Elliptical Cross Trainers

CROSS TRAINER FOR WEIGHT LOSS

Exercising on an elliptical trainer is particularly suitable for losing weight as the movement engages a wide variety of muscles in the body. Depending on the intensity of the training session, you can burn up to 700 kcal per hour of exercising on a cross trainer. Working out on an elliptical trainer is easy and feels instinctive since it’s adapted to people's natural movement. Therefore, since their invention in the 90s, cross trainers have become very popular in both home and professional settings.

CROSS TRAINER - BENEFITS

Elliptical cross trainer is the ideal choice for a joint-friendly full body workout. The movement of the cross trainer engages many muscle groups in lower and upper body and the fixed movement protects your joints from injuries. Elliptical cross trainer is a fantastic option if you’re looking to lose weight, improve endurance, strengthen your muscles, boost circulation or improve overall health. Here are some of the benefits of exercising on a cross trainer:

The flywheel is the weighted disk that you drive through your movement and that acts on the braking system creating training resistance. It used to be believed that the heavier the flywheel, the better the movement of the device. But this is now considered outdated. In fact, the quality of movement depends on many factors, such as the pedal distance, the gear ratio, braking system and the stability of the device. Regarding the flywheel, there are two types of cross trainers: with a front flywheel and with a rear flywheel. This is also referred to as rear-wheel drive or front-wheel drive cross trainers.

STRIDE LENGTH

The stride length of a cross trainer indicates how long the steps are. Tall people with longer legs have a longer stride length compared to shorter people. The taller the user, the longer the stride length should be. Before purchasing, consider how tall the tallest user in your household is. Devices with adjustable stride length, such as the cardiostrong EX90 Plus, enable several people of different heights to exercise comfortably. In general, most users find a longer stride length to be more comfortable.

When a person walks normally, their feet are close together. For a pleasant and authentic workout, your feet should be as close together as possible on the cross trainer, so the distance between the pedals should be as short as possible. The distance between pedals is called the Q factor. Devices with a short pedal distance offer a significantly higher quality of movement that feels more natural. A pedal distance of less than 13 cm is good, but less than 5 cm would be even better to ensure the most natural movement pattern.

SIZE (MAXIMUM PEDAL HEIGHT)

In addition to the actual height of a cross trainer, the maximum pedal height, i.e. the highest point in the movement of the pedals, plays an important role. In order to have enough ceiling space during training, you should allow about 50 cm more in addition to your height and the maximum pedal height. The ceiling of the installation location should be at least this height to give you enough space for training on the cross trainer.

STABILITY

The heavier the user, the more robust and stable the construction of the cross trainer should be to ensure smooth and safe movement. Pay attention to the indication of the maximum weight load and the quality of the construction. The greater the training intensity, the more important the high-quality workmanship and materials used are.

RESISTANCE SYSTEM

The type of braking system is also a relevant aspect when deciding which cross trainer you want to get. In a cross trainer with a magnetic braking system, the flywheel is braked with a permanent magnet and the level of resistance is adjusted via a rotary controller.

With the induction braking system, this is also done using a magnetic field, but the resistance is not regulated manually, but electronically using the so-called eddy current brake. The advantage here is that the user generates the energy for operation themselves by exercising on the machine so the device does not require a power supply to switch on.

HANDLEBARS

Except for providing an excellent workout for your lower body, cross trainers also exercise your upper body muscles thanks to incorporated handlebars. The design of the handlebars can significantly vary between the models, so it’s an important factor to take into account while choosing your machine. Some cross trainers offer simple one-position handlebars, while others incorporate multifunctional handlebars that provide many grip positions. With each handlebar position, different muscles of your upper body are engaged offering even wider range of exercised muscles. Some handlebars additionally include heart rate sensors, so you can control the intensity of your training without external heart rate monitoring devices.

TRAINING PROGRAMMS

A crucial element of each cross trainer is its integrated training computer (training console). The functionality of the console varies in size and functionality depending on the price and the manufacturer. The standard training console includes training programs, adjustable resistance levels, and information about time, distance and pace. Watt-controlled training is ideal if you want to be able to accurately track your performance and progress in your training. You can predefine a certain performance level and keep it constant. This is particularly useful, for example, to complete training recommended by a doctor.

Heart rate programs are ideal for efficiently achieving training goals such as burning fat or improving endurance. In interval programs, phases of high stress alternate with regeneration phases. According to scientific studies, performance can be increased faster with this training than with training with a constant intensity. In addition to the higher efficiency and effectiveness, these training programs offer a lot of variety for more fun and motivation during your training.

APP CONNECTIVITY

In addition to the standard training programms, many cross trainers incorporate large touchscreens with in-built entertainment apps that ensure extra dose of motivation for your training sessions. Many elliptical trainers are also Bluetooth compatible and can connect to your device, enabling you to get the most out of external workout apps, such as Kinomap. Kinomap offers over 450,000 km worth of routes for rowing, running or cycling, automatically adjusted resistance and incline to match the terrain of your route and real-life camera footage uploaded by other Kinomap users.

CROSS TRAINER ACCESSORIES

Aside from the above-mentioned Kinomap app, a very important accessory that should be considered with every elliptical cross trainer is the equipment mat. This mat goes directly under your cross trainer and protects floors from sweat damage and indentation damage. It also reduces impact noise ensuring your training session is as noise free as possible.

Beginner
cardiostrong EX40 Elliptical Cross Trainer
✓ 16 Adjustable Resistance Levels
✓ 19 Exercise Programs
✓ LCD Console
✓ Silent Magnetic Resistance
✓ 150kg Maximum User Weight
✓ Low-impact & joint-friendly

Advanced
cardiostrong FX70 Elliptical Cross Trainer
✓ Manually adjustable incline for varied intensity
✓ 32 resistance levels for customised workouts
✓ Natural, joint-friendly motion
✓ Comfortable shock-absorbed treads
✓ 12 pre-set programmes and four user profiles
✓ User-friendly console display

Expert
cardiostrong EX90 Plus Touch Cross Trainer
✓ Stride length adjustable electronically via hot keys
✓ 16 Resistance levels
✓ 18 Exercise Programmes
✓ 10.1" Touch Console
✓ Large, suspended cushion-pad pedals
✓ Kinomap compatible