Training guide
An elliptical, or cross trainer, is a gym machine whose pedals travel in long ovals so your feet never leave them, usually with handles that move with your legs. To use one, hold the fixed handles and step onto the lowest pedal, start pedalling forwards slowly at a low resistance, stand tall with your heels down, and push and pull the handles in time with your legs. Build to 10 to 20 minutes at a pace where you can talk but not sing, then towards 30.
It's real cardio, rated about as hard as brisk walking at a moderate effort and about as hard as running at a vigorous one, with much less impact under your feet. But it isn't the gentlest machine for the knee joint itself, your heart rate can run higher than the effort feels, and the calorie display tends to read high.
This guide covers the machine step by step on the 3D figure, the settings and handles, pedalling backwards, calories, your knees and back, and a beginner workout to follow.
"Elliptical" and "cross trainer" are the same machine: two pedals that travel in long ovals, usually with handles that move with them. Get on with the near pedal at its lowest point, holding the fixed handles, and let the pedals stop before you step off, as the makers advise.
The Compendium of Physical Activities rates it 5.0 METs (multiples of the energy you use at rest) at moderate effort and 9.0 at vigorous. Peak oxygen uptake on an elliptical was close to a treadmill's, and 12 weeks of elliptical training raised fitness as much as treadmill running in a small trial.
At the same effort rating, heart rate was 164 on an elliptical against 145 on a treadmill in 18 untrained adults, with similar energy use. Go by your breathing.
Source 6
Foot loads averaged 73% of body weight against 112% walking and 175% treadmill jogging. But in 3 people with instrumented knee replacements, the elliptical loaded the knee about as much as treadmill walking and twice as much as cycling, and a small study in young men also found higher knee loads than a bike. If your knees complain, a bike is gentler.
We found no published study showing that pedalling backwards or raising the ramp works the glutes or hamstrings more. Backwards pedalling bent the knee a little less.
Source 10
The maker's estimate was too high in a lab study, and one model's display over-read in another, by an uncertain amount. For a 70 kg person, 30 minutes is about 175 calories at moderate effort and 315 at vigorous (our arithmetic from the Compendium).
From our elliptical move page's steps and cues and one maker's manual ("When mounting the machine it is recommended that the pedal closest to you is in its lowest position"). The 3 to 5 minutes at each end is editorial, matching our plans' warm-up. Machines differ in their buttons and stride length; read the label on yours.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Elliptical trainer
Two foot pedals on long arms or rails, moving handles linked to them, fixed handles in the middle (often with heart-rate grips, which one maker calls "approximate"), and a console that sets the resistance, a magnetic brake on a flywheel. Some machines have a ramp (incline) and some an adjustable stride length. Arc trainers, outdoor elliptical bikes and seated under-desk ellipticals are different machines.
Compared with walking, your hips and knees move along much the same path but bend more, the gluteus maximus and the front of the thigh work harder, and the calves and inner hamstrings work less (20 adults, four machines). The front of the thigh worked hardest of all the exercise types in a second study. Glute activity is low in absolute terms: about 4% of maximum for the gluteus maximus on a regular elliptical, against about 19% for clamshells or single-leg squats. Leg muscle effort was up to 60% lower than treadmill running, except for the thighs.
From moderate to vigorous, set by the resistance and your pace. Peak oxygen uptake was 48.0 on the elliptical against 49.3 ml per kg a minute on a treadmill in 18 trained runners, and "similar" to treadmill running in 48 adults; in 18 other adults the treadmill's peak was higher. A standard elliptical cost less oxygen than running in 16 runners, while a long-stride model matched it.
Heart rate runs high for many people, especially beginners: in 20 exercisers, a "6 out of 10" effort reached 91% of maximum heart rate. At the same heart rate, the legs felt the work more on an elliptical than on a treadmill. The motion can feel unnatural at first: 132 people found the treadmill more enjoyable and natural than the elliptical, and 4 of 30 adults in one study couldn't use an elliptical without holding the side handles. A fixed long stride suits tall people and can feel awkward if you're short. One maker's cross trainer takes users up to 181 kg; check the label.
On one machine, each extra stride a minute added about 0.1 ml of oxygen per kg a minute and each resistance level about 0.7 (26 adults). So going from 110 to 134 strides a minute adds about as much as 3 or 4 resistance levels (our arithmetic). The authors warn that people vary too much to predict anyone's own cost.
