Equipment Spotlight: Total Body Trainer

The Total Body Trainer also known as the elliptical is a fun option for cardio if you are bored of the treadmill.  To mount the elliptical grab onto the handles that do not move and lift feet onto the pedals.  Once mounted press the start button and begin pedaling to start your workout.  You can select quick start or select the program button that has the workout you would like to do.  Once you have selected a workout the machine will ask you a series of question consisting of you weight and workout time (if you select quick start these questions will not be asked).  Once you have entered the value for each question, asked by the machine, press enter.  To adjust values use the arrow keys.  To adjust the level of the elliptical use the arrow keys.  The display on the elliptical allows you to see your level, heart rate, distance, speed, calories, and time. 

Similar to the treadmill, the elliptical has various workout options.  To start you workout quickly without entering in you weight or time desired press quick start.  Otherwise you can select from variety of workouts including manual, random, fat burn, cardio, hill plus, personal trainer, and zone training. 

The manual program allows you to adjust the level intensity when you want.  Nothing changes automatically.

 The random program sets up a random terrain of hills and valleys that is different each time you select the program. 

The fat burn program is a workout that keeps your heart rate at 65% of your maximum heart rate.  This program is best used if the person is wearing a chest strap that allows the heart rate to be read.  The intensity level is adjusted to maintain the target heart rate. 

The cardio program is similar to the fat burn program.  The cardio program adjusts the intensity level to keep your heart rate at 80% of its maximum heart rate.  This makes the cardio program more intense than the fat burn program.

The hill program consists of different intervals.  The intervals alternate from intense exercise to lower-intensity exercise.  On the display module the high and low intensity is represented by the red columns which will appear tall or short based on intensity.  There are four phases that the hill program goes through.  First is a warm-up which gradually increases resistance and gets the heart rate working towards the lower end of your target zone.  The second phase is the Plateau where the program becomes a little more difficult but keeps it at a steady pace so that the heart rate is at the low end of the target zone.  You should check your heart rate at the end of this phase.  The third phase is the actual interval training.  The machine will alternate between hills and valleys.  The hills will increasingly get steeper and the valleys are for recover.  Your heart rate should get to the high end of your target zone and you should check it at the end of this phase.  The last phase is the cool down.