Stamina In Motion Elliptical Trainers Review 2024

Imagine turning the pedals on an elliptical. As they each go through a complete revolution, they grow farther apart, then draw closer together. In about the middle of the revolution, the pedals will be at their most distant from each other. Visually, this means your left foot will be all the way forward, while your right foot is all the way back.

The distance between your feet at that farthest point it called stride length. Higher-end ellipticals have adjustable stride lengths. Your stride length will need to be longer the taller you are. Using an elliptical with too short a stride length would be like trying to ride a bike with a frame too small. You will be uncomfortable and won't get a full range of motion.

Stamina Products do not typically have adjustable stride length. They are geared towards people of average height, about 5'9" for men and 5'4" inches for women. Stamina doesn't provide data, but we would guess their machines have a fixed stride length of 20 inches. This will accommodate people from about 5'3" to about six feet. If you are taller or shorter, we strongly suggest trying a Stamina in Motion strider at a store before you purchase.

You can, because the pedaling motion creates resistance. Your leg and trunk muscles (if you stand) will work against the resistance, making them stronger and building the muscles. Your heart rate will also go up, helping your body burn sugar, fat, and calories more effectively. Though the package is smaller, the pedals on a mini strider are doing the same amount of moving and providing comparable resistance to what a full-size elliptical would do. We always remind each other, too, that if you are getting in movement, any movement, you are doing a good thing. Many of us use walking as our main form of exercise. It won't get us those coveted qualifier papers for the World's Strongest Man tournament, but it will keep us flexible and mobile while boosting our heart health and immune systems. We look at mini ellipticals the same way.

We think the comfort and ease of use factor are big parts of it. Since your feet are supported by the pedals, you don't get any jarring impact like you would with running, even on a treadmill. You can use an elliptical under all weather conditions. Because you only have to focus on moving your arms and legs, you are free to listen to music, watch TV, or perhaps even chat with friends as your work out. Using an elliptical does not require the concentration or routine planning of outdoor cycling, and you are able to stand upright instead of being seated and bent over handlebars. And as we see with the Stamina products, it is possible to build a small elliptical that is still effective and can always go where you go.

Low impact aerobics are exercises that elevate the heart rate without shocking your joints and spine. Any exercise that puts a low amount of stress on your body is considered low impact. This includes yoga, swimming, and of course the elliptical. Low impact exercises are associated with reduced back pain and less injury, especially for children, the elderly, those with chronic pain conditions, and those who have been sedentary and are just getting back to exercise.

High impact activities include team sports like soccer, where the body is in constant motion and both feet come in contact with the ground repeatedly. Running, powerlifting and basketball are all examples of high impact pursuits.

Ellipticals are low impact because the machines keep your feet, the point of contact with the earth, secured in pedals which are in turn suspended while in motion. Your feet never contact the hard ground, and so none of that force is being transmitted up through your legs to your spine, joints, and skeletal system. This makes the elliptical a great alternative for people with arthritis, veinous disorders, low back pain, and other conditions that may preclude them from something as seemingly simple as walking long distances.

It can be because you are burning more calories than you would at rest. This is true even if your pedal at slow speeds and don't really pay attention to the movement. This is an easy habit to get into if you are working online or taking phone calls all day at a desk.

However, it should be noted that you will probably not get the best possible benefits at all times. Jacking up your heart rate with interval workouts makes you sweaty and short of breath. You probably don't wear gym clothes to work, so sweat is not the most desirable thing. If you talk to customers or colleagues a lot, you'll have to dial back the intensity of your pedaling to a point where it's less effective. Also, while we all think we are great multitaskers, we probably aren't. If you are focused on a deadline, hard project, or detailed report, you may need to use all your focus powers to complete that and save the elliptical for later.

Probably not. It isn't because they are faulty, but because calorie counting is not a one size fits all proposition. Two people of the same height and weight will not burn exactly the same amount of calories doing the same exercise. There will always be differences in fitness experience, natural constitution, body makeup, and body shape. Also, age plays a role, and many cardio machines do not even ask your age.

This doesn't mean you should switch gyms if yours uses calorie counters. A good rule of thumb is to assume that the counts are 15 to 20 percent off, and use them as a rough guide. They can help you moderate your caloric intake and adjust your activity level, even if they are not 100% accurate.

The fitness company Precor designed and marketed the first commercially available elliptical in 1995. It was called the EFX, an acronym for Precor Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer. It is still widely used in gyms and rec centers, and in the homes of many fitness buffs. It has, of course, undergone major updates since 1995. Nobody had ever seen anything like it--the shape, the egglike revolutions, the suspended, low impact pedals. After its release in 1995, the elliptical caught on and other companies began to make them. The Precor design was patented, but the simple science behind it was not. Precor could no be the only elliptical company than Schwinn could be the only bicycle company.

The man who invented the machine that eventually became the Precor EFX was named Larry Miller. Miller was an inventor. His daughter played high school tennis. Miller wanted a way to help his daughter condition for her sport, without the jarring impact that running brings. Based on his daughter's foot pattern (like any other human's), Miller cobbled together a machine that emulated running in a closed loop with no ground contact. The rest is history.

No. Piling on the resistance until it feels like you are walking up a hill with a heavy backpack is not the best thing and probably isn't even necessary. It can get your heart rate up past helpful levels, can make you overheat, can cause fatigue, and may even injure you. It is better to ride at a steady pace for as long as you want, interjecting with bursts of intensity at a higher resistance. You may even want to do those fast intervals at a lower resistance. That way you will be able to pedal fast enough to increase your heart rate, safely, beyond what you were getting in a steady state. Resistance is there to challenge you cand grow with you, not make you so tired that you want to quit and have trouble completing work tasks.