Any serious athlete will tell you the importance of giving your body the chance to recover after an intense workout, an insanely competitive sports game, or after going above and beyond to the point that your body is begging you to relax.
Even when long-distance runners are training for a big race, it is about being strategic, knowing when to go hard, and knowing when to ease up. Maintaining this level of balance can also be achieved when you go from a heavy workout one day to using an outdoor elliptical machine the day after. You wouldn’t want to take your body for granted. So, don’t think about taking recovery for granted when you are taking care of your health.
Recovery Workout
You can take advantage of the flexibility that you are allowed to have during a recovery run in comparison to the real deal workout run when you are using an outdoor elliptical. The low-intensity recovery run, which on average amounts to about under 70 percent of your maximum heart rate, is a key part of maintaining your aerobic fitness and developing oxygen efficiency in the muscles.
If you have been sustaining injuries recently or suffer from pain in your joints, the elliptical is better for you than the treadmill.
Elliptical vs. Running
What is the purpose of an elliptical other than running in place? The answer that you are looking for is that the elliptical was literally created to recreate the actual motions of running but taking away the impact that you feel when running.
The elliptical gets rid of the weight-bearing and muscle-pounding that arises when you are running around for a long period of time outside across the ground.
Low-Intensity Recovery
If you are looking for a simple 30-minute workout that is low intensity try this one out:
· 5 minutes: Get your body warmed up with some light resistance, keeping your arms and legs in motion.
· 20 minutes: Time to intensify the resistance and even the incline to a low level and hold it there for 20 minutes. Breath easy while doing this at a pace that still allows you to hold a conversation without struggling.
· 5 minutes: Now take this time to cool down with light resistance but still keeping your arms and legs in motion.
Burn Some Fat
Are you in need of a much more higher intensity interval workout that can raise your metabolism for hours after your workout have concluded and also burn fat in the process? Put this routine into motion on an elliptical for about 36 minutes:
· 10 minutes: Start off with light resistance, keeping your arms and legs moving. Give some easy effort and getting comfortable enough to build up to a moderate resistance by increasing the resistance every 2-3 minutes.
· 21 Minutes: Switch back and forth between one minute at the intense effort level and 2 minutes at the easy level for a total of 7 times. Increase the resistance level to fairly difficult while maintaining how fast your feet are moving. Find enough resistance so that your body is being challenged but you are still able to keep your stride rate up. By the end of the one-minute period, your breathing should be hard. During the 2-minute recovery, ease back so that you can catch your breath and keep pace at the lower rate.
· 5 minutes: Now is your opportunity to cool down for five easy minutes.
Whether you are looking to train harder with less impact on the body, or get into shape, the elliptical machine is an effective and fun way to reach your goals.
