Don’t waste your time! Here are the BEST and WORST gym machines for sustainable and optimal weight loss!
Wrong Things To Do During Cardio
Hands-Off Cardio
To maximise the number of calories burned in a short amount of time and make it more effective, you need to take your hands OFF the machine YOU’RE on. What I mean is, try not to hold onto the side or the handles of the machine when YOU’RE completing cardio.
Importance of Effort:
For example, if two people are on the stepper machine, and both say they’ve burnt 200 calories, one of them did it while holding onto the sides and the other did not. The person who DIDN’T hold on struggled more and burned more calories, regardless of the machine saying they both burnt 200 calories. This is because the person who didn’t hold on worked that extra bit harder and most likely had a higher heart rate, which would result in more calories burnt.
The Worse Cardio Machines!
The Recumbent Bike Machine
Drumroll for the worst cardio machine…. goes to…. the recumbent bike machine! You’ll probably see this machine in a lot of commercial gyms, but it’s not ideal for those trying to get optimal results out of calorie-burning cardio. You’re basically doing nothing but moving your legs! You may also find that the people using this machine are usually those on the phone or constantly texting. In cardio, where you’re burning the optimal amount of fat, you shouldn’t be able to hold a conversation on the phone. If you do this, I’d highly recommend that you switch to the regular exercise bike, the spin bike, or the assault bike.
The Elliptical Machine
Another machine that is somewhat useless is the elliptical machine, sometimes known as the cross-trainer. Yes, you may build up a sweat while on it, but the majority of the ones you find, especially in commercial gyms, are built on momentum. Once you get into a certain rhythm of moving, when you stop engaging your legs and arms or stop moving them, the machine almost keeps on going for you. The machine is pretty much doing the work for you, and your muscles aren’t really working to engage in any activity.
The treadmill comes into this, but solely when used on ZERO incline! Having no incline is:
- Bad for your joints, especially if you jog on the treadmill. The impact you’re constantly doing when running on a treadmill impacts your knees a lot.
- Less strenuous. Too many of you are walking casually on the treadmill for 60 mins+, but you’re not burning optimal amounts of calories by doing this. The machine is basically walking for you.
Increasing the incline on the treadmill makes you work harder as you’re trying to keep up, and it’s less impact on your knees. To get the most out of your exercise, increase the pace and push yourself. You don’t want to be in there forever; increase the incline to simulate a hill, as this brings in more of the hamstrings and works your lower back as well!
Tracking Calories Burnt on the Machine
If the machine says you’ve burned 300 calories, is it accurate? No, as mentioned earlier, you could have two people, one holding onto the railings and one who isn’t, and the machine will still say 300 calories for both. However, if you always use that machine and use it the exact same way, you can use that calorie number as a base reference. Whereas if you’re switching to a different type of treadmill or different brand, they may calculate the number slightly differently.
It’s best to stick to the same brand of stepper/treadmill or whatever machine you’re using for reference when it comes to calorie burning.
The best cardio machine for me personally is the STAIR MASTER. It’s super strenuous and the most challenging for me specifically. The way I balance out which one is more.
Anyways! I hope you learnt how to optimise your cardio time at the gym when it comes to burning calories and as always check out the link below for a more detail view.
