I am injured (stress fracture) and have to resort to the elliptical for the next few weeks. This is the first time I have ever used one, so I was wondering what a good strides per minute rate is on one? Anyone know? Last night I was at a 6 out of 10 incline and a resistance level of 4 with a SPM of between 200 & 220. I normally run between 6:00 & 6:30 on my normal runs. Does anyone know if this is close to my stride per minute rate on an elliptical machine?
First, count your stride rate with a one foot count, so it's 100 to 110, not 200 to 220. Try counting that yourself, though, because that sounds pretty high. Your easy runs probably have you at about 84 or 85 and workouts or races up to 90 or so, maybe more, but I doubt up to 100. Also, it really depends what machine you're using. Most of them have really short strides, like 7 inches. The better ones have stride lengths of 17 inches or more and there are two with adjustable stride lengths all the way up to 24 inches. Your real stride length when you're out running, of course, is a lot longer than that but when you're out running, you have float time added into the stride length. On the elliptical it's purely the foot separation and 24 inches is about right for running. If you're on a machine with a really short stride length, either go somewhere else until you find one with at least 17 inches or get in the pool. The short stride length is really NOT good for you. To measure the length, move the pedals to their biggest separation and measure from the back of one pedal to the back of the other pedal.
I tried over and over again to figure it out for myself last year when injured with a severely sprained ankle. I ended up giving up and using my HR as a better indication of how fast I was running.
I don't think there's enough similarity between the motion of running and the elliptical trainer to try to make a direct comparison. I like to use one for cardio cross training when I can't run. I just like to push the workout to get the heart pumping, and try to go for an effort that would be similar to a run. Changing the incline changes which muscles are getting the workout, I think. Whatever combination of pace and resistance gets you in the same groove as a run is probably as close as you can nail it.
i've heard that you should shoot for about 180-190 rpm and then adjust the resistance to reach your desired effort level. a heart rate monitor is also a good idea if you have access to one. then just try doing the exact same thing as you would do when running in terms of heart rate and time.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen has a 1989 Ferrari 348 GTB and he's just put in paperwork to upgrade it
Strava thinks the London Marathon times improved 12 minutes last year thanks to supershoes
Is there a rule against attaching a helium balloon to yourself while running a road race?
NAU women have no excuse - they should win it all at 2024 NCAA XC
Clayton Murphy is giving some great insight into his training.
Mark Coogan says that if you could only do 3 workouts as a 1500m runner you should do these
2024 College Track & Field Open Coaching Positions Discussion