What programs do you use on cardio machines?
Quick-start? Manual?
If the answer to my question is yes, please consider an interval/hill program. On the Life Fitness Elliptical (my favorite machine), I like the random program best. On the Precor machines, the cross country program is ok. The hill program on the Cybex Arc Trainer is an interval work-out too.
The reason I'm mentioning this is because if you have a fitness or weight loss goal, a flat line program like quick-start or manual is not going to help you achieve your goal. Interval training has been shown to be the most effective way to improve your cardiovascular health and boost your metabolism (i.e. burn calories).
Watch your speed and notice whether you speed up on the valleys and slow down on the hills. This is a typical human reaction to varying work-load. One way of working is to keep your speed constant regardless of the work-load. It's one way, not necessarily the only way.
Remember variety is the spice of life (and exercising!).
If you have a weight loss goal or you're a numbers guy (or girl like me), the calorie counts on these machines are not accurate. As I mentioned in a previous post, the totals can be off (too
high) by hundreds of calories depending on how long you were on the machine.
Likewise for the heart rate monitors contained in the machine. If you really want to know your heart rate and your calorie expenditure, please invest in a good heart rate monitor. My trainer asked me to buy one for years and I'm sorry to say it took me until not so long ago to follow her advice. It was, and is, excellent advice and I use my HR monitor constantly now. It's a valuable tool to evaluate the effectiveness of my exercising both at that moment in time and
over a longer period.
In health,
Laura
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