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OK, you know that you need to lose a few pounds, but where do you start? You could go jogging, but that’s a bit boring. Weights are another option, but you want to lose some inches not build muscle. Let me give you a tip. Using an elliptical trainer to lose weight is fun and suitable for all ages and levels of fitness.There are a number of reasons why an elliptical machine is one of the best pieces of equipment to help you shift some excess pounds. It has a smooth gentle action, so there is no pressure on the joints as with jogging or using a treadmill. The machine exercises the arms at the same time as the legs. This helps to burn more calories and is therefore more effective than an exercise bike.

If you are buying an elliptical for home use, you should get one that has a heart rate monitor. This will help you gauge the level of exercise intensity that you need to reach to get into the ‘fat burning zone’. If you are using equipment in a gym this will most certainly already be on the machine. The most common type has a handgrip sensor. But a more accurate type is a belt sensor that will fit around the chest.

To burn off the calories you should be aiming to use your elliptical trainer 4-5 times per week for a period of 20-30 minutes. This type of approach to exercise could be described as ‘little and often’. It’s much better than trying to do a one and half hour marathon once a week. If you have not exercised for some time, then ease yourself into it and build up the number of times that you exercise. You may need to check with your doctor to make sure that you are on the right track.

All but the very cheapest models have a variety of exercise programs built into their computers. This is one of the biggest benefits of using an elliptical trainer for weight loss. There is enough variety and enjoyment to make sure you stick with your exercise program and not abandon it after a few weeks.

When you are exercising at your home gym, you’re likely to be out of the watchful eye of your personal trainer. In a healthclub or professional gym they would probably be there to offer you help and advice on training technique. Because of this, it’s easy to get into bad habits at home. Here are some common myths surrounding weight-training exercises, that you should avoid.Myth 1- If I Train Longer, It’ll Be More Effective

Unfortunately not true. The key to toning and building your muscles is to do the correct type of exercises and do them well. The quality of the exercise you do is more important than the length of time that you do it. Once a muscle has reached the point where it is over loaded and will start becoming stronger, there is no point in repeating the exercise for hours

Myth 2 – If I Lift Heavier Weights, I’ll Get Bigger Muscles

Sure your aim is to lift bigger weights. But you need to do this is in a structured way, that is all part of your training plan. Lifting heavier weights should never be at the expense of technique. Remember that using sets and repetitions with lighter weights can be more effective and it is less likely to cause injury.

Myth 3 – When I Stop Training, My Muscle Will Turn To Fat

The biology of the body is that these two types of body tissue are completely different, so one can’t change into the other. When you start a fitness program, you can use exercise to burn fat and at the same time tone and build your muscles. When you stop training you could start to lose muscle. If you keep eating the same amount as when you were training then you may start to accumulate fat because the extra calories are not being burnt up.

Myth 4 – Lifting Weights Will Make My Muscles Big

Using weights are a great way to tone muscles and build up muscle definition. In reality, building muscles is dependent on a number of things. This includes your own individual body type and the type of exercise that you carry out. Building muscle mass in a short period of time is one of the more difficult fitness goals to achieve. If your goal is to build muscle, it’s important that you stick to a structured plan of both exercise and diet.

It’s easy to think that when you’re at the gym or at home and you’re doing the latest aerobics routine that you’re getting a really good total body workout. After all you’re actively working the whole body aren’t you? Your arms and legs are rapidly pumping like a steam train, the sweat’s pouring out of you and the body fat is melting away like snow in summer. The reality is that while your heart’s getting a good workout and your burning extra calories, the rest of the muscles in your body are only getting at best a minimal workout.The problem with aerobics is that while it’s great for burning off a lot of calories, if it’s your only form of exercise you won’t be just burning off body fat. Assuming that you’re actually burning up more energy than the calories you’re consuming you will be losing weight, but some of that weight will be in the form of lost muscle tissue, not just fat. Look at the physique of a marathon runner. There’s no doubt they’re incredibly fit and lean, but it’s at the expense of muscle tone. This loss of muscle is the body’s way of adjusting to this type of training. The lighter you are the easier it is for your body to keep going for longer distances.

Another downside to only doing aerobic workouts is you’re only speeding your fat burning furnace up, and shedding those extra calories, while you’re actively exercising. Exercise for 20 to 30 minutes and that’s about how long you’ll burn calories for. Shortly after you stop exercising your heart rate settles back down to normal and so does your fat burning furnace. So your base metabolism, the rate that you burn calories during a normal day, goes back to its normal rate. And it’s your metabolism that determines how much you can eat without adding extra body fat.

As an aerobics workout is usually performed at the same low intensity for a long period of time, it doesn’t take very long for your whole body to recover. After all, it usually won’t take you more than a few minutes to recover from being out of breath, and most aerobic exercises are only done at a level where you’re only just out of breath, in order to maximize burning body fat. Not only does your body quickly recover from each individual aerobics session, it soon starts to adapt by increasing your level of fitness. As your body gets fitter it also gets better at using less energy to do the same workout.

Obviously as your body gets fitter and more efficient at using energy you soon reach a point where you either have to workout more intensely or workout for longer to continue losing body fat. With aerobics you can only increase the intensity so far because otherwise you’d be able to run 15 to 25 mile marathons at the same speed you could do the 100 metres. If you choose to workout longer, then as you get fitter so your workouts will become progressively longer in order to continue losing body fat. The most effective way to keep your aerobic workouts to a reasonable level is to combine a proper weight training routine with your aerobics workout.