A strong core is important if you want to maintain good posture, avoid injury, and increase athletic performance. Exercises that work the core muscles can also help you to lose some of the fat in your midsection, and research tells us that this fat can cause unhealthy hormonal changes and contribute to inflammation, which promotes disease. An elliptical trainer workout, in combination with a healthy diet, can provide these benefits which can make you look and feel great.
You are standing during an elliptical workout, which causes your core muscles to stabilize your body during this motion. Most elliptical trainers have a high quality drive system that makes the elliptical motion fluid and low impact, but your core muscles are still engaged during these movements. This is because with every swing and repetition on the elliptical trainer you subject your body to imbalance and the entire midsection reacts and compensates for this and gets worked during these movements.
There are a few things you can do to increase the intensity of your core workout on your elliptical. The first thing you can do is to let go of the handles, which will either be the moving type or stationary, which makes your core muscles work that much harder to stabilize your body during your workout.
The second thing you need to do is to focus on your posture. Keep your feet flat on the pedals, shoulders lifted and back straight. Move your arms and legs back and forth smoothly in an alternating motion. Move your bellybutton toward your spine and make sure you are standing upright throughout your entire workout.
The third thing you can do to ensure you are working your core muscles most effectively is to try a high intensity workout. The intensity at which you exercise will have an impact on training your core muscles. When you work out at a faster pace on the elliptical, you are forced to contract your abdominal muscles with more emphasis than you would with moderate intensity training. If you use this type of elliptical workout, you not only work your core harder, but you also lose fat from your stomach faster. The best way to perform this type of workout is to alternate between high and low intensity, which allows you short recovery times that will enable you to complete a longer workout.
Don't forget the importance of incorporating a healthy diet when trying to improve the appearance of your midsection. You will never be able to lose fat and get that flat stomach if you are out-eating your workout, which means you are adding more calories to your diet that you are burning off during exercise. The most effective way to eat the type of diet that will lead you to a healthy weight is to concentrate on eating a "clean" diet by eating only healthy foods and avoiding junk food.
Both new and refurbished elliptical trainers have grown in popularity recently because of the long list of benefits they provide in a low impact workout. Elliptical workouts will naturally strengthen your core muscles, but a few adaptations to your routine can further target these muscles, which will help to prevent injury, enhance athletic performance, and improve your appearance.
Consider purchasing a health club quality used arc trainer or elliptical trainer that has been professionally refurbished from [http://www.ellipticaltrainersdepot.com]. Purchasing a refurbished elliptical or arc trainer can save you 50% or more off the price of a new machine, which makes it more affordable for you to own the top brands such as a used Precor elliptical, refurbished Life Fitness, or a Cybex arc trainer.
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