When it comes to maintaining a healthy life from home, an elliptical should be the first tool to own, if not the only one. An elliptical can be better than a treadmill for heavy runners to moderate ones who need higher calorie burns. With an elliptical, you can get a full-body workout while a treadmill cannot get you the same result. However, you must follow the right process and have the best practice on the elliptical workout.
The first thing to know about the elliptical workout is the speed you want to run and exercise at. Most new elliptical users tend to mix up the treadmills and ellipticals while setting up the speed. Stick to the article to understand what is moderate speed on elliptical, and what speed suits your body type and fitness level.
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What is Moderate Speed on Elliptical?
To know what is moderate speed on elliptical, you first must understand your fitness level and health condition. Here are the stages of the speed on an elliptical that you can set it up for and get the most out of your machine:
Low elliptical speed:
Elliptical exercise at a low speed won’t have a noticeable fat-burning rate and take a long time to notice a change. Slowly but surely, you can burn a good amount of fat from your body with a low speed on your elliptical for sure. For a high blast on your body fat, a low-speed mode isn’t a good speed choice because the burning rate is lacking the necessity. However, if you’re recovering from an injury or a severe wound, it’s the best option to use an elliptical at a low speed. For the best use of an elliptical while ensuring a calorie-burning process is to monitor your heart rate. Slow the sped down, but make sure the speed meets the number above your regular heart rate.
Medium/Moderate elliptical speed:
The medium level speed on the elliptical is the best option for beginners who are learning to use the machine. It’s also a suitable option if you’re practicing a little or warming up for an interval, HIIT, or an intense elliptical workout. If you find the medium speed of the elliptical friendly to your health and planning on keeping up with that, increase the time. As you’re going low on the speed, go high on the resistance or time to get the same output at a higher speed. If you have a good fitness level, you can take the time up and make it to paddle on. The final result from the elliptical training will be much better because, ultimately, you’re hitting the resistance you need.
Interval elliptical training:
Let’s put, the primary goal of interval training is to retain the lean muscles in your body and still burning the fat fast. The interval training method includes low, medium, and high-speed elliptical training methods. You can go for an interval training option if you’re planning on building muscles and have a good fitness level. If you’re not yet in good shape but plan on burning fat faster, interval training is also an option for you. However, there are different interval training types, and you should choose the right process to get the best result.
High-intensity short interval training:
The High-intensity short interval elliptical training is only for the bodybuilders or those who are in good cardiac shape. With this process, you’ll train with your elliptical at a moderate to high speed and keep up for a higher speed depending on your capability. However, you must warm up a little before you start the intense workout or end up hurting yourself. Monitor your BPM on the screen if you have one and increase the speed and resistance after paddling for a minute or two. When you cannot take the resistance anymore, you can take a rest for a minute; take another minute or two to decrease the resistance, though!
Which Speed Level is Good For A Elliptical?
When it comes to choosing the right speed for an elliptical, it depends on what fitness level you are planning for. You can determine the speed of the machine upon the maximum effort you can put on the workout. If you’re planning to get in shape in a short period, you have to choose among the interval workout methods.
The best option is to go with the short interval high-intensity elliptical workout method at 80 to 90 percent of your maximum cardiac capability. You can get a higher level of fat-burning ratio along with building lean muscles. If the target is only to maintain good health, it should be a moderate speed with 60 to 70 percent of your maximum stamina. If you’re recovering from an injury or have stamina issues, start with a low-speed level at 40 to 50 percent of your current capability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most frequently asked questions about using elliptical and the best practice for the speed you might find informative:
Is it better to go fast or slow on elliptical?
Going fast or slow on elliptical depends on your health and fitness level. If you’re recovering from an injury, go slow and let your body adapt. If you’re burning fat, get as fast as you can.
Do you run faster on an elliptical?
An elliptical trainer may get you a sensation of running faster because it helps the bones of your feet to stay calm. However, it helps you build your leg muscles without getting your feet injured.
Is it OK to do the elliptical every day?
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, you should have a gap of 2 days from 7 days of 30-minutes sessions of elliptical. However, you should take at least a day off within 7-10 days.
Final Thought
A workout tool is one of the most important things to own, especially if you’re a busy person and want to lead a healthy life. When it comes to selecting a full-body workout tool, the first tool to get is an elliptical machine. You can use an elliptical machine for the upper and lower body along with defining the core.
While starting off, you’ll often ask, what is moderate speed on elliptical, which is common. Well, with the guide I’ve mentioned in the article, you can now choose the right option and start burning some fat. However, practice before getting on with it and slowly increasing your time, resistance, and intensity.
