Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just saw a vid (CNN?) that mentioned 5 exercises to avoid, elliptical being one of them for the propensity to hyperextend your knee.

Wouldn't you know, I then hear from my neighbor that he regrets can't help me when I'm blowing snow out of our double driveway because he hyperextended his knee on the elliptical at the gym and is on doctor-ordered rest.

With my bad knee(s), I decided no elliptical. As others said, you can get a good workout without one and I'll chug along on my old Nordic Trak til I wear it out, while also doing the other cardio & weight bearing moves, for which I only need a chair, a wall, and some small weights.

I had been looking at a Sole as a leading choice (the one w street price ~800) but I've eliminated ellipticals from consideration.

I don't care for the elliptical (I consider it too easy and will only use it on a rest day), but this is ridiculous. Exercise can be hard on your body and you can injure yourself with ANYTHING that gets you into great shape. If OP likes it enough to use it regularly, then she should get one.

Ok, stud, you obviously are quite the expert! Sure you can hurt yourself in various ways. Has nothing to do with some applications being more prone to that. Probably not an issue for one with iron balls (or boobs) like you?

While PP did a humble brag, I agree that pretty much every exercise has the propensity to do harm. Some more than others, and the elliptical rates pretty low as far as injuries go.

I also disagree that the elliptical is "too easy." There is a HUGE range in settings on the elliptical. You can increase the resistance or the incline. You can choose a workout that speeds up and slows down. It depends on the machine and how much you put into it. It's like saying a tread mill is "too easy." Well, sure, it's easy if you walk slow on it. But it's not easy if you run on it.

I love the elliptical. I used to love running, but I find that running is very hard on my knees and lower back. And I'm sure I'll get a bunch of people trying to tell me it's my form. But I used to run on a team with a coach, so i know it's not my form. It's the impact. As I've gotten older, I'm pretty sure I have a bit of arthritis in my knees. I also had a back injury several years ago (doing something not at all exercise related). And the impact of running just causes flare ups. I find that for me the elliptical gets my heart rate up enough and provides some resistance that I feel the same euphoric feeling I used to get from running -- except without the pain.

But I do also mix it up from time to time and add in some strength training. I just do light weights or exercises where you use your own body weight as resistance (handstand push ups). The combo works for me and is something I can do consistently on a regular basis.

And that is really the key to any routine.

Personally, I've never liked the stationary bike or the row machine. My job is a desk job, so I sit for long stretches of time. The last thing I want to do for a work out is something where I'm in a seated position.

I think the odds are low but IME I think in addition to overuse that can torque your knee the wrong way than it is the nature of the motion at the "back end" of the travel, just before it starts to go forward, that puts your knee in an almost un-natural place with a lot of force on it.

I've caught myself about to hyperextend at that point when working it harder. I have one very bad knee, no ACL, MCL, or medial meniscus so I have to watch it. So I can see how it's much easier to do that on an elliptical than an ordinary treadmill or certain crosstrainers.

But sure, you can do yourself in any number of ways and over-repitition of one thing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just saw a vid (CNN?) that mentioned 5 exercises to avoid, elliptical being one of them for the propensity to hyperextend your knee.

Wouldn't you know, I then hear from my neighbor that he regrets can't help me when I'm blowing snow out of our double driveway because he hyperextended his knee on the elliptical at the gym and is on doctor-ordered rest.

With my bad knee(s), I decided no elliptical. As others said, you can get a good workout without one and I'll chug along on my old Nordic Trak til I wear it out, while also doing the other cardio & weight bearing moves, for which I only need a chair, a wall, and some small weights.

I had been looking at a Sole as a leading choice (the one w street price ~800) but I've eliminated ellipticals from consideration.

I don't care for the elliptical (I consider it too easy and will only use it on a rest day), but this is ridiculous. Exercise can be hard on your body and you can injure yourself with ANYTHING that gets you into great shape. If OP likes it enough to use it regularly, then she should get one.

Ok, stud, you obviously are quite the expert! Sure you can hurt yourself in various ways. Has nothing to do with some applications being more prone to that. Probably not an issue for one with iron balls (or boobs) like you?

haha! I wasn't trying to sound like an asshole. I just mean out of all the things you can hurt yourself doing exercise-wise, the elliptical rates pretty damn low. The biggest danger would be from excessive use (the repetitive motion). But I don't think people should do any one thing all the time anyway. Switch it up!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just saw a vid (CNN?) that mentioned 5 exercises to avoid, elliptical being one of them for the propensity to hyperextend your knee.

Wouldn't you know, I then hear from my neighbor that he regrets can't help me when I'm blowing snow out of our double driveway because he hyperextended his knee on the elliptical at the gym and is on doctor-ordered rest.

With my bad knee(s), I decided no elliptical. As others said, you can get a good workout without one and I'll chug along on my old Nordic Trak til I wear it out, while also doing the other cardio & weight bearing moves, for which I only need a chair, a wall, and some small weights.

I had been looking at a Sole as a leading choice (the one w street price ~800) but I've eliminated ellipticals from consideration.

I don't care for the elliptical (I consider it too easy and will only use it on a rest day), but this is ridiculous. Exercise can be hard on your body and you can injure yourself with ANYTHING that gets you into great shape. If OP likes it enough to use it regularly, then she should get one.

Ok, stud, you obviously are quite the expert! Sure you can hurt yourself in various ways. Has nothing to do with some applications being more prone to that. Probably not an issue for one with iron balls (or boobs) like you?

We have an Octane model... well rating and has the virtue of being relatively compact for an elliptical machine.

Anonymous wrote:Best cardio bang for your buck is a rowing machine. Easy on joints, works almost every muscle group, and you can get top if the line machine for $1k.

Serious question--how can a rowing machine not be hard on your knees?