Are Cross Trainers Effective?
If you’ve been to the cardio section of a fitness facility within the past few years, chances are you’ve seen or worked out on a cross trainer. A favorite of many, these machines have been steadily growing in popularity over the years, and have gained a following of devoted exercisers.
What exactly is a cross trainer, what benefits can a high-quality one offer you, and how effective of a workout does it provide?
What’s a cross trainer?
Cross trainers are uniquely designed to combine the movements of a treadmill, bike, and stair stepper into one machine that moves in an ellipse-shaped pattern. Similar to running, the cross trainer allows for a smooth and natural gliding motion.
How can a cross trainer help me?
- Train the whole body – Unlike other machines that only target one part of the body, the cross trainer is an ideal machine for getting a full-body workout. Moving handlebars, available on most Precor cross trainers, allow you to work your shoulders, back, chest, and arms simultaneously while exercising your legs. This means you have options when you use a cross trainer – choose to work your upper and lower body, or focus on specific lower-body muscle groups.
- Customise settings to meet your goals – Customisable settings on cross trainers allow you to increase resistance to a level that truly tests and builds your muscles. Precor cross trainers are the only kind to offer a distinct incline setting that strengthens, tones, and works your legs. Because of this, you can use Precor cross trainers as a method to strength train, or simply to get an aerobic workout in.
- Low-impact is easy on joints – The smooth, suspended motion of the cross trainer ensures that the impact on your joints is nowhere near the strong impact experienced when running. Cross trainers are ideal for those who suffer from painful joint problems or exercisers who are recovering from injury.
How effective is it?
More intense than other cardio machines like treadmills and stationary bikes, cross trainers deliver a highly effective workout that really gets your heart racing. The ability to change the intensity and speed of the workout means that the exerciser is in control, and can get as much from the workout as he or she desires.
Whether your goal is to tone certain areas of your body or burn off a specific number of calories, the cross trainer will help you get there. For example, someone who weighs about 68 kilos can burn up to 400 calories in 30 minutes of working out on a cross trainer.
So, next time you’re able to, hop on a cross trainer and experience how the low-impact, smooth machine can help you achieve your fitness goals.
source: www.precor.com
