Step into any fitness center and you will probably see something that looks similar to a Transformers movie- hundreds of machines lined up one by one; and what are they there for? Fitness.
Over the history of "gym" fitness, there have been countless new machines built to satisfy our hunger to look better and feel better about our bodies. But with so many devices at such an easy grasp, how do you know which one to use? And how do you know which one will do the best for your body, for that matter?
Whatever your style and body type, there is a fitness device out there for you. Whether it is a treadmill, leg lifter, stationary bike, or stair stepper- there is always a special device out there for you that will do the best for your body.
One fitness machine that is relatively new is the elliptical trainer. It is only been on the exercise market since the 1990s, but the history behind it is intriguing and by knowing the history you can know if the elliptical trainer is the right machine for you and your workout goals.
As was said before, the elliptical trainer entered the gym market in the 1990s. But back then, they were pretty bulky. A company named Precor set out to make a more compact device that would be extremely beneficial to each user.
The company gave a man named Larry D. Miller the job of coming up with the more compact idea. Miller came up with the idea for the new design when he videotaped his daughter running alongside a car.
By going back and looking at how she ran and how her feet and legs moved, he could see that the process was one fluid motion. This motion was unlike most created by the fitness devices of the day, which were so robotic and did mimic any natural human movements.
Miller knew that he wanted to capture this fluid motion and put it in a machine. Thus, the modern elliptical trainer was born and patented in 2004.
Another company that took a stab at creating an innovative elliptical machine was Reebok. They tried to improve upon Precor's model by inventing the "Personal Trec".
Reebok boasted the "Personal Trec" as the first low-impact, total-body striding machine. It improved upon the Precor device because it created an upper-body workout as well as a lower-body workout for the user.
This let the user get twice as much from the workout that they did previously and let them burn more calories. It also boasted low impact capabilities because it had a more natural walking or striding effect than previous models of the device.
Elliptical trainers are some of the best fitness devices out on the market today for several reasons. First, they are an amazing way to get cardiovascular exercise.
We all know that heart disease is one of the most deadly diseases and it kills thousands of people each year. Doctors advise that doing cardiovascular exercise, or exercise that will get your heart pumping fast, is one of the best ways to combat this terrible disease.
That was why machines like stair-steppers and treadmills were invented: Anyone who used them could get a great cardiovascular exercise every time they stepped on to the device. But after time, constant use of those machines put unneeded strains on joints and muscles by the unnatural movements that they created.
Author Resource:-
Ignacio Lopez is a personal trainer and has authored hundreds of articles relating to physical training and the elliptical. He has been a health expert and physical trainer for over 15 years.
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