There are many, many different types of ellipticals out there. It’s one of those machines that had such a movement behind it that niche machines just popped up out of nowhere. Now they’re all pretty mainstream.
These are the seven main kinds that you need to know about. Each has a slightly different purpose, but in the end, an elliptical is its own experience and many of them are similar. We’ll go over the pros, cons, and all the little details in between that differentiate them.
1. Standard Elliptical Trainer Machines
These standard, simple ellipticals use handles and foot pedals that are connected by poles. You stand on the elliptical, move your feet and hands in unison, and the machine helps you dynamically use multiple muscles at the same time.
Through pushing and pulling, you help build muscles around your elbows and shoulders, which helps with superior posture.
Additionally, these also help with your back and chest. While standard ellipticals don’t engage your muscles the way that strength training does, it’s still better than just running on a treadmill.
Standard ellipticals are still considered cardio machines more than resistance training machines, but every bit helps.
Pros
- Burns up to 350 calories in a thirty-minute period, making it just as effective as most treadmills
- Provides decent resistance for advanced muscle training
- Good shifts in momentum forces you to maintain a good posture to prevent back injuries
- Burns through fat at the same rate as most other cardio machines
- Provides a medium range of motion for more muscle engagement
Cons
- Helps tone muscles, but lacks the engagement of cross-trainers to build more muscle
- Doesn’t help you with joint strength the way that other cardio machines do
- Less compact than other elliptical models
What’s Different About Them
These actually aren’t the first type of elliptical that were designed, they’re just the most common.
You have handles, foot pedals, and a circular motion when you move as opposed to some other elliptical types. It’s basic, and it gets the job done.
2. Elliptical Gliders
These have a very small distinction from standard ellipticals. You will engage your arms, legs, back, chest, and elbows, but your feet will move in a different motion.
Gliders tend to be cheaper than standard ellipticals, but they’re rarely anybody’s first choice. You don’t feel quite as good when you hop off one of these; there’s less muscle engagement, so results will take longer to produce.
Pros
- Low-impact cardio doesn’t wear down on your joints or cause major aching when you’re done
- Effective way to rapidly raise your heart rate to begin burning calories before other cardio machines
- Better than walking or jogging
- Burn up to 300 calories in one thirty-minute period of time depending on intensity levels
- Scaled intensity; you control how intense your workout is based on speed and input
Cons
- Not good for muscle engagement like other ellipticals are
- Gliding motion can take resistance off of you, making it less effective when you’re in a god rhythm
- Equal to a treadmill, just with different movements and speed
What’s Different About Them
Gliders are just over-glorified standard ellipticals.
Less muscle engagement, less resistance, and more effortless gliding while you move—they work, and they get your heart rate up, but they’re a far cry from the best cardio equipment you could be using right now.
3. Elliptical Cross-Trainer Machines
Cross-trainers are seemingly magical in the way that they provide a full-body workout. Most of the time, people don’t even think of standard ellipticals and cross-trainers as being in the same tree.
Cross-trainers give you the ability to push and pull the moveable handles to work your biceps and forearms, while also targeting your elbows to build better joint health.
While you’re not engaging your knees a lot, you will feel a bit of burn in the quads, which helps with stability and relieves pressure on your knees.
Just like with the standard elliptical, you also get some special attention on your chest and back to bulk you up. You’ll notice more significant gains from this than standard ellipticals.
Pros
- Builds more muscle than other ellipticals; it’s the one true full-body experience you can get with an elliptical
- Greater balance mechanics; because you have to work harder for your exercise, you practice better balancing techniques
- More intensity in a shorter amount of time
- Scalable exercises from beginner to intermediate; it’s not just more of the same
- Relatively inexpensive compared to other elliptical types, despite arguably being the best one
Cons
- A little more strenuous on your joints than standard ellipticals
- Wear down faster and tend to have more mechanical problems than other elliptical types
- Often hyped up to be more than they actually are; these are still primarily for cardio, just with some resistance benefits as well
What’s Different About Them
Cross-trainers are the only ellipticals that we would classify as a full-body workout experience. Ellipticals are great, but they’re primarily for cardio, which is just completely different from cross-trainers.
These full body exercise experiences engage more muscles and overall give you better gains, although it’s still an elliptical and will not replace resistance training.
4. Center Drive Elliptical Trainer
Akin to cross-trainer ellipticals, center drive ellipticals will help with muscle engagement, but because of its compact size, it’s not quite as powerful.
Somewhere between a standard elliptical and cross-trainer, you get an odd balance of both experiences. This is a more modern take on the elliptical originally designed for compact living, so it might not be right for everyone’s fitness goals.
Anyone who wants to keep a compact set of machines that can be cleared out of your room in an instant should consider a center drive.