In 30 adults, higher resistance raised the load under the foot, and the authors warn that "high shear forces may exist on the lower limb joints on high resistance". Raising the ramp didn't change foot loading.
Source 23
Changing the ramp changed how far the knee and hip bent on a modified elliptical in 24 adults. We found no published study showing that a higher ramp works the glutes or hamstrings harder, so use it for variety, not as a glute setting.
Source 10
In 40 men, stride length (46 or 66 cm), speed and where the hands went all changed how much the lower back bent and twisted.
Source 13
To make it harder, raise the resistance a level or two or pedal a little faster, keeping a smooth, even stride. If you bounce, add resistance; if you grind or have to haul on the handles, take some off (our suggestions).
Using the moving handles raised oxygen use, breathing and effort ratings, but not heart rate, compared with legs only at the same stride rate and resistance (22 adults); the study didn't give the size. Another study's authors suggest the arms help explain why an elliptical cost more than a bike at the same share of maximum power, an idea they didn't test.
We found no study of how much you use when you hold the fixed central handles instead, and nothing near the popular claim that the arms double the calories.
Push and pull the moving handles in time with your legs, arms relaxed, or let go and swing your arms if your balance is good. Where your hands go changes how your lower back moves, so if your back complains, try a different hand position and stand tall.
Source 13
In 24 young adults on a modified elliptical, pedalling backwards bent the knee less at every ramp angle and let it fall inwards slightly more at the two lowest angles (by about 1 to 2.5 degrees). The authors suggest people with knee arthritis or pain around the kneecap could pedal backwards at a low ramp.
Source 10
The only muscle data come from an unpublished student project of 10 adults, which found the hamstring less active backwards and the front of the thigh more active, with the gluteus maximus least active of all.
Source 26
Only once forwards feels smooth: a low resistance, holding the handles, for a minute or two at a time (our suggestion).
The Compendium rates the elliptical 5.0 METs at moderate effort and 9.0 at vigorous. Multiply by your weight in kg and the time in hours:
In 26 adults, "The manufacturer's calculated energy expenditure was overestimated during both tests". In 34 adults on one model's quick-start setting, the display read higher than the measured energy use by a mean of about 128 calories over 30 minutes, using a default user of 150 lb, aged 35 and male. The direction matches, but the size is uncertain: the measured values in that study look low for a moderate effort. Another study notes that the makers' MET equations have unknown validity.
In 30 experienced men working hard, the elliptical used 12.82 calories a minute, against 15.18 on a treadmill, 13.35 on a stair climber, 12.45 on a spin bike (not significantly different), 11.94 on an upright bike and 11.07 on a recumbent bike. In untrained adults at a self-chosen effort, the elliptical and treadmill used similar energy.
Maximal fat burning was lower on an elliptical (0.41 g a minute) than on a treadmill (0.61) in 9 men, and in any case fat lost depends on the total energy you use, not the fuel mix, as our zone 2 guide explains. Exercise alone took off about 2.8 kg at 150 minutes a week across 116 trials.
In 75 adults aged 19 to 72, the load under the foot averaged 112% of body weight walking, 201% jogging outside, 175% jogging on a treadmill and 73% on an elliptical. Heel pressure was 94 kPa on an elliptical against 215 walking and 188 running (20 adults). Loading rates were lower than walking, but the hip and knee muscles worked harder to make that happen (15 men).
In 10 older adults, the total pressure over a session wasn't lower than walking, and the pedal still pushes back at about 70 to 81% of body weight.
In 3 people with instrumented knee replacements, the elliptical put 2.24 times body weight through the knee, against 2.05 for treadmill walking and 1.03 for cycling; the authors concluded it was "no better than treadmill walking" for reducing knee forces. In 12 young men, knee forces were higher on an elliptical than a bike. These are small studies, but they agree.
In a US cohort of 415 overweight adults, the 41 who used ellipticals had the smallest increase in knee damage on MRI over 4 years, a link that can't show cause. In 15 people waiting for a hip or knee replacement, an elliptical test reached about the same peak as a treadmill, with a similar rise in pain. We found no trial of elliptical training for knee arthritis; NICE recommends exercise, including aerobic fitness, for everyone with osteoarthritis.
In 18 adults, the hips felt more uncomfortable on an elliptical than on an arc trainer at similar efforts; knees and lower backs didn't differ.
