 45 minutes, he burns 472 calories, almost 200 calories more than on the elliptical trainer.

Breaststroke swimming also burns 300 calories more. Cycling burns 428 calories in 45 minutes (depending on the pace), which is significantly more than the elliptical trainer. So, if you want to burn as many calories as possible during endurance training, you should, at first glance, pick running, swimming, or cycling.

Studies provide clarity

However, since calorie consumption varies greatly with training intensity and individual metabolism, direct comparisons between different sports can be challenging. This is why this problem was addressed in a study from 2021.^.1 The study compared how endurance training on an elliptical, treadmill, and stepper affects the metabolism. The test subjects were nine trained young men and women aged between 20 and 26, i.e., a relatively small test group. They completed three-minute test runs on the three training machines. The intensity of each test varied and was either 60, 70, or 80 percent of maximum performance.

When analyzing the data, the researchers found that oxygen consumption, heart rate, and carbohydrate and fat burning differed greatly at the different training intensities – but not on the different machines. The researchers concluded that both the elliptical and the stepper are viable alternatives to running, especially if you have to take it easy on your body due to an injury, for example. In another study, the same scientists found that training on the stepper and the elliptical trainer reduces muscle strain on the lower extremities by up to 60 percent compared to the treadmill^.2

General advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

• Practical and space-efficient for home use
• Training that is easy on the joints
• Full-body workout that works not only the legs but also other parts of the body
• Facilitates high-calorie burn, particularly during high-intensity or interval training sessions
• Regular training strengthens the cardiovascular system, increases endurance, and can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease

Disadvantages

• No immense muscle development
• Very monotonous, and hardly any variety
• The purchase of a cross trainer is not cheap
• Other sports may offer more effective weight loss benefits
• As the movement is predetermined, individual body movements may be restricted

More on the topic

For basic fitness This is how long and fast men and women should be able to run

Ex-bodybuilder in a FITBOOK interview Rebecca Barthel: “Women should focus on regular strength training during menopause”

For basic fitness How long men and women should be able to swim

Conclusion

The elliptical is actually a good alternative to running or jogging if you want to lose weight. With a correspondingly high intensity, a similar calorie consumption can be achieved as with running or on the stepper. Training on the elliptical trainer is particularly easy on the joints and puts less strain on the muscles of the lower extremities than running on a treadmill, for example.

If you want to intensify your training, you should work with intervals, i.e., alternating high and low load phases on the elliptical trainer. This activates the so-called afterburn effect. This allows you to burn more calories even when the workout is long over.

However, it is also true that you can burn more calories by doing other types of exercise for the same amount of time. However, these activities can place significantly more stress on the body. So, if you want to lose weight in a “relaxed” way that is easy on the joints, the elliptical is a good choice.