Natural, low impact, and surprisingly effective, men elliptical strength training can do much more than just help you “get some cardio in.” When you use the elliptical with intent and higher resistance, you turn a simple machine into a full body strength and endurance tool that fits almost any schedule and joint situation.
Below, you will see how to use the elliptical to build strength, what muscles you actually work, and a few clear workouts you can start this week.
Understand how the elliptical builds strength
Most people treat the elliptical as a long, steady, easy jog in place. For strength gains, you need to think differently.
When you increase resistance, your legs, glutes, and core must push and pull harder against the machine’s internal braking system. At higher levels, this starts to mimic weight training and can stimulate muscle strength development, especially in your lower body. Ellipticals that include moving arms also bring your chest, back, shoulders, and arms into the mix, which turns your session into a true full body workout.
Research has shown that elliptical training can elicit greater quadriceps activation and quadriceps and hamstrings coactivation than cycling, which is helpful for uphill trail running demands and general lower body strength. Other research found that elliptical exercise can drive heart rates about 19 beats per minute higher than treadmill usage at a similar perceived effort, which suggests a strong cardiovascular training effect at the same time.
The key idea for you is simple: resistance and intensity are what make men elliptical strength training effective, not just time spent on the machine.
Know the muscles you work on the elliptical
When you train on a modern elliptical with moving arms, you are targeting much more than just your quads.
Your lower body takes on most of the load. You work your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves, and even the small muscles of your feet on every stride. Adding incline shifts more demand toward the glutes and hamstrings, while flat or shallow incline levels emphasize the quads and calves.
Your upper body is involved as well. The arm motion works your chest, back, shoulders, biceps, and triceps, particularly when you actively push and pull the handles instead of letting your legs do all the work. According to certified exercise physiologist Taylor Easterling, this coordinated handle work can help build stronger arms and upper back during elliptical sessions.
Your core stabilizes you in every direction. Elliptical training challenges your abdominal muscles, lower back, and muscles like the erector spinae, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, and rhomboids, which all contribute to posture and trunk stability. If you occasionally ride without holding the handles, you increase the demand on your core and balance even more.
In other words, men elliptical strength training gives you a head to toe session if you use the machine intentionally.
Use key principles for strength focused workouts
To turn that potential into real strength gains, you need a few basic rules.
First, use progressive overload. This means gradually increasing resistance from one session to the next so your muscles continue to adapt. Certified personal trainer Mathew Forzaglia explains that the key to building strength on an elliptical is short, intense intervals at higher resistance where maintaining a steady pace feels challenging, then slowly increasing that resistance over weeks.
Second, match resistance to your goal. Lighter resistance with longer sessions builds endurance. Heavier resistance with shorter, harder efforts improves muscular strength and power. For strength training, your best results come from workouts that are shorter but more intense, with higher resistance levels that force your legs and arms to work.
Third, keep cadence in mind. For aerobic development, some coaches suggest you stay near 85 to 90 revolutions per minute at lower resistance. To build threshold strength, use high resistance intervals where you keep cadence near or above 90 rpm for short bursts. This intensity level is where you really feel your legs and lungs working together.
Finally, separate leg and arm focus when you want to. If you want an arm dominant session, lower the resistance enough that your legs do minimal work while your arms push and pull the handles. For combined total body strength, you will want higher resistance that challenges both your upper and lower body at the same time.
Adjust the machine to target specific muscles
One of the biggest advantages of men elliptical strength training is the control you have over what muscles you prioritize.
When you increase resistance, you ask more from your quads, glutes, and core, and you increase overall energy expenditure. This is what turns your workout into a strength builder instead of a gentle cruise.
When you add incline, you shift more load toward your glutes, hamstrings, and calves. This is especially effective if you want stronger hips and posterior chain without heavy barbell work. Many machines also allow you to pedal in reverse, which emphasizes hamstrings and calves differently than the standard forward motion.
You can also change your grip and stance. Use the moving arms for upper body engagement. Occasionally let go of the handles to improve balance and core activation. If your machine has narrow and wide stance options, experiment to see which position targets your glutes and hips more effectively while still feeling comfortable.
Combining resistance, incline, and stride direction gives you a lot of flexibility in one machine.
Try sample elliptical strength training workouts
To make men elliptical strength training practical, it helps to follow clear plans. Below are three scalable workouts you can adapt based on your current fitness and machine settings.