Source 18
In 40 men, the lower back bent and twisted more on an elliptical than in walking, depending on hand position, speed and stride. In 12 people with long-term low back pain, pain fell from 4.7 to 3.2 out of 10 over 4 weeks of elliptical exercise, a small study with no comparison group. No study shows harm.
The elliptical suits people who find running's impact hard on their joints. With knee or hip pain that builds as you go, lower the resistance, shorten the session or switch to a bike, as our move page says. If your back complains, stand tall rather than leaning on the handles.
In 22 moderately active women training 3 days a week for 12 weeks (30 minutes at 70 to 80% of maximum heart rate, building to 40 minutes at 80 to 90%), the elliptical group's aerobic fitness rose from 36.9 to 39.6 ml per kg a minute, as much as the treadmill and stair-climber groups. Only 8 people were in the elliptical group.
Source 5
In 20 adults who had just trained for 4 weeks, 3 weeks of elliptical training kept predicted fitness about as well as running (falls of 1.5% and 0.8%, against 4.8% with rest, none significant). After a marathon, 40-minute elliptical sessions were no better than rest for muscle recovery in 64 runners.
In a trial of 50 people, 20 minutes a day on an elliptical from the third day after surgery improved knee strength, one-leg balance and walking speed more than walking did, still ahead at 3 months. Follow your surgical team's timing.
Source 43
In 68 older adults, interval training on an elliptical raised 6-minute walk distance more than steady treadmill walking (12.4% against 5.2%), but the machine and the intensity changed together, so it can't say which mattered.
Source 44
We found no meta-analysis of elliptical training and no study of bone. Its foot loads are below walking's, so treat it as non-impact for bone, like cycling (our reading); the UK osteoporosis consensus recommends strength and impact exercise for bone.
The point where talking first gets harder matched a breathing threshold on treadmills and bikes, and on an elliptical, effort ratings tracked oxygen use and heart rate closely in 60 adults.
It takes weight off your legs. Stand tall and drive the pedals with your legs, as our move page says.
Keep the whole foot on the pedal and the heels down (our move page).
Keep them soft (our move page).
Add resistance until the stride feels controlled (our suggestion).
If you can't keep a smooth stride or have to haul on the handles, lower it.
Source 23
Heart rate runs high and the display reads high. Go by your breathing.
Wait for them to stop, then step off on the side where the pedal is lowest.
Source 2
10 to 20 minutes at a moderate effort, building towards 30: the move page's dose, which is our editorial starting point. Moderate means you can talk but not sing, and those minutes count towards the 150 a week the NHS recommends.
Source 49
Add about 5 minutes every session or two, changing one thing at a time: time first, then resistance (our suggestion, as in our stair climber workout). Three to five sessions a week is a sensible spread.
Once 20 minutes steady is comfortable: 1 minute harder, 2 minutes easy, 4 rounds building to 8, as our cardio intervals workout does. Keep hard sessions to once or twice a week, with easier days between.
The elliptical at its move page's dose, 10 to 20 minutes at a moderate effort to start, building towards 30 (editorial there). The recumbent bike is gentler on a sore knee (its page gives the same starting dose); brisk treadmill walking and the stair-stepper are the other low-skill cardio options.
On 2 days a week: goblet squats and step-ups, 3 sets of 8 to 12 (our stair climber guide's strength note), 12 glute bridges (our low-impact leg workout), calf raises, 2 or 3 sets of 10 to 15 (our incline walking guide), and side planks, 2 holds of 20 to 40 seconds each side, with bird dogs for the back. After a session, the quad, hip flexor and calf stretches for 30 seconds each side, for comfort.
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoStep-upBeginner · A step
3D demoGlute bridgeBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSlow calf raiseBeginner · A wall
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoBird dogBeginner · No equipment
3D demoStanding quad stretchBeginner · A wall
3D demoHalf-kneeling hip flexor stretchBeginner · No equipment
3D demoWall calf stretch (gastrocnemius)Beginner · A wallStart with the elliptical workout for beginners: steady rounds first, then optional intervals. The cardio machines tour and the first gym workout try the cross trainer beside other machines, and the cardio intervals workout works on an elliptical at the same effort.
A first elliptical (cross trainer) workout: step on safely, ride steady at a talk-but-not-sing effort, then add 1-minute pushes once 20 minutes is easy.
