Elliptical Machine - Exercise Program

Keeping healthy is a life-long activity which involves proper diet and exercise. Since I have already described my low calorie diet in a previous blog, I will spend more time in this blog describing my exercise program.

The exercise program that I follow involves a daily 60 minute walk and a 30 minute indoor exercise workout. I use a pedometer to track my walking and shoot for 10,000 steps per day (5 miles). The indoor workout program, which I have nicknamed SEAR, involves a combination of starter stretches (S), elliptical machine (E), ab lounge (A), and power rider (R). I spend about 5 minutes on each of these parts for a total of 30 minutes. You can see photos of my fitness equipment at the link …………..
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/ExcEqpt12608?authkey=2NisB8whw28

I start off slow with some stretches that limber up all the tight muscles (calves, ham string, quadriceps, groin, lower back and abs. It is important to stretch these muscles gradually and strengthen them before any physical exercise, in order to reduce possible stress injuries. You can see some online videos describing these stretches at the link below …..
The first video shows how to do five of the stretches and the second video shows the ab stretches. (Because the video info is free, you will see a 30 second commercial first from the sponsor.) …….
http://video.about.com/exercise/LOWER-BODY-STRETCHES-mov.htm

Although I have had some fitness equipment for several years, I recently purchased an elliptical machine to increase my cardio vascular exercise. I first did a search online to find various brands of ellipticals and found the list at Walmart.com to be most helpful and also within my price range. You can see the list of elliptical machines offered by Walmart at the link below ……
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=elliptical&search_constraint=0&tab_value=19_All&ic=48_0&ref=&search_sort=4&selected_items=+ The prices listed at Walmart are $100 to $200 less then the same machines listed elsewhere.

Before buying the elliptical machine I compared it to a treadmill and found that the elliptical has less impact stress to the feet, legs and hip joints than the treadmill. The elliptical also burns more calories in half the time than the treadmill. You can see some comparison info at the link below …….
http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisegear/a/treadelliptical.htm

I finally decided to buy the elliptical machine from Walmart and went to the Salem, NH store to look. After looking at several models I picked the Weslo Momentum 620 which lists online at Walmart.com for $194.00 and at Weslo.com for $259.00. To my surprise, the one at the Walmart store must have been on sale, since it was priced for $99.00.

After bringing it home, I decided to assemble it myself, although Walmart offers an in-home assembly for $199.00. The box weighs about 160 pounds and I carried it to the basement. I opened the box and laid everything out on the floor in neat order. I then read the direction booklet and began the assembly process. With a few mistakes, it took about 2 hours to assemble. You can see the assembly photos at the link ……
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/EllipticalMachine12608


The Weslo 620 elliptical machine has a digital LCD panel where you can select two workout programs lasting 20 and 30 minutes respectively.. The panel also reads your elapsed time, calories, and heart rate. You can also adjust the resistance for a harder workout program. After a few minutes you can feel the stress on your leg muscles. I try to do my workout just after breakfast at about 7:30 AM. After a week of using the elliptical machine I have increased my time and found it to be a little easier. However, your heart rate certainly goes up quickly strengthening your cardio vascular system .