This, and a magnetic flywheel rowing machine will both work wonders and can be stored away at a moment’s notice. It’s like a pop-up gym in your living room when you want it, and out of sight, out of mind when you don’t.
Pros
- Easy going on your joints
- Compact and easy to store behind furniture or in storage as you see fit
- Small barrier to entry; you can begin using and scaling your workouts with this elliptical type with little to no problems
- Helps with balance training
- Less expensive than most other elliptical models
Cons
- Sometimes awkward motions due to the drive being in the center
- Generally more difficult to use than other elliptical types; there’s no real reasons to get one of these outside of storage space options
- Less engagement and range of motion than half of the other elliptical types
What’s Different About Them
Center drives have a much more compact design, so if you need to, you can just pack them away whenever you need to. Stand them up, put them behind a dresser, or into your closet.
That’s one of the main benefits. The drive is in the center, which can make for some awkward movements. This isn’t one of the most recommended elliptical types out there.
5. Recumbent Elliptical Machine
If you’ve ever used a recumbent bike for cardio training, you’ll know that this is very similar to that. Recumbent ellipticals are about comfort and contouring the experience to the user, so you can adjust the motion of your feet and handles.
There are handles on each side for similar motions to a cross-trainer.
However, recumbent ellipticals don’t offer the same engagement as other machines unless you get the settings just right. They’re not as nice, but perfect for someone who wants an even more low-impact exercise from their elliptical machine.
Pros
- Decent calorie-burning workout; while it’s not the same as a cross-trainer, you’ll still burn 250 calories in a thirty-minute session
- Less stress on your joints, making it accessible to more users
- Easy on your lower back
- Builds endurance with a low barrier to entry
Cons
- Less muscle engagement; while less pain/burn is nice, it’s indicative of a less thorough workout
- Lack of intensity makes it difficult or near impossible to use for HIIT workouts
What’s Different About Them
Recumbent ellipticals have a different range of motion than other elliptical types. They offer less impact on your joints, but also less engagement on your muscles as a result.
These are typically regarded as ellipticals for seniors or people with physical disabilities, and are not the first choice of anyone in a moderately healthy age range or weight range. In short, the benefits aren’t that great.
6. Front Drive Elliptical
Front drive ellipticals have a flywheel that focuses on vertical movement. You might actually find more similarities to a stair climber than an elliptical when you use one of these. The vertical motion is more intensive on your knees, which is one of the reasons that it’s not very popular.
Besides the vertical movement, it’s closer to the ground and it’s very compact, so if you’re worried about space or you don’t have to worry about the impact level of your exercise, they can be good replacements as an elliptical and stair climber hybrid.
Pros
- Machine is lower to the ground, creating a better center of gravity and control over your machine
- Lightweight design makes it easy for storage
- Easy to control and quick to get used to
- Helps improve your natural balance over time
- Good lower body workout thanks to center of gravity placement; more on your abs and a little less on your arms
Cons
- Similar to a stair climber machine, which is ideally not your first choice for cardio
- Less intense than other machine types, not good for HIIT workouts
- Neutral on joints; not necessarily good or bad for joint health
What’s Different About Them
It’s like a rear drive, except the flywheel is in the front. This machine is close to the ground (more so than most other ellipticals), and gives you a superior feeling of your center of gravity.
Compact and primarily vertical, these are very different from recumbent ellipticals, and offer a neat and lightweight option to store your machine to be out of sight, out of mind.
7. Rear Drive Elliptical Machine
The flywheel is in the back instead of the front. Not much about this is different from front drive ellipticals, except for the fact that it’s in the back, and it’s the first type of elliptical that got popular.
The only major difference in terms of your experience is that it frees up more range of motion for your arms, so you don’t feel as restricted while using it. Beyond that, it’s a similar experience to other ellipticals since they all spawned from this model and design.
Pros
- Assists with joint health and mobility
- Unique resistance pattern makes it much easier to engage your muscles
- Offers good balance support that may assist you while riding a bike or doing other exercises
- Good attention to core instead of just arms
- Greater feeling of control over your machine
Cons
- Feels very different to all other elliptical types; may take a while to get used to
- Requires more floor space to use than other elliptical types
What’s Different About Them
The flywheel is in the back. Your range of motion in the front of the machine isn’t hindered, so you can toy around with intensity and how deep you want to push or pull the handles.
There isn’t a difference in maintenance or life expectancy for rear flywheel models versus front flywheel models.
Know Your Equipment
Now that you know everything about what type of elliptical machines are out there, you can plan your next purchase accordingly. Which type sounds like it will really work for your fitness goals?
Each type of elliptical will come with its pros and cons, just like any other piece of home gym equipment. Just make sure it makes sense for the way that you like to exercise, and the rest will be easy as can be.