30 minBeginner4 movesCardio machine, A wallA first tour of the gym's cardio machines: a few minutes each on the bike, treadmill, cross-trainer and rower, set up safely, at a talk-but-not-sing pace.
40 minBeginner7 movesCardio machine, A wallA gentle first gym workout: a bike warm-up, five machines for 2 easy sets each, a short core move and 10 minutes on the cross-trainer.
45 minBeginner11 movesCardio machine, Strength machineA 25-minute interval session on a bike or rower: one-minute hard efforts with two minutes easy, building from 4 to 8 rounds.
25 minIntermediate1 movesCardio machineA steady 30 to 45 minute cardio session at talk-but-not-sing pace: walk, cycle, row or cross-train, counting toward weekly activity guidelines.
40 minBeginner3 movesCardio machine, A wallUse the elliptical for these plans' cardio days at the same effort.
A first gym plan for beginners: 3 days a week, starting on the machines, adding free weights and cardio, with what changes by week 12 and what comes next.
3 training days50 minBeginner5 days a weekA 12-week workout plan for weight loss: three strength days, two cardio days and daily steps, building to 200 minutes a week, with honest results.
3 training days45 minBeginner7 days a weekA full week that mixes intensities: three strength days, two cardio days, a mobility day and an easy day, never seven hard days.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week exercise plan for over-65s: strength and balance three times a week, short balance sessions and daily walks, based on falls-prevention trials.
3 training days40 minBeginnerAt a moderate effort most people need no check first. With a heart condition, or chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, see your GP before vigorous sessions. If your blood pressure is high and not yet controlled, keep to moderate effort until it is. On a beta blocker, go by the talk test rather than your heart rate.
Keep the resistance low and the sessions short, keep pain to about 5 out of 10, settled by the next morning, and switch to a bike if it builds. Exercise is part of the treatment for knee osteoarthritis.
After heart surgery through the breastbone, or a heart or lung transplant, follow your surgeon's advice before pushing, pulling or lifting with your arms.
After a hip or knee replacement, follow your surgical team's timing; elliptical training from the third day helped people after hip replacement in one trial, under supervision.
Source 43
If you already use a cross trainer you can usually carry on at a comfortable effort, but the NHS says it's not recommended to start a new vigorous activity in pregnancy. Hold the handles as your balance changes, and stop if you feel uncomfortable, too hot or unwell.
Source 54
Hold the fixed handles throughout and keep the pace steady; some people need the handles to use an elliptical at all. A recumbent bike is the steadier choice if your balance is poor (our suggestion).
Source 23
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
Source 50
For chest pain that feels tight, heavy or squeezing, or spreads to your arms, neck, jaw or back; a sudden, extremely painful headache, especially while straining; someone who faints while exercising; or palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, breathlessness or feeling faint. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Also call 999 for pain and swelling in one leg with breathlessness or chest pain: it can be a blood clot that has reached the lungs.
Severe difficulty breathing (gasping, choking or not able to get your words out) is a 999 call; being more short of breath than usual is a call to NHS 111, as the NHS advises.
Source 62
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for a headache that's triggered or made worse by coughing, sneezing, bending down or exercising.
Source 57
Ease off over the last few minutes rather than stopping dead, and hold the fixed handles to step off. See a GP after any faint, and if you keep feeling light-headed after slowing down gradually, or dizziness keeps coming back.
Get advice from NHS 111 now: you cannot move the knee or put any weight on it, or it is very painful, badly swollen or has changed shape; or the knee locks, gives way or clicks painfully. Painless clicking is normal.
See a GP if knee pain hasn't improved within a few weeks.
Source 64
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for severe hip pain that started suddenly without a fall or injury, or a hip that's swollen and hot. See a GP if hip pain hasn't improved after 2 weeks of looking after it at home, is getting worse or keeps coming back, as the NHS advises.
Source 65
Same day (NHS 111): throbbing pain and swelling in one calf or thigh, with warm, red or darker skin around it, which can be a blood clot in a leg vein; or a snap or pop at the back of the heel, then trouble walking or standing on tiptoe.
Source 61
Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
Call 999 or go to A&E: back pain with chest pain, or back pain that started after a serious accident, such as a car crash.
See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
Aim for discomfort you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10. It should settle within an hour or so, and your back should be no worse the next morning, as our back pain guides say. Pain, pins and needles or numbness spreading down a leg are the exception: stop, and see our sciatica guide.
