5 Advanced Elliptical Workouts for Weight Loss

Warning: advanced elliptical workouts ahead!

While beginner routines are great for getting into a groove, advanced elliptical workouts can push you past plateaus and accelerate weight loss. Adding intensity, variety and new challenges to your fitness routine will rev up your metabolism and turn your body into a calorie-burning machine. These advanced workouts also engage more muscles, helping you tone up while burning fat.

Advanced elliptical workouts aren’t just about increasing the resistance. They include interval training, longer sessions and full-body engagement. This combination will help you shed pounds faster while building endurance and muscle. And let’s be honest – doing the same routine every time can get boring. Advanced workouts spice things up, keep your body guessing and your mind engaged.

Are you ready to postpone your workouts? I have five advanced elliptical workouts to help you push towards a leaner, fitter body. Whether you want to increase your cardio endurance or melt away stubborn fat, these workouts challenge you in the best possible way.

The benefits of advanced elliptical training for weight loss

Elliptical trainers are well-known for providing a low-impact cardio option, making them ideal for people who want to burn calories without the stress that running or jumping can put on the joints. But when you take your elliptical routine to an advanced level, the benefits go far beyond the basics of burning calories.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Advanced elliptical workouts challenge your body in new ways, helping you tap into your full fat-burning potential by incorporating intensity, variety and strategic resistance. These challenging workouts are perfect for breaking through plateaus and accelerating your weight loss journey.

One of the key benefits of advanced elliptical training is the ability to combine high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with sustained endurance exercises. HIIT workouts, in particular, are known to boost your metabolism and increase calorie burn even after your workout, a phenomenon known as the afterburn effect or EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption).

By alternating between intense bursts of speed and resistance with periods of recovery, your body works harder to return to its resting state, leading to an extended fat-burning phase. That means you’ll continue to shed pounds long after you’ve stepped off the elliptical.

In addition to the metabolic boost, advanced elliptical workouts engage more muscle groups than traditional cardio workouts. With dual action handlebars, ellipticals let you activate your upper body muscles while powering your legs through the workout. This full body engagement improves muscle tone and definition, especially in your arms, shoulders, chest, back, glutes, quads and hamstrings.

As a result, your body becomes more efficient at burning calories, and you build muscle mass, which aids weight loss by increasing your resting metabolic rate. By consistently challenging yourself with these advanced routines, you’ll improve cardiovascular endurance, strengthen your muscles, and burn fat more efficiently, making your workouts time-efficient and results-driven.

5 Advanced Elliptical Workouts for Weight Loss

Now for the good stuff.

These workouts are perfect for experienced fitness enthusiasts looking to maximize their time on the elliptical. Whether your goal is to shed those last stubborn pounds, break through a weight loss plateau, or simply step up your exercise routine, this guide has you covered.

These advanced elliptical workouts will not only help you lose weight, but they will also improve your strength, endurance and overall cardiovascular health.

Workout 1: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Blast

What you need: Your elliptical and 20 to 30 minutes. This workout alternates between intense efforts and short recovery periods to get your heart rate up and burn fat fast.

The routine:

• Heating: 5 minutes at a moderate pace on the elliptical
• HIIT Intervals: 30 seconds of total effort (high resistance and speed) followed by 30 seconds of slow recovery. Repeat for 10 rounds.
• Cooling down: 5 minutes at a steady, easy pace

Directions:

1. Warm up with 5 minutes at a moderate pace on the elliptical.
2. Go all out for 30 seconds – that means high resistance and as fast as possible.
3. Slow down for a 30-second recovery.
4. Repeat this cycle for 10 rounds.
5. Finish with a 5-minute cool-down to allow your heart rate to gradually decrease.

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Training Session 2: Endurance Challenge

What you need: Your elliptical and 45 to 60 minutes. This workout builds stamina and endurance, perfect for long-term weight loss.

The routine:

• Heating: 5 minutes at a leisurely pace
• Endurance intervals: 10 minutes of moderate to high resistance and speed, followed by 2 minutes of low resistance and slower pace. Repeat four rounds.
• Cooldown: 5 minutes of light resistance and steady pace.

Directions:

1. Warm up for 5 minutes
2. Increase the resistance and speed for a 10-minute push.
3. Allow your body to recover for 2 minutes with low resistance and a slower pace.
4. Repeat this pattern for 4 rounds.
5. Finish with a cool down—5 minutes of light resistance and steady pace.

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Session 3: Pyramid interval training

What you need: An elliptical and 30 to 40 minutes. Pyramid training gradually increases and then decreases the intensity to keep your heart rate elevated and metabolism revving.

The routine:

• Heating: 5 minutes of moderate effort.
• Pyramid range: Start with 1 minute of intense effort followed by 1 minute of recovery. Increase the work time by 1 minute each interval until you reach 5 minutes of work, then decrease by 1 minute each round until you are back to 1 minute.
• Cooling down: 5 minute light intensity.

Directions:

1. Warm up for 5 minutes at moderate effort.
2. Start with 1 minute of intense effort and then recover for 1 minute.
3. Increase your work intervals by 1 minute until you reach 5 minutes, then reverse the pattern to 1 minute.
4. Finish with a cool down—5 minutes of light intensity.

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Workout 4: Resistance Hill Climb

What you need: Your elliptical and 30 minutes. This workout focuses on resistance and simulates a hill to build muscle while burning fat.

The routine:

• Heating: 5 minutes at low resistance.
• Back intervals: 3 minutes at high resistance, moderate speed, followed by 1 minute at low resistance, low speed. Repeat for 8 rounds.
• Cooling down: 5 minutes light resistance.

Directions:

1. Warm up for 5 minutes with low resistance.
2. Increase the resistance to simulate a steep hill. Push through 3 minutes of climbing, then recover with 1 minute of lower resistance.
3. Repeat this cycle for eight rounds.
4. Finish with a cool down—5 minutes of light resistance.

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Workout 5: Endurance exercises

What you need: An elliptical and 25 to 35 minutes. This workout combines speed and endurance exercises to challenge your cardio capacity and boost weight loss.

The routine:

• Heating: 5 minutes at a steady pace.
• Speed ​​drills: 1 minute max speed at low resistance, followed by 1 minute slow recovery. Repeat for ten rounds.
• Endurance push: 10 minutes with moderate resistance and steady pace.
• Cooling down: 5 minute light intensity.

Directions:

1. Start with 1 minute of maximum speed at low resistance, followed by 1 minute of slow recovery.
2. Repeat for 10 rounds.
3. Push through a steady 10-minute endurance segment.
4. Finish with a 5 minute cool down at light intensity.