About Elliptical Trainers

• Using an elliptical trainer can be easy or hard--it's all up to you. Setting the resistance at 0 or at a low level (less than 25 percent of its capacity) makes it easy to move the pedals. Increasing the resistance makes moving the pedals harder, and when your body works harder, you burn more calories.
  
  The other variable is speed: Go slowly (60 strides a minute or less) and you burn a few calories, but you'll burn a lot more by pumping the pedals.
  
  

Low Intensity

• According to caloriesperhour.com, a website containing calorie-burning estimates for thousands of activities, a 150-pound person who does 60 strides a minute with a resistance of 4 (out of 20) will burn about 200 calories in an hour.
  
  

Medium Intensity

• Increasing the strides and resistance slightly has a huge effect on the calorie total. According to caloriesperhour.com, a 150-pound person who does 70 strides a minute at a resistance level of 10 will burn 382 calories an hour.
  
  

High Intensity

• Working fast with high intensity burns the most calories. According to caloriesperhour.com, a 150-pound person who does 75 strides a minute at an intensity of 15 will burn 507 calories an hour.
  
  

Real-Life Workout

• Rarely does someone hop on an elliptical machine and move at precisely the same rate at the same resistance the whole time. A more realistic hour-long workout might go like this: 10 minutes warming up at 60 strides a minute at a resistance of 5, 20 minutes doing 70 strides a minute at intensity 12, 20 minutes doing high-intensity work of 75 strides a minute at resistance 15, then 10 minutes cooling down with 60 strides a minute at a resistance of 5.
  
  According to caloriesperhour.com, a 150-pound person would burn 394 calories in one hour.
  
  

Variables

• The figures provided by caloriesperhour.com are for the Precor EFX 546, a popular model in health clubs and home gyms. Machines do vary, mainly based upon their condition: Old machines have worn resistance mechanisms, which could lead you to believe you're working out harder than you actually are.
  
  For example, resistance 17 on an old and worn machine might be easier than resistance 15 on a new and well-conditioned machine.
  
  Another major variable is the user's form. It is important to use proper form by using smooth, fluid motions and pushing with the arms and legs--not just shifting your weight from side to side. Proper form works your muscles the right way, and working your muscles is what burns calories best.