See a GP if you think you have a hernia, a bulge or lump that may get bigger when you strain and smaller when you lie down. Get help from NHS 111 if you have a hernia and pain in or around it, a bloated tummy, you feel or are sick, you're vomiting blood or your vomit looks like coffee grounds, you're constipated, you have a high temperature or feel hot, cold or shivery, or you've suddenly become confused. Call 999 or go to A&E for a femoral hernia (a small lump at the top of your thigh, in your groin) with very bad tummy pain, sickness, being unable to fart or poo, a high temperature or sudden confusion.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before hard or straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled (140/90 or higher at a clinic, or 135/85 at home), or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists.
Muscle soreness for a day or two after a new or harder session is common and fades. Sharp pain, or pain that builds during a set or lingers into the next day, isn't: swap to an easier version, and see a clinician if it persists, as our plans advise. The NHS says to stop exercising straight away if you feel any pain or become unwell, and to get help from 111 if symptoms worry you or don't go away.
Source 70
It rates 5.0 to 9.0 METs, peak oxygen uptake on it was close to a treadmill's, and 12 weeks of elliptical training raised fitness as much as treadmill running.
It cuts the impact under your feet, but in small studies it loaded the knee joint about as much as treadmill walking and more than a bike.
It's low impact: foot loads averaged 73% of body weight, and the pedals still push back.
The handles raised oxygen use and effort in one study, which gave no size. Nobody has shown anything near double.
Source 11
We found no published study showing it. The only muscle data, from an unpublished student project, found the hamstring less active backwards; the published study measured only knee angles.
We found no study showing it. The ramp changed knee and hip angles and didn't change the load under the foot.
The maker's estimate read high in two studies; how high is uncertain.
On an elliptical, heart rate ran higher than on a treadmill at the same effort and energy use. Go by your breathing.
Source 6
Hold the fixed handles and step onto the pedal that sits lowest, then start pedalling forwards slowly at a low resistance. Stand tall with your heels down, push and pull the moving handles in time with your legs, and raise the resistance until you can talk but not sing. Ease off for the last few minutes and let the pedals stop before you step off.
Yes. "Cross trainer" is the usual UK name and "elliptical" the US one for a machine whose pedals travel in long ovals, usually with moving handles. Arc trainers and outdoor elliptical bikes are different machines.
Yes. It rates about as hard as brisk walking at a moderate effort and about as hard as running at a vigorous one, peak oxygen uptake on it was close to a treadmill's, and 12 weeks of elliptical training raised fitness as much as treadmill running in a small trial.
Start with 10 to 20 minutes at a talk-but-not-sing effort and build towards 30 over a few weeks. Add short harder spells once 20 minutes is easy, as our elliptical workout does. Those minutes count towards your 150 a week.
Yes, if you're steady: pushing and pulling them raised oxygen use and effort in a lab study, without raising heart rate. Nobody has shown they double the calories, and you can let go and swing your arms if your balance is good.
Enough that your stride feels smooth and controlled, but not so much that you grind or have to haul on the handles. Raising the resistance or your stride rate both add work. Levels differ between machines, so note what feels right on yours.
It's low impact under the foot, which helps if running jars your joints, but it isn't the gentlest machine for the knee joint itself: in small studies it loaded the knee about as much as treadmill walking and more than a bike. With knee pain, lower the resistance or try the bike.
No study shows harm, but it bends and twists the lower back more than walking does, depending on where your hands go, your speed and your stride. Stand tall rather than leaning on the handles, and keep sessions shorter if your back complains.
Not in the way people say: no published study shows it works the glutes or hamstrings more, and one unpublished study found the hamstring less active. It bends the knee a little less, so it's fine for variety.
For a 70 kg person, about 175 calories in 30 minutes at a moderate effort and about 315 at a vigorous one (our arithmetic from the Compendium of Physical Activities). The display tends to read high, so treat its number as a rough guide.
At the same felt effort they used similar energy in untrained adults, though heart rate ran higher on the elliptical, and both raised fitness alike in a training trial. The treadmill loads your bones and trains you for running; the elliptical spares you impact. Pick the one you'll keep using.
It helps through the energy it uses, like any cardio, but exercise alone takes weight off slowly: about 2.8 kg at 150 minutes a week on average in trials. It won't take fat off your stomach in particular.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
