The Benefits of Low-Impact Cardio Using Home Elliptical Trainers
If you are an avid workout enthusiast, you might have heard the phrase “low-impact” being thrown around a lot among those in the fitness circles recently. Low-impact cardio workout is a common name for any kind of kind fitness activity that eliminates the impact created when your limbs hit a solid, hard surface.
This is kind of workout is not something that is new, as it has been around for quite some time. Activities like swimming, yoga or working out on an elliptical trainer are all low-impact cardio exercises. Elliptical trainers are superior to many other exercise machines because they allow you to work out through controlled, zero-impact motions – without the negative side-effects that you get with running, weight-lifting, or numerous sports. Higher impact exercise can lead to all sorts of long 
term complications and injuries.
If an efficient fat-burning cardio workout is what you want, which keeps the stress on your joints down to a minimum at the same time, then you should definitely consider getting an elliptical trainer. The elliptical part of the name comes from an elliptical pattern which the foot pedals form in order to simulate the natural running motion. Your feet and hands never lose contact with the machine – NO impact! This allows for low to zero-impact which protects your knees and ankles. Also, all elliptical trainers are highly customizable and versatile and allow the users to adjust a number of different parameters such as resistance and/or speed in order to tailor the workout to their requirements. You can make the workout as hard or as easy as you like.
As far as fat-burning and weight loss is concerned, a low-impact cardio workout on an elliptical trainer is one of the best options available. Expressed through calories, you will be able to burn anywhere between 500 and 900 calories, depending on the intensity of the workout.
Of course, if you are training intensively, you need to plan your nutrition and make sure you have the energy to keep up your work rate during exercise. You’ll also want to know what to eat after your workout.
Low-impact exercise opens up the opportunity for anyone to partake in the workout, especially those who are going through physical therapy, recovering from an injury and even the elderly (or very unfit!). For that reason alone, elliptical trainers should be an essential piece of every home workout system.
The main focus of low-impact workouts are the hips, knees and ankles, as they withstand the largest amount of mechanical abuse and elliptical trainers are the best way to go if you want to keep them healthy. If you are looking to abandon high-impact activities like running or sports, a cardio workout on elliptical trainer should provide you with a solution. In addition to keeping your joints and tendons free from injury and strain, low-impact exercises are just as effective when it comes to burning calories and losing weight. It’s a win win situation – plus they are great fun to use!
