Most sought after, most bought, most used. Crosstrainer is definitely the most popular fitness equipment among fitness enthusiasts. Especially all those who want to buy a home trainer for home. Besides the classic treadmill or bicycle ergometer, the crosstrainer is in great demand.
And this has its reasons. Exercises on the crosstrainer are the ideal all-round endurance training. It works all the major muscle groups in the body, legs, torso and arms. And it also eliminates the impact loads of active running, which our joints will thank us for.
But be careful - without the right introduction, you can do a lot of things wrong even on professional cross trainers, which then does more harm to the body than good.
Here you can get some useful tips for using a crosstrainer:
- The right one matters. There are three different types of cross trainers. If you have problems with your joints, especially your knees, you should make sure that your cross trainer has the flywheel mass located in the front. This makes the exercises more like walking or hiking. With a flywheel mass at the back, the motion sequence is comparable to jogging.
- It pays to try it out! Every person moves differently. Therefore, it makes sense to test a few machines in advance and finally decide on the crosstrainer with which the motion sequence feels most comfortable for you.
- Pay attention to the quality. The joints and connections of the individual parts of the crosstrainer should be provided with plastic protection. Likewise, the treads should have a higher plastic edge to prevent slipping sideways.
- Increase slowly. You should start with a short warm-up. Run for five minutes on the lowest setting of your cross trainer and then steadily increase to your recommended heart rate.
- Watch out for the reading trap! It's tempting to talk a bit while exercising on the cross trainer and put a book or magazine on the display. However, this bends the posture of the spine by bending the head down to read. Tension and back pain can be the result. If you want to read while exercising, make sure you place the reading material at eye level.
- Watch your hips. One of the most common mistakes made when exercising with a cross trainer is buckling your hips. You should try to keep your torso still.
- Use your whole foot. When you start exercising on a cross trainer, make sure to be on the treads with the entire surface of your feet. Running continuously on your toes or balls of your feet puts too much strain on your calf muscles. Short intervals, on the other hand, are not dramatic.
The crosstrainer is the ideal device as a home trainer. It is a super support for losing weight and for training fitness. So if you don't feel like going to a gym, with our tips you are now well prepared to get a crosstrainer for your home.
Image Source: #397488396 Andrey Popov / Adobe Stock
Published on: 1 July 2014