At the gym, I prefer the Elliptical Machine...

[SteveBsjb]

...so, I looked up articles to see if it's better for me than the treadmill, or the bicycle.

"Dr. Mercola's Comment

There is no question about it: you can't be optimally healthy unless you exercise. Fortunately, spring is here and most of us can go outside for exercise.

However, many have injuries that prevent them from doing outside exercise. So if you need to workout indoors at home or in a health club the elliptical is clearly the top piece of equipment to workout on.

It is my personal favorite as you get so much more of a complete workout than you do with running, and it is far easier on your joints.

It is important to note that there are two basic types of ellipticals, one that uses a fixed based and moves the arms and one that has the base that rotates through a wide range of motions and uses the arms.

Most people think that the machine with the arms is better, but I would strongly disagree. The arms are, relatively speaking, a small muscle mass when compared to the legs. So if you use the elliptical that allows you to change the incline of the legs you will get a workout of all of your different leg muscles.

Some of the less expensive ellipticals don't allow you to change the incline angle. I would only select a model that allowed you to do this.

I normally suggest adjusting the resistance setting and frequency of steps per minute so you are just short of not having enough breath to carry on a conversation. This is the aerobic threshold that will produce cardiovascular benefits.

The ellipticals are also great for reducing the boredom and monotony of exercise.

What I normally advise patients to do is to change the incline setting by one notch every minute. This will activate different leg muscles. I also suggest reversing the direction of the leg movement. With ellipticals it is equally easy to walk backward or forward.

It also seems that Precor is the best manufacturer of ellipticals, and their commercial models are what most health clubs have. I have included a picture of an elliptical for comparison.

Unlike most treadmills and exercise bikes, a typical elliptical has movable handlebars that add an upper-body workout.

I do not recommend these machines as they have a fixed incline and will not allow you to exercise all the muscles in your legs by rotating the incline through the entire range, as I suggest above, while you exercise."

[Jordon]

If I can't run my three miles outside, the elliptical is the next best thing, plus the added benefit of being zero impact.

[Ridgeplate]

The elliptical is the only cardio I can do at the gym. I blew out my back a few years ago, so there's really not much option. However, bad back or no, I can do several miles on the elliptical with no pain other than being out of shape, so it definitely gets my vote.