Does the eliptical burn muscle?

[pseudoswitch]

Just came back from the gym, did a 45 minute workout on the eliptical machine at level 9, first time i tried it, mainly have been doing treadmill and bike work so far but testing out the eliptical now because of aching knees.

I did however feel quite a burn in my thighs and upper back doing this workout! my question is does the eliptical burn muscle or does it in any way hamper muscle growth from a weight training program??

Cheers,

[Jaime1985]

Just came back from the gym, did a 45 minute workout on the eliptical machine at level 9, first time i tried it, mainly have been doing treadmill and bike work so far but testing out the eliptical now because of aching knees.

I did however feel quite a burn in my thighs and upper back doing this workout! my question is does the eliptical burn muscle or does it in any way hamper muscle growth from a weight training program??

Cheers,

Man I'd start to worry if you can feel your muscle burning away
The answer to your question is that 'no' it wont burn muscle away and doesn't have to hamper your progress. Providing you're not doing this every day of the week ....now and then should be fine. If you're doing it after back/leg days this maybe the reason your feeling the burn sensation??

[pseudoswitch]

yeah well i did do a back day yesterday, but my legs i haven't worked on for ages due to knee injuries. Maybe i am just not used to the movements on the eliptical yet, but nevertheless it's a great machine, gonna use it alot!!

[msota]

The elliptical is a great machine. It does take a bit of time to get used to the motion, but I can run forever on it because it's virtually zero impact. It's probably the only cardio machine that I can use, since the treadmill gives me great shin splints and I don't need to trash my knees any more than playing tennis does.

I'm sure that like with any cardio, just a controlled amount of it on a regular basis, you won't experience muscle loss. I usually run on one of them for about 45 minutes 4-5 times a week, but I'm trying to lose weight, so I place a little extra priority on the cardio, even though I try to lift as heavy as I can too...I haven't noticed any ill effects yet.