The elliptical is one of the few cardio machines that offers upper body work as standard, and the handles spend most of their lives being held rather than pushed — which turns a full-body machine into a mediocre leg machine. Here is why the arms get ignored, how to use them, and what it does to the effort.

Why the Arms Get Ignored

Holding, not pushing: the the-holding-feels-like-using (the resting hands on the handles feeling like using them from the form-mistakes logic — the holding-feels-like-using), the the-the-legs-drive-the-machine-anyway (the the legs moving the handles for you from the form-mistakes logic — the legs-drive-it), the the-people-hold-the-static-bars (the many riders holding the fixed centre bars instead from the form-mistakes logic — the static-bars), the the-leaning-on-them-reduces-work (the leaning on the handles reducing total effort from the form-mistakes logic — the leaning-reduces-work), the the-it-halves-the-machine (the ignoring the arms halving the machine’s value from the workout-guide logic — the halves-the-machine), and the reframe (the elliptical handles as being held rather than pushed — turning a full-body machine into a mediocre leg machine).

How to Use Them

Actually driving the handles: the the-push-and-pull-actively (the actively pushing and pulling rather than following from the workout-guide logic — the push-and-pull), the the-do-not-lean-on-the-handles (the keeping your weight off them entirely from the form-mistakes logic — the do-not-lean), the the-stand-tall-through-the-torso (the maintaining an upright posture from the form-mistakes logic — the stand-tall), the the-a-light-grip (the a light grip rather than a clench from the form-mistakes logic — the light-grip), the the-drive-with-the-back-not-just-the-arms (the using back muscles rather than only arms from the workout-guide logic — the drive-with-the-back), the the-alternate-arms-on-and-arms-off (the alternating between using and releasing the handles from the interval-workouts logic — the alternate-arms), the the-hands-free-intervals-load-the-legs (the hands-off intervals loading the legs more from the interval-workouts logic — the hands-free-intervals), and the the-keep-the-core-engaged (the engaging the core rather than slumping from the form-mistakes logic — the engage-the-core).

The Effort Notes

What it changes: the the-effort-rises-noticeably (the total effort rising when the arms actually work from the workout-guide logic — the effort-rises), the the-heart-rate-goes-up-at-the-same-speed (the heart rate increasing at the same leg speed from the interval-workouts logic — the heart-rate-rises), the the-it-becomes-a-full-body-session (the the session becoming genuinely full-body from the workout-guide logic — the full-body), the the-use-resistance-not-just-speed (the resistance driving effort more than cadence from the hiit-workout logic — the resistance-over-speed), the the-alternate-to-manage-fatigue (the alternating arm engagement to manage fatigue from the interval-workouts logic — the alternate-to-manage), the the-do-not-sacrifice-posture-for-effort (the not letting posture collapse as effort rises from the form-mistakes logic — the posture-over-effort), the the-it-is-still-low-impact (the it remaining low-impact throughout from the vs-treadmill logic — the still-low-impact), and the frame (the elliptical as a full-body machine when the handles are driven rather than held — pushed and pulled with a tall posture, light grip and engaged core, alternated with hands-free intervals. Push and pull the handles actively without leaning, stand tall with a light grip, drive with your back, and alternate with hands-free intervals).

The elliptical is one of the few cardio machines that offers upper body work as standard, and the handles spend most of their lives being held rather than pushed — which turns a full-body machine into a mediocre leg machine. The arms get ignored because holding feels like using, the legs drive the machine anyway, people hold the static bars, leaning on them reduces work, and it halves the machine. Use them by pushing and pulling actively, not leaning on the handles, standing tall through the torso, keeping a light grip, driving with the back not just the arms, alternating arms on and off, using hands-free intervals, and keeping the core engaged. It raises effort noticeably, increases heart rate at the same speed, makes it a full-body session, and rewards resistance over speed — without sacrificing posture.