First off, my apologies to those of you who don't give a crap about elliptical machines. But I'm afraid they're my go-to indoor cardio option, and I use them at the most fully caffeinated time of day when I'm having all sorts of Thinky Thoughts and am obsessively narrating in my head. So yeah, this means it's time for yet another post, more specifically about the whole "Arms" aspect.
Now some elliptical machines are mercifully armless, and these are the kind I've always preferred. There is a place you can put your arms for balance if you need to (after so many years, I don't) but they don't have the upright vertical handles that swing back and forth in time with the leg pedals.
When I use the elliptical, I pump up my tunes and get all wild and crazy and weird on it, which you can't do when grimly clutching a pair of clunky moving metal pipes. When I've had to rock out on an elliptical machine with handles? I try to pretend the handles aren't there. But then my spastic dance moves and fist pumps get interrupted when the handles get their revenge and give me a sound whomping.
But dang it, as old machines get replaced, the armless kind of elliptical machines are getting harder to find!
Some of the new machines are kinda "bi" and swing both ways. There are vertical arm handles for those who like them, but at they're far enough apart to allow room for people like me who want pump their arms or spazz-dance. These I grumble about, but can handle.
But having recently confronted a couple of the narrow punitive kind, and feeling strangely averse to getting battered by the damn handles yet again, I decided to suck it up and attempt to actually use the arm handles.
(It's part of my lastest "let's loosen the hell up and and try a few new things" initiative. These come frequently and are good for about 5 minutes, but whatever).
So anyway, as I suspected, my first reaction was: Acck! The movement felt totally unnatural. Grasping onto the handles was a total buzz-kill and destroyed any sense of rhythm or momentum or joy. (Note: because my back is still f--cked up, I can only use the elliptical sparingly. So it actually IS a joy if I get to use one of the right kind and can dance and bounce and carry on.)
But I'm guessing other no-hands elliptical people, who have spent many years powering the machines with just their legs, might have a similar issue when they attempt to employ their arms. There is some technique involved!
So, how do you best use the arm handles on an elliptical?
Wait, you thought that was a rhetorical question? And that I have an answer?
Sadly, no. I haven't completely figured it out yet. I'm hoping for some great tips down in the comment section to help me (and others) out. But I have been experimenting a little, and can at least pass on what I'm learning.
What Does Online Research Say about Proper Use of Elliptical Arms?
The first article I came upon searching for "proper form on elliptical for arms" was this blog post on proper elliptical form which is actually quite amusing and encouraging!
(So did you click on it and see why I was so amused and encouraged?) However, while it covered many other wrong ways to use the elliptical, the post didn't address the whole arm handle question.
More specifically, I've found that because I'm primarily leg-driven and like a fast pace, any effort to use my arms to "help" seems completely counterproductive. I can't time my efforts to go in the right direction, and I end up pulling or pushing at the exact wrong times. I either have to try to let my arms go completely slack, or I find I'm fighting against my legs and making the whole thing harder.
(Though I guess, stepping back, that the whole point of any exercise machine is to create work that is absolutely useless. So my arms fighting my legs, philosophically, is a good thing. Yet I don't like it! I want my pointless exercise to feel integrated and even more importantly, I want the numbers on the machine to look bigger so I feel more awesome).
This video is as good a general tutorial as any, and I enjoyed watching it, if only for the fantasy that someday I will have my own personal training coach who can command an entire empty gym for each machine she wants me to use.
But again, no hints on how to sync the arms with the legs for elliptical awesomeness.
