Physical activity comes in many forms, from intense sports to outdoor exploration like skiing, hiking, or kayaking. Despite the myriad of ways you can move your body, many people find it difficult to incorporate fitness into their daily routines. One’s access to certain spaces, environments, and types of equipment can generate limitations—it’s hard to ski without a snowy mountainscape and ski gear.
Gyms expand people’s fitness opportunities, providing one-stop-shop access to multiple pieces of gym equipment that generate an array of exercise possibilities. Ellipticals further enhance a gym’s accessibility as they provide many different benefits. Upgrade your workout facility with a multifaceted piece of gym equipment and this guide to buying commercial elliptical machines.
Why Are Ellipticals Must-Have Gym Equipment?
Ellipticals are unique gym equipment that combines the motions of a stair-stepper, a bicycle, and a cross-country ski machine. You activate every part of your body using an elliptical, which offers lots of different health benefits. A couple of minutes on an elliptical can help you:
- Burn calories
- Tone muscles
- Strengthen cardiovascular systems
- Improve balance and posture
- Build stamina
- Increase hip flexibility
On top of providing multiple beneficial results to one’s wellness, ellipticals generate a specific exercise experience that caters to a lot of people’s needs—they create low-impact workouts. Since your feet are in constant contact with the pedals, using an elliptical involves no intense collision or force impact with the ground. Reducing impact leads to less strain on your body and joints. Ellipticals are the perfect workout machine for gentle yet effective exercises and rehabilitative needs.
What Are the Different Types of Ellipticals?
Did you know ellipticals come in many different forms? Each variation of the machine offers different experiences worth exploring. Some of the most common types of ellipticals include:
Standard Standing Ellipticals
Standing ellipticals, like Octane’s XT-One, mimic the motion of hiking, walking, and running. The XT-One standing elliptical helps target different muscles for customized effectiveness. Standard standing ellipticals also operate with a generic pedaling mechanic like a stationary bike but allow you to move like you are on a stair-stepper without the stairs. They’re also a great way for people to get their steps in without actually traveling the distance.
Lateral Ellipticals
Lateral ellipticals generate a side-to-side movement rather than a standard stepping motion, mimicking the movement of skiing and ice skating. A key benefit of lateral ellipticals is that they work out your inner and outer thighs.
Recumbent Ellipticals
Recumbent ellipticals allow you to get your steps in, all while comfortably seated. Although similar in design, compared to an exercise bike, recumbent ellipticals use a stepping motion and include back-and-forth upper-body movement, exercising your entire body.
Front Drive
Ellipticals operate with a biomechanic flywheel system that influences the motion and resistance of the machine. Ellipticals with flywheel drives in the front recreate the experience of an incline, generating slight resistance to your workouts.
Rear Drive
Rear drive ellipticals generate a lower exertion exercise. To avoid risks of tipping over when in use, rear-drive ellipticals use a larger and less compact flywheel to balance out the machine.
Center Drive
Center drive ellipticals feature a flywheel system right alongside the position of the users—at the center of the machine. Compared to rear and front drives, center drives consist of two wheels split on either side of the elliptical. Depending on the structural design, the flywheels for a center drive elliptical can be very compact, creating a space-saving piece of gym equipment for your facility.
What To Look for When Buying Ellipticals
Along with model and type, an elliptical’s design properties also influence the kind of experience and benefit the exercise machine offers. To guarantee top results and quality experiences at your gym, look out for these six key features when buying ellipticals.
Machine Durability
Due to the nature of their mechanics and functionality, gym equipment undergoes a lot of wear and tear. A durable elliptical gives you a long-lasting machine with minimal maintenance requirements, saving you money on future replacements and repairs.
Investing in durable ellipticals also enhances the safety of your equipment. Worn-out and damaged exercise machines risk collapsing and malfunctioning, putting users in dangerous situations. Durable ellipticals give you a high-performing workout machine that remains in top condition throughout the years.
Safety Features
Any physical activity comes with many risks. People can sprain their ankles, dislocate bones, and strain muscles while working out. Using heavy-duty machinery adds to the potential dangers of exercise.
Ergonomic ellipticals feature specific structural designs that promote proper posture and balance, which can reduce the risks of physical ailments during and post workouts. Ergonomic designs support the body, making sure it’s comfortable and safe.
Resistance Versatility
Resistance influences workout intensity. The greater the resistance on the equipment, the harder it is for you to move. High-resistance workouts are great for those looking to build muscles, grow their physical capabilities, and burn more calories. An elliptical with versatile resistance options gives your clients plenty of ways to customize their exercises to best meet their fitness goals.
Workout Customizability
Whether you are a YMCA club or a professional training center, your clients range in height, size, and physical skill. Buying ellipticals with customizable features like height adjustments makes your gym more accessible and inclusive to all. Ellipticals with different console options, user interfaces, and built-in training programs also diversify your clients’ experiences and workout customization opportunities.
Machine Size
Limiting your equipment and exercise selection defeats the main purpose of a gym—accessibility to different workout options. Managing your gym’s spacial layout determines the workout opportunities your facility can offer. Buying compact ellipticals allows you to maximize your gym’s space and make room for more equipment.
Easy User Experience
Nobody wants to spend the majority of their workout time trying to decipher how to use a piece of equipment. An elliptical with easy-to-use features and user-friendly interfaces allows your clients to get straight into their workout without disruptions.
The equipment you provide in your workout facility determines your clients’ exercising experience, from the type of workout they engage in to their safety. Ellipticals expand the opportunities your gym provides. Octane commercial ellipticals give you a diverse selection of quality gym equipment to choose from to enhance your facilities and clients’ experiences. The ellipticals come in many different forms and feature many beneficial properties, from modern biomechanics to space-efficient designs that transform people’s workouts.
Use this guide to buying commercial elliptical machines and shop Octane’s elliptical collections to equip the best workout machines for your facility. With quality ellipticals, you can expand your clients’ exercise possibilities.
