Elliptical trainers (or cross trainers) and their benefits.

Walk into any self respecting gym today and you will find three key machines: the treadmill, the spinning bike and the elliptical (or cross) trainer. What we're going to look at today is the elliptical machine and its benefits to you.

Developed in the 1990s elliptical machines have very quickly become a gym mainstay and they are also popular in the home (mainly because they are a lot quieter than a treadmill so don't disturb the neighbours so much). So what are the key benefits?

Elliptical trainers are primarily designed to provide a low impact, cardiovascular workout; they are not designed to increase muscle size so while they will help to tone the body you won't bulk up as a result – something that ladies usually want to avoid.

Most machines work the upper body as well as the legs (hence the alternative name of cross trainer); this gives a good overall muscle workout which you wouldn't get with a spinning bike or treadmill.

The machines are low impact; this means that you are not putting a lot of pressure on your joints. That's not to say they're not a weight bearing form of exercise but that the jolting action you get from running is lessened to a great degree. This can benefit the more senior amongst us and can also provide a safe form of exercise for those who are overweight and who's leg joints might already be under strain.

Despite feeling a lot less like exercise than a treadmill, studies show that the benefit of an elliptical machine is about the same as a treadmill. This has surprised many people as they thought that the dual action (arms and legs) would have been more efficient at burning energy but the studies seem to show otherwise. However, for those who felt they might not be getting the full benefit they would from a treadmill then I suppose the news is good!

Balance, posture and motor fitness can be improved by using a cross trainer. By releasing the handle section of the elliptical trainer and standing upright while exercising it has been noted that posture and balance can be improved. The reason is that the core muscles are brought into play and have to move constantly to maintain your balance as your legs rotate around the pedal system. This obviously removes the benefit you get from using the arm handles but can be used as an alternative workout if you have a desire to improve posture and your core.

That leads on to another benefit of the elliptical trainer – options. No matter how dedicated a fitness fanatic you are there will always be those days when it all seems just a little boring and repetitive. Spinning bikes and treadmills are limited in the amount of variation and excitement they can give and that's where the cross trainer comes in. All elliptical machines (apart from the very basic, low cost mechanical home machines) have a set of programmes that you can choose from. Generally speaking the more expensive the machine the more bells and whistles they have (I can plug my iPod into mine and listen to music, watch video or even watch TV while working out). Many have a heart rate monitor which means that you can choose between cardio and fat burn programmes; some can pedal backwards as part of the programme; all have variations on speed/time/effort and the latest ones can even download the results to your PC so that you can track progress over time!

The elliptical trainer has become a mainstay of the modern gym for a very good reason – it works and it works in a fashion that gives people what the want. If you haven't tried one yet then do so soon so that you can start feeling the benefits too.