eliptical training

Not sure what kind of injury you have or what sort of intensity you're doing. I would recommend at least 60 minutes or longer on the elliptical. While I was injured with achilles issues this spring, I did a few three hour workouts on the elliptical and was pretty sore the next day. Though not the same as road miles, it must have stressed some muscles.

Our coaches had us convert at about 10 min = 1 mile on the roads, so you really do want to be doing more than 30 min if you're trying to keep up any kind of mileage... I don't really have a comparison in terms of fitness, but make sure you're staying on top of your stretching, icing, etc. because I have seen teammates who spend a lot of time on the elliptical get NEW injuries from the stress, which is a little different than normal running.

If you put the resistance up (8-10) and the incline down to between 1 and 3 while keeping your turnover high (190 -220 rpms) I think elliptical miles can be pretty comparable to running miles, cardiovascular-wise. If you want to work as many of your running muscles as possible, don't stick out your butt! Try to keep your hips tucked just like you do when you are running, and keep your core stable (no waggling your hips back and forth). Really extend your leg backward, like you would while running.

If you know how to use an elliptical correctly, you can come back to running in even better shape than before - you can handle more intensity and total time on the elliptical, so your options for crazy workouts are almost endless.

The numbers I gave you above are based off of this elliptical:

http://www.simplyfitnessgear.com/images/precorelliptical.jpg

If you use a different kind/brand, the resistance may be calibrated differently, so you'll have to figure that one out on your own.

As far as a straight up conversion, it is difficult to say. Your heart doesn't know the difference between running and working out on the elliptical, but your muscles do. If your heart rate is 140 at 7:00 pace, a 140 heart rate on the elliptical should be counted as 7:00 pace if you are primarily focusing on aerobic development. If you are interested in stressing your muscles in the same way as when you are running, you will have a very difficult time without eliciting the same level of eccentric contraction (with little to no impact, your muscles don't need to contract eccentrically as much.) In this respect, time spent on the elliptical is not at all congruent to time spent running, but then again, no alternative training exercise is.

To make up for this a little, you can do exercises like leg presses and hamstring curls after you finish using the elliptical. At high rep weight, these exercises cause significant eccentric contraction of your muscles, so you won't lose as much strength as you would doing the elliptical alone. Instead of just focusing on lifting the weight, focus on a controlled lowering of it.

With a combination of elliptical and lifting, you will return to running very easily.

Great Info! I have this same eliptical at my gym so I'm going to incorporate your tips and see how this works.

try going backwards on the elliptical as well. It works out a different set of muscles.

i usually do 2-3 different types of machine in a workout because i've been injured for a while as well. i do 50-60 min(level 8 for 10 min, level 9 for 20 min, level 10 for 20-30 min) stationary biking, then 30-45 min elliptical(level 7 for 10 min, level 8 for 10 min, level 9 for 10 min, level 10 for 10 min, 5 min cool down), then 15-20 min on the stair stepper. i know those "levels" don't mean a whole lot because each machine is different, but it kind of gives you an idea of how my workout goes. i start out easy on each of those machines and gradually ramp it up. i do the variety for the sake of stimulating muscles and cardio system.

Thanks everyone. Wanted to fix my previous OP. I meant to say I got my hr up to 160 for 8 mins of a 30 min workout ( not 60). My "workout" is usually a 30 mins hard effort on the eliptical with various hills. Then over to the stairmaster with just a quick drink between.

5 minutes at the highest speed and it says I go over 1 mile upstairs. I am wiped after this combo. I try to do it with some variations about 3x per week. Sometimes I go longer on each, with not as much intensity etc. But, I always try to get my heart rate over 155 or 160 for a combination of 8-10 minutes .

Just an update. I recently left the eplitical, and went back to see how I was on the roads. I was pleasantly surprised when I was doing an easy jog about 10 seconds per mile faster than usual. the cardio work at the gym must have helped. Not really sure. Ran 8, felt good, and am moderatley pleased.