Time is precious and no more so than in the gym. You want to get in, work it, and get out — well . . . and maybe hit the steam room for a quick five minutes. If cardio machines are your jam, we have rounded up tips (and workouts) to make the most of your time on the treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike, and increase your calorie burn.
If you're not into cardio, be sure to check out how to burn more calories while lifting weights [1].
Elliptical
- Pick up the pace: The faster you move on the this machine, the more energy you will be using, and energy equals calories. Picking up your pace on the elliptical translates to burning more calories, and that's what you want. Equinox trainer Britteny Stalwart told POPSUGAR that you should aim for 150 to 160 strides per minute [2] for a solid cardio workout. So keep your feet moving.
- Opt for intervals: A fat-blasting, calorie-torching technique for any cardio workout is intervals, alternating between short periods of pushing your pace with rest period. These workouts are great on this machine. Do make sure your sprint speed is between 180 and 190 strides per minute. Here's 30-minute printable workout [3] to take to the gym.
- Up the resistance: Increasing the resistance might mean you can't move as quickly, but it will require more effort for each movement and burn more calories. As you increase the resistance get your arms involved and focus on pushing and pulling the handles, which not only recruits more muscles (more active muscles means more calories burned), this will help you maintain speed with increased resistance.
- Work your arms: No matter your pace, use your arms. Actively pushing the handles will work your chest and pulling them will work the upper-back muscles. Isn't it nice when you can multitask at the gym and burn calories while building strength.
Here are our favourite elliptical workouts for you peruse [4], then print, and take to the gym.
Treadmill
- Up your speed: Bumping up your speed, even if it's only by 0.5 [5], you increase you calorie burn. Playing around with the speed will keep you run interesting; slowly increase your MPH a bit every two to three minutes and see how you feel.
Up the incline : If you're not feeling the need for speed, increase the incline! Running or walking with the incline [6] can increase your caloric burn by up to 30 percent. Walk at a steeper incline for a great glute workout, adding some strength training to your cardio workout.- Mix it up with intervals: Harness the calorie-burning potential of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) [7] and bring it to the treadmill! Interval training on the treadmill [8] will challenge your body and burn more calories in less time.
Check out our favourite treadmill workouts — from beginner to advanced [9].
Stationary Bike
- Engage your core: You need to keep your abs working even when you're sitting and pedaling. Ease up your grip on the handles and stabilize your torso by pulling your abs toward your spine. Working your core while riding [10] will not only improves your posture but it helps you ride more efficiently, which can lead to bigger calorie burn.
- Increase your resistance: Sculpt your lower body by turning up the resistance and imagine your are climbing one long hill (be mindful of your knees though). When pedaling, keep your foot parallel with the ground and emphasize pushing through your heel to fire up the muscles on the back of your legs.
- Pull the pedals:: The quads tend to dominate when pushing the pedal down. To get the back of the leg to work, work on pulling up on the pedals, too. Focus on pushing with one leg while pulling with the other to keep your power output constant.
- Stand up: Take advantage of the stability of a stationary bike and pedal while standing. You can stand straight up, so it feels more like you're running, or lean out over the handle bars keeping your bum off the seat. No matter what pedaling posture your take, make sure to engage your core. When pedaling standing, make sure you have enough resistance that you are in control of the spinning motion of your pedals — try to decrease the bounce.
Check out this 30-minute ride [11] that plays with speed and cadence; get ready to sprint.