Planning to buy either of these to add to my home gym.
Im leaning towards ski machine because cross country skiers have higher vo2 max and endurance?
Thoughts?
Planning to buy either of these to add to my home gym.
Im leaning towards ski machine because cross country skiers have higher vo2 max and endurance?
Thoughts?
I think the key for cross training is to try to engage th e same muscles as you engage when running, and engaging them in roughly the same ratios as when you run.
For this reason, I would endorse the elliptical, specifically one of this style that has a pretty flexible range of motion and would allow you to simulate your running form to a greater degree than a bike or stair master.
Not even close. Find an old school Nordictrack on Craigslist for $25-$75. Commit to learning good technique.
Smoove wrote:
I think the key for cross training is to try to engage th e same muscles as you engage when running, and engaging them in roughly the same ratios as when you run.
For this reason, I would endorse the elliptical, specifically one of this style that has a pretty flexible range of motion and would allow you to simulate your running form to a greater degree than a bike or stair master.
https://gym-experts.com/products/precor-amt-100i-experience-series-adaptive-motion-trainer-elliptical?gclid=CjwKCAiAmNbwBRBOEiwAqcwwpYCchXZeYi5bIGepTaVLZSr81PC1ef9D6aNWO77Fj_JXwvQVWrAITRoCp_YQAvD_BwE
Appreciate for the article, great read.
https://ijrep.org/a-comparison-of-energy-expenditure-when-exercising-on-10-indoor-exercise-machines/For some reasons when Im at the gym using the elliptical i cant get my heart rate high enough. Would you recommend to do it with slower strides higher resistance or no resistance but same strides per minute rate as running?
I did many different cross-training methods, and what seems to help the most is swimming, especially if you don't dedicate much time to core training.
It's super easy to get the HR up with swimming and it doesn't cause any fatigue since there is no pounding (careful with pushing off the walls tho in the first few weeks, calf cramps are likely).
This is against Jack Daniels logic "biking helps more than swimming because it uses the legs more", but the thing is if we want muscular adaptions we need to run anyway. My experience with cycling was that running helps with the cycling but not the other way round (apart from getting strong quads that won't be injured through running).
The elliptical feels like a toy to me. I’d rather be on a spin bike.
LateRunnerPhil wrote:
I did many different cross-training methods, and what seems to help the most is swimming.
I agree with this, but it may just be because I love swimming...
It's like a workout and physical therapy (I'm always injured nowadays) in one!
Look into arc-trainer too. Imho, preferable to an elliptical and you can more easily do interval workouts.
Those nordic track ski machine things are dangerous. I tried one out once at a neighbor’s garage sale, hit my knee on the front part, and then lost my balance and fell off, twisting my ankle in the process. People laughed. It was embarrassing. ?
LoneStarXC wrote:
Those nordic track ski machine things are dangerous. I tried one out once at a neighbor’s garage sale, hit my knee on the front part, and then lost my balance and fell off, twisting my ankle in the process. People laughed. It was embarrassing. ?
It definitely takes a couple tries to get comfortable. I think a lot of people bought them and gave up quickly. That’s why they are usually available in almost new condition on the second hand market.
As a complementary workout I like the concept 2 ergometer. It can be boring, but it does give me a complete workout. I am too uncoordinated for some of the other machines, and I think treadmills are evil.
Step mill hardest, if you don't cheat holding handles. Ski machine is not close to the real thing. Skate skiing is most intense which a machine cannot simulate
hippisces wrote:
For some reasons when Im at the gym using the elliptical i cant get my heart rate high enough. Would you recommend to do it with slower strides higher resistance or no resistance but same strides per minute rate as running?
I end up trading stride rate for resistance. My normal stride rate when running at easy distance pace is somewhere within a couple of strides of 160 spm. On the AMT elliptical, I am typically at 112-116 strides per minute. While this will vary from machine to machine and athlete to athlete, I would typically set the resistance of 5-7 for easy distance effort, 10 or so for threshold effort, and 12 for vo2max effort; all as confirmed by heart rate.
The best way to cross train is get outside and do something. Kayaking, skiing, biking, etc. are all normally more beneficial than machines.