Ellipticals are excellent cardio machines that can help you burn a large number of calories in a short period of time. Many elliptical routines have users do around 30 minutes a day and promise great results.

But is an elliptical 30 minutes a day 2 months enough to see results? The truth is that the average elliptical workout will burn around 300 calories (depending on your weight and intensity). After 1 month you will see some results. After two months, you should start seeing significant changes.

In this guide we will break down, how can you best ensure success with your elliptical workouts.

Elliptical 30 Minutes A Day 2 Months: How To Get The Best Results

Although you will see some changes if you just add an elliptical workout to your daily routine if you truly want to fast-track the weight loss process, here are some basic things you can do:

Eat At Maintenance Or A Deficit

Assuming that you do 30 minutes on the elliptical, you will be burning somewhere around 300 calories. This is great, but be aware that it is very easy to eat those calories back without realizing it.

A few tablespoons of sauce, a muffin, or a slice of pizza can all have 300 calories in them if not more. If you want to truly lose weight, then you have to combine your workout routine with a healthy diet.

The best way to do this is to eat at maintenance and then enter a deficit via exercise or to eat in a deficit and compound this with exercises. Obviously the deeper a deficit you are in, the faster you will lose weight.

A simple way to calculate your maintenance calories is just taking your body weight and multiplying it by 14. From there subtract 300-500 calories and that should be a good amount of calories to lose weight with.

You can go more extreme if you want, but just be aware that you may experience the negative side effects of rapid weight loss. Also keep in mind, that if you exercise on an elliptical every day, you have to eat a solid amount of nutrients to support that exercise.

Turn Up The Intensity

Put simply, not all elliptical machine workouts are built the same. Some burn significantly more calories than others and will therefore result in better results than others.

Elliptical machines are great for steady-state cardio but if you really want to take things to the next level, consider incorporating intervals through High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).

This style of training is basically just a series of high-intensity intervals of maximum exertion followed by rest periods. A typical HIIT elliptical workout will look something like 30 seconds of max effort followed by 2 minutes of rest. You then would do this for 10 intervals total.

The workouts may be harder, but over the course of months, the additional effort you put in will show in the results you get.

Strength Training

If you want to take the results that you see to the next level, consider combing your elliptical training with weight lifting.

While strength training will not burn as many calories as an elliptical, what it will do is trigger muscle growth across your body. From an aesthetic standpoint, the additional muscle mass will give you a more toned and refined look.

But also, any additional muscle you pack on will actually increase your caloric burn. You see, maintaining muscle is hard work for your body. Just by having the additional muscle mass on your frame, you will be increasing the number of calories that your body burns by just sitting around.

How Does An Elliptical Burn Calories?

Elliptical workouts are a form of aerobic exercise. Elliptical exercise burns calories by raising your heartbeats per minute. Over the course of the workout, the demand on your leg muscles and other will exceed the energy that they have stored in their glycogen stores. Since the energy for continuous movement gas to come from somewhere, your body begins to burn calories.

Factors That Affect How Many Calories You Burn On An Elliptical

Working out on an elliptical machine will cause caloric burn for everyone. However, the exact number of calories burned will depend on a few factors:

Body Weight

Put simply, the heavier you are the more calories that will be burned. This is because it requires more energy to move more weight during the course of an elliptical workout.

According to study from Harvard Medical Study, you burn around 2.16 calories for every pound of weight during 30 minutes of elliptical use.

So for the average 180-pound person:

180 x 2.16 = 388 Calories Burned

Workout Intensity

Unsurprisingly, the harder you push yourself during the course of your workout, the more calories you will burn.

If you want to stick to steady-state cardio, you will still see plenty of benefits. However, if you want to shorten the amount of time it takes on an elliptical to see results, consider doing some HIIT workouts.

What Results Will I See From Daily Elliptical Workouts?

Elliptical workouts will have many positive effects on your look and overall health:

Boost Stamina

A key part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle is cardio exercise. When you do cardio, your heart, and lungs need to work to keep blood and oxygen flowing.

