Attention: Advanced Elliptical Workouts Coming Soon!
While beginner routines are great for getting you started, advanced elliptical workouts can help you break through your weight loss plateaus and accelerate your weight loss. By adding intensity, variety, and new challenges to your cardio routine, you’ll rev up your metabolism and turn your body into a calorie-burning machine. These advanced workouts also target more muscles, helping you tone up while burning fat.
Advanced elliptical workouts aren’t just about increasing resistance. They incorporate interval training, longer sessions, and full-body engagement. This combination helps you lose weight 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, keeping your body alert and your mind engaged.
Ready to take your workouts to the next level? I’ve got five advanced elliptical workouts to help you get a leaner, fitter body. Whether you’re looking to improve your cardio endurance or melt away stubborn fat, these workouts will challenge you in the best way possible.
The Benefits of Advanced Elliptical Exercises for Weight Loss

Elliptical workouts are known for offering a low-impact cardio option, making them ideal for people who want to burn calories without the strain that running or jumping can put on their joints. But when you take your elliptical routine to an advanced level, the benefits go far beyond the calorie-burning basics.
Advanced elliptical workouts challenge your body in new ways, helping you unlock your full fat-burning potential by incorporating intensity, variation, and strategic resistance. These challenging workouts are perfect for breaking new ground and accelerating your weight-loss journey.
One of the main benefits of advanced elliptical workouts is the ability to combine high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with sustained endurance exercise. 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 intense periods of speed and resistance with periods of recovery, your body works harder to return to its resting state, resulting in a prolonged fat-burning phase. This means you continue to lose weight long after you step off the elliptical.
Beyond boosting your metabolism, advanced ellipticals target more muscle groups than traditional cardio workouts. With dual-action handlebars, ellipticals allow you to activate your upper body muscles while your legs get a 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 burns calories more efficiently and you build lean muscle mass, which aids in weight loss by increasing your resting metabolic rate. By consistently challenging yourself with these advanced routines, you’ll improve your cardiovascular endurance, build muscle, and burn fat more efficiently, making your workouts effective and results-oriented.
5 Advanced Elliptical Exercises for Weight Loss
Now let’s get to the good stuff.
These workouts are perfect for experienced fitness enthusiasts who want to maximize their time on the elliptical. Whether your goal is to shed those last few stubborn pounds, reach a weight loss milestone, or simply step up your fitness routine, this guide will help.
Not only will these advanced elliptical workouts help you lose weight, they will also improve your strength, endurance, and overall cardiovascular health.
Workout 1: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)


What you need: Your elliptical trainer and 20 to 30 minutes. This workout alternates between intense efforts and short recovery periods to get your heart rate up and burn fat quickly.
The routine:
- Warm: 5 minutes of moderate pace on the elliptical trainer
- HIIT Intervals: 30 seconds of maximum effort (high resistance and speed) followed by 30 seconds of slow recovery. Repeat for 10 rounds.
- Cool: 5 minutes at a brisk, easy pace
Instructions:
- Warm up with 5 minutes of moderate pace on the elliptical trainer.
- Go all out for 30 seconds, which means high resistance and as fast as possible.
- Slow down for a 30 second recovery.
- Repeat this cycle for 10 rounds.
- Finish with a 5-minute cool-down period to let your heart rate gradually decrease.
Workout 2: Endurance Challenge


What you need: Your elliptical trainer and 45 to 60 minutes. This workout builds endurance and strength, perfect for long-term weight loss.
The routine:
- Warm: 5 minutes at a leisurely pace
- Endurance intervals: 10 minutes at moderate to high resistance and speed, followed by 2 minutes at low resistance and a slower pace. Repeat four rounds.
- Cool: 5 minutes of light resistance and sustained pace.
Instructions:
- Warm up for 5 minutes
- Increase resistance and speed for a 10-minute push.
- Allow your body to recover for 2 minutes at a low resistance and slower pace.
- Repeat this pattern for 4 rounds.
- Finish with a recovery period: 5 minutes of light resistance at a sustained pace.
Workout 3: Pyramid Interval Training


What you need: A 30- to 40-minute elliptical and pyramid workout gradually increases and then decreases the intensity to keep your heart rate elevated and your metabolism revved.
The routine:
- Warm: 5 minutes of moderate effort.
- Pyramid Intervals: Start with 1 minute of intense effort followed by 1 minute of recovery. Increase the work time by 1 minute at each interval until you reach 5 minutes of work, then decrease by 1 minute at each round until you return to 1 minute.
- Cool: 5 minutes of light intensity.
Instructions:
- Warm up for 5 minutes at moderate effort.
- Start with 1 minute of intense effort, then recover for 1 minute.
- Increase your work intervals by one minute until you reach 5 minutes, then reverse the pattern to 1 minute.
- Finish with a 5-minute cool-down period at light intensity.
Workout 4: Hill Climb with Resistance


What you need: Your elliptical trainer and 30 minutes. This workout focuses on resistance, simulating a hill climb to build muscle while burning fat.
The routine:
- Warm: 5 minutes at low resistance.
- Hill Intervals: 3 minutes at high resistance, moderate speed, followed by 1 minute at low resistance, slow speed. Repeat for 8 rounds.
- Cool: 5 minutes of light resistance.
Instructions:
- Warm up for 5 minutes at low resistance.
- Increase the resistance to simulate a steep incline. Climb for 3 minutes, then recover with 1 minute of lower resistance.
- Repeat this cycle for eight rounds.
- Finish with a recovery period: 5 minutes of light resistance.
Workout 5: Speed Endurance Drills


What you need: An elliptical trainer and a 25-35 minute program. This workout combines speed and endurance exercises to challenge your cardio capacity and stimulate weight loss.
The routine:
- Warm: 5 minutes at a brisk pace.
- Speed exercises: 1 minute of maximum speed at low resistance, followed by 1 minute of slow recovery. Repeat for ten rounds.
- Endurance boost: 10 minutes at moderate resistance and a brisk pace.
- Cool: 5 minutes of light intensity.
Instructions:
- Start with 1 minute of maximum speed at low resistance, followed by 1 minute of slow recovery.
- Repeat for 10 rounds.
- Perform a regular 10-minute endurance segment.
- Finish with a 5-minute low-intensity recovery period.
Jarrod Nobbe, MA, CSCS
Jarrod Nobbe is a USAW National Coach, Sports Performance Coach, Personal Trainer, and Writer. He has been involved in health and fitness for 12 years. Learn more about Jarrod
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