Always warm up for at least 5 minutes at very light resistance before you start any intense intervals.
Beginner: Strength focused endurance (20 to 25 minutes)
If you are new to the elliptical or coming back from time off, start here to build a base.
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Warm up
5 minutes at low resistance, easy pace, light use of the handles. -
Main set
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4 minutes at moderate resistance where you are slightly out of breath but can still talk in short phrases
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2 minutes at low resistance for recovery
Repeat this 4 to 5 times.
- Cool down
3 to 5 minutes at very low resistance, easy pace.
In this stage, your goal is to learn how different resistance levels feel and to get used to maintaining good posture while your legs and arms move together.
Intermediate: Strength and HIIT intervals (20 minutes)
Once you feel comfortable, you can step into interval work that focuses more directly on strength and power.
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Warm up
5 minutes at low resistance with a slight incline if available. -
Main set
Perform 8 to 10 rounds of the following:
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20 to 30 seconds at high resistance, hard effort, fast but controlled cadence around 90 rpm
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60 to 90 seconds at very low resistance, slow pace
Push the handles actively during the work intervals so both arms and legs contribute.
- Cool down
5 minutes at light resistance until your breathing returns close to normal.
These short, intense bursts line up with high intensity interval training principles and can quickly build both strength and endurance when you repeat them 2 to 3 times per week.
Advanced: Total body strength and endurance block (30 minutes)
If you already have a strong base, you can challenge both your muscle strength and aerobic capacity in a single structured session.
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Warm up
5 minutes easy, then 2 minutes slightly harder with a moderate incline. -
Strength block (12 to 14 minutes)
Alternate:
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1 minute at high resistance, heavy leg drive, moderate incline
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1 minute low resistance, flat, relaxed pace
Perform 6 to 7 cycles. Try to keep cadence fairly high even at the higher resistance.
- Arm emphasis finisher (6 minutes)
- Drop the resistance one or two levels
- Focus on pushing and pulling the handles while your legs move just enough to keep the pedals turning
- Alternate 40 seconds strong upper body work with 20 seconds very easy
- Cool down
4 to 5 minutes at light resistance, flat, comfortable pace.
This style of workout uses the elliptical’s full potential to challenge your legs, arms, and lungs in one compact session.
Support joint health and long term progress
One of the biggest reasons men elliptical strength training is so appealing is its joint friendly nature. The smooth, low impact motion protects your knees, hips, and ankles compared to high impact activities like running, which can be especially valuable if you have arthritis, old injuries, or simply want to reduce pounding while still training hard.
Elliptical training has helped competitive athletes do exactly that. Elite marathoner Natasha Wodak used the elliptical two to four times per week to safely add about two hours of aerobic training to her schedule and went on to set a 2:23:12 Canadian marathon record at age 40. Another athlete, Parker Valby at the University of Florida, credited elliptical and pool running with helping him take second at the NCAA 5K championships while only running on land 8 to 10 times all season. These examples show how the elliptical can maintain and even peak performance while limiting impact.
To support this low impact advantage, you still need to care for the machine itself. Check belts, handles, and pedals regularly and replace worn parts to keep your workouts safe and smooth. A well maintained elliptical is more comfortable to use, which helps you stay consistent week after week.
Balance strength, fat loss, and overall fitness
Men elliptical strength training can also support body composition and general fitness, not just muscle strength. A 30 minute moderate intensity elliptical session can burn around 170 calories for a 150 pound person, and depending on your body weight, some estimates place energy use between roughly 270 and 400 calories in half an hour at moderate to vigorous effort. Combined with higher resistance intervals, these sessions can support both fat loss and strength goals at the same time.
To get the most from your efforts, treat the elliptical as one pillar in your routine. Two to four sessions per week that combine moderate length rides and short, high resistance intervals will support strength, endurance, and weight management. Pair your training with enough protein, sleep, and basic mobility work and your results will come faster and feel more sustainable.
If you want a single next step, try this: at your next gym visit, pick a resistance level that feels clearly challenging but still controllable, and perform six rounds of 30 seconds hard, 60 seconds easy. Pay attention to how your legs, lungs, and arms feel, and adjust from there. Over time, those small increases in resistance and effort will be what transform your fitness.
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