Over time as you get better at your workouts, your heart and lungs will become stronger and capable of sustaining cardiovascular output for longer periods of time.

In turn, this will help build your stamina and endurance.

Weight Loss

As we have already discussed, the elliptical machine is a great tool for burning lots of calories. Since a caloric deficit is a key to weight loss, you will see weight loss if you stick to your elliptical program.

This will depend on your intensity and diet, but it is a very realistic goal to expect around 5 pounds of fat loss per month.

Better Balance

Every time that you step on an elliptical, your core muscles have to work hard to keep your body stable. Also, due to the way the machine works, you are working on your balance as well as you shift your body weight from side to side during your strides.

As a result, your core and body will be better equipped at stabilizing your body and dealing with imbalances.

Muscular Toning

Do not get it twisted, the elliptical machine is primarily focused on your cardiovascular health. However, many muscles are still activated throughout the exercises.

Your legs work hard during the course of the stride while your upper body works hard to push and pull the upper handles. Over the course of months, you can expect some muscular toning to take place across your entire body.

How Often Should You Use An Elliptical Machine?

Other forms of cardio can be very harsh on your body. Running on a treadmill, for example, can take a heavy toll on your knees, feet, and ankles. Every stride here requires your joints to absorb the shock of your foot landing on the treadmill.

In contrast, elliptical machines are very low-impact on your body. Since the stride of an elliptical is very smooth and your feet are always in contact with the machine, there should be very litter wear and tear on your joints.

With this in mind, you could use an elliptical every day if you wanted to. A good routine to start with is 30 minutes daily for 5 days a week. Feel free to go beyond this though.

Even though elliptical machines should cause very little strain on your body, just be sure to pay attention to how you feel and take a rest or deload day when needed.

Types Of Elliptical Workouts

As we have already mentioned, there are many different types of elliptical workouts that

Low Intensity Elliptical Workouts:

Low intensity elliptical workouts are designed to gently increase heart rate and burn calories without causing too much stress on the body. These workouts are ideal for beginners, active recovery days, or individuals with physical limitations.

1. Steady State Cardio:

• Warm-up: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

• Workout: 20 minutes at a consistent, easy pace

• Cool-down: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

1. Low Intensity Interval Training:

• Warm-up: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

• Workout: 10 x 1-minute intervals at a slightly increased resistance followed by 1-minute recovery at an easy pace

• Cool-down: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

Medium Intensity Elliptical Workouts:

Medium intensity elliptical workouts aim to challenge cardiovascular fitness, increase endurance, and burn more calories than low-intensity workouts. These workouts are suitable for individuals with a moderate level of fitness or those looking to progress from low-intensity workouts.

1. Hill Climb:

• Warm-up: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

• Workout: 4 x 5-minute intervals at a moderate resistance followed by a 2-minute recovery at an easy pace

• Cool-down: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

1. Progressive Intensity:

• Warm-up: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

• Workout: Start at a low resistance and gradually increase resistance every 3 minutes for 21 minutes, reaching by the end

• Cool-down: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

High Intensity Elliptical Workouts:

High intensity elliptical workouts are designed to push cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance to their limits. These workouts involve short bursts of maximum effort followed by brief recovery periods. High intensity workouts are best suited for individuals with a strong fitness base or athletes looking to improve their performance.

1. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT):

• Warm-up: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

• Workout: 8 x 1-minute intervals at maximum resistance and effort followed by 1-minute recovery at an easy pace

• Cool-down: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

1. Sprint Intervals:

• Warm-up: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

• Workout: 10 x 30-second sprints at a maximum effort followed by 1-minute recovery at an easy pace

• Cool-down: 5 minutes at a comfortable pace

Other Workouts

Bottom Line

Doing an elliptical workout for 30 minutes a day, is plenty of time to see significant results. If you want to speed up results or ensure that you are really locked in, just follow some of the basic tips we outlined here and you will be well on your way to reaching your goals.

FAQs

Michael K.

Daniel Mesa, CPT, is a trusted fitness expert and founder of  FitDominium. With his extensive experience and commitment to helping others, Daniel is the go-to source for reliable fitness advice and recommendations.