In this article, I am going to show you how a cross trainer can be used to lose weight or if cross trainers are particularly good for burning fat.
If you want a really quick answer, then yes. Cross trainers are great for losing weight but it has to be part of a larger and broader lifestyle choice. There are particular ways that you can use the cross trainer to get the most effect out of them. Cross trainers have a lot of features built in to them and that can allow you to get the most out of your workout.
So, I am just going to dive into a few ways that you can really make the cross trainer work for you and skim over a couple of the brief benefits of cross trainers as well.
How to use Cross Trainers for Weight Loss?
There are two different ways that you can use a cross trainer specifically if your primary goal is fat burning. Here I am not talking about training for fitness and cardio in any particular way. So when we talk about burning fat, we recommend two different types of fitness which are:
- HIIT Training
- LISS Training
You might already be familiar with these terms and you’ve probably had the name being thrown around quite a lot.
1. HIIT Training
HIIT training is high-intensity interval training so on a cross trainer, you could be working at a relatively low intensity using the arms just to get your body warmed up. But say you did that for a minute just to get yourself warmed up, you could train a higher intensity for a minute and this is where you’d use the central grips and you could really start to elevate your heart rate. Then after a minute, you can slow that back down just allow your body to recover from the intensity and then repeat that process. It can work in 45-second intervals depending on what your fitness level is with a cross trainer.
You can change or alter that to tailor it to your needs but the main focus of high-intensity interval training is that you’re working from periods of 70 to 80% of your work in heart rate and then dropping it back down to a resting phase and then increasing it and bringing it down. Generally, HIIT workouts are quite short so you can get a really good HIIT workout even in 10 minutes. But somewhere between if you can get 15 to 20 minutes of HIIT training, that’s going to be really effective for not only your fitness levels but for weight loss as well.
2. LISS Training
Conversely, you have LISS training which if you break the acronyms down a little bit, you’re looking at Low-Intensity Steady-State cardio, which is completely the opposite to high-intensity interval training. That is simply a case of working more like 50 to 60 per cent of your working heart rate. You’re going quite steady and not pushing yourself too far and exercising enough for a longer duration. Using the cross trainer between 30 to 45 minutes, just a nice steady consistent pace and not overexerting yourself too much.
A lot of people will say that you’re in a fat loss specific zone but it’s just a slightly more effective way to lose weight over a sustained period of time. If you are starting to work at high intensity over a longer period of time, your body starts to recruit energy wherever it can. It missed out to recruit energy and it can actually be sometimes your muscles as opposed to the fat. This is why we recommend working at that lower intensity over a longer period of time.
Nutrition is Important
The larger elephant in the room is your nutrition. Realistically, without getting your nutrition right, all of your hard work and the efforts that you put in through the cross trainer are all going to be a bit of a waste. I recommend getting your nutrition right. If you’re going to make a change with a cross train or any different type of fitness equipment in any way, always make sure that you’re making a lifestyle change and not just doing something over the short term.
Other things to consider
There are fewer variables with cross trainers that allow you to diversify your training as well. Most of them do come with resistance levels. Most trainers have 16 resistance levels built-in through a magnetic system. With HIIT training, you may not want to just increase the pace that you’re working but you could just simply increase the intensity of the resistance. You can also use that through your steady-state cardio as well so you can be working at a constant level. You can choose to go quicker at a lighter resistance or slower at a heavier resistance.