Elliptical trainers or "cross trainers" look like a cross between a treadmill and a step machine. As your feet move on the peddles, your legs go through an elliptical shaped movement, reducing pounding and stress on joints in the legs, hips and back.

This type of machine works very well to stimulate the cardiovascular system and strengthen muscles including the quads, hamstrings and glutes and, if using the upper body attachments, the biceps, triceps and chest and back.

It is impossible to recommend "the best" in elliptical trainers, but some excellent names in the fitness industry include Eclipse, Fitness Quest, Gazelle, Horizon Fitness, Life Fitness, Matrix, Precor, Reebok, SciFit, SportsArt, Star Trac, Trimline and Tunturi.

Elliptical trainers are one of the most extensively reviewed exercisers on the Internet. Important aspects to consider prior to purchasing an elliptical trainer are cost, space restrictions, commercial quality (generally bigger and more expensive), warranty period and options (such as preset programs, heart monitors, etc.).

Studies from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Mississippi lend credibility to the effectiveness of the elliptical trainer. The machines appear to provide a safe, low-impact, aerobic workout. If you're thinking about purchasing an elliptical trainer, or any piece of exercise equipment, be sure to do your research, take the machine for a test workout, and evaluate your alternatives.

Vicki Pierson, Personal Trainer, reviews some of the popular elliptical trainers around:

Ellipse:
"Nice, easy feel, secure foot holds. I liked the hand/arm movement-- and the cup holder. It was smooth, but to me the handles are too close, which made it uncomfortable."

HealthRider: "Very smooth. It allows for a comfortable stride length and is a good overall machine with a very smooth leg action. But the arm handles are too close and the foot pedals are not wide enough."

Power Train: "This really provides both an upper- and lower-body workout. A little jerky in its movement, and the pedals are too small. But the arm handles are well-developed and comfortable. Overall it's a very good machine, it really makes you work your entire body."

Cyclone:
"My knees hit the front of the machine, and my feet were sliding off of the foot holders. The machine made me feel like I was falling too far forward."

"A very challenging workout, but there was too much forward lean, the foot pedals are not wide enough. The handles are hard to reach because of their short arms and the motion felt jerky."

Elliptical trainers are the latest cardio equipment to hit the market, they tout a full-body, low impact workout. But do these machines really live up to their claims? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, compared the NordicTrack Ellipse elliptical trainer against a motorized treadmill, a stairstepper, and a cycle ergometer to see how the Ellipse compared with other modes of exercise. The study revealed no significant difference in oxygen consumption, heart rate, and calorie expenditure between treadmill running and the Ellipse. Both the treadmill and Ellipse provided the test subjects with a superior workout over the stairstepper and cycle ergometer.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recently commissioned a study at the University of Mississippi, led by Dr. Len Kravitz, Ph.D., that matched four elliptical trainers head-to-head. Kravitz added, "To me, the PowerTrain and the Cyclone look like they are inexpensively made to be competitively priced. Clearly, the Ellipse is the most solidly built of the four products. It runs smooth, feels smooth and certainly appears to be made much more durably than the other products out there. The HealthRider appears to be a product that was launched before it was ready. When running, it was very smooth, but it was not quality tested [at least the one we received at the time of testing]. Their service, however, was highly satisfactory."

Eliptical Trainer

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