Have you ever gone to the gym when you’re bone tired, sluggish, and trying to get some sort of workout accomplished before you fall asleep standing up? Times like these make the elliptical look REALLY tempting. It’s one of those machines the gym wouldn’t offer if it wasn’t a great workout, right? Meh….debatable. Don’t get me wrong, the elliptical is better than nothing at all, but leisurely gliding at a slow and steady pace isn’t really getting your heart rate up, blood pumping, and calories burning. Unless my friends, you try this 20 minute cardio elliptical workout.
I created this routine one day at the gym when I was incredibly tired and sluggish due to an overdue ‘date night’ with my husband. True life: I ate a huge salad, and a steak, and mashed potatoes, and dessert. Oh yeah, and drank wine. SO.FULL.I.FELT.SICK. We ate like we would never frequent another nice restaurant for as long as we lived, and we stayed out past 10pm. Wild. #thisislifepast30
We got back from our romantic date and fell face first into bed. Like barelygotmyshoesoff before snoring. Flash forward to the next morning. You’ve been there – overindulge, go to bed, then feel like a mack truck hit you.
I needed some gym time. I could have laid around all day like a bump on a log while our son pushed the animal sounds button on his farm book 3,985,230 times, but I knew if I could just manage to do something active, I would feel so much better. Must.Do.Something.
So as I stepped on the gliding beauty known as the elliptical, I knew I had two choices: 1. stroll along for an hour, trying to distract myself from looking at the clock or 2. bust out a cardio interval workout in 20 minutes. Easy decision. Wham bam thank you ma’am.
Despite my once harsh words about my friend elliptical, I think I created one of my new favorite, QUICK cardio workouts. If you are like me and find it really difficult to work out on a cardio machine without analyzing every second that ticks by, you’ll appreciate how quick this workout feels. Every interval is only 2-3 minutes and before you know it, DONE! A kick-butt 20 minute cardio elliptical workout.
If you’re looking for an extra challenge, try sprinting (or glidesprinting – is that what you’d call it?) as fast as you can the last 30 seconds of the workout. Seriously, you may never look at the elliptical the same with this gem.
Looking for a challenging treadmill workout too? Try this 40 Minute Advanced Treadmill Workout.
Happy ellipticaling!
So funny…the first few date nights that Keith and I had after our 3rd baby we made the same mistake. We ordered WAY too much food, ate most of it, and then felt sick. It’s as though we were never going to get another night out again and we had to order ALL THE FOOD. 🙂 We have since learned that we WILL in fact get other good meals, so no need to stuff our faces when we have a night out. 🙂
Isn’t that funny?! The few date opportunities we get, we act like ravishing animals! You SO get it Blair! Although after having THREE boys, I’m surprised you even stayed awake long enough to have a date night 😉
Love this! I cringe when I see people going .5 mph on the elliptical everyday and wonder why they don’t see results. I wish I could help them!
Ha right?! You of all people could help them girlfriend!
Just started a new gym, trying out alllll the equipment ???? and I have not worked out on the elliptical as of yet. Today, I read this post – only 20 min and done?! Elliptical, here I come!
Good for you Shar! Sometimes the elliptical gets a bad rep. This workout won’t disappoint though!
I was just on the elliptical yesterday because my class got cancelled. Next time I’m doing your workout instead of their pre-made ones. Thanks!
Sounds like a plan to me Shann! Love it!
I love the graphic. You do such a good job on those! And, the idea of giving someone and actual workout for a cardio machine. Genius!
Thanks so much Heather! YES sometimes cardio machines can be so dull if you don’t go in with a plan!!
I want to try this out! Maybe I will tomorrow.
I hope you do Ashley!
I always do the elliptical when I’m in the gym. I’m saving this to try next time!
So glad this will be useful for you Dara!
I don’t use the elliptical anymore; it always my foot feel weird! Maybe it was because I didn’t wear orthotics yet, and/or I was compensating somehow with the arch of my foot. REGARDLESS, this looks awesome, and a great way to switch things up if we get bored listening to music/watching TV while we ellipticalize 😉
One foot or both feet? So funny you say that, because it used to make the balls of my feet fall asleep. But for some reason it doesn’t do it anymore. Maybe it’s because of the weird angle while gliding? Who knows! Ellipticalize. I LOVE that word!
I wish I liked the elliptical, and I do for short bouts, but my toes always fall asleep!! I can go about 10 or 15 minutes before they start to go numb. I hate it! I always feel like Im doing something wrong, but Im not really sure how you can mess up using that machine lol
HA I was just commenting earlier that I used to have the same problem. It has stopped now. Seriously NO idea why. Maybe it’s the shoes? The way you are distributing your weight? Girl, you got me!?
How did you know I’ve been looking for something JUST like this?! Seriously, good timing. I can’t wait to try it. I think my elliptical displays info differently, but I should be able to figure it out 😀
Well I am pretty good at mind reading soooo…..Ok that’s lie BUT I’m happy that the timing was right for you! Let me know if you have any trouble converting your elliptical code with mine!
Thank you for this post/guide! I am always all over the place when it comes to working out and having something like this definitely helps
You are so welcome Alicia! Glad it’s helpful for you! Sometimes we all just need a ‘lil direction 🙂
A ha ha ha h aha 20 minute……. Hmmm add another 70 minutes on to that and that’s my daily cardio jaunt! 😮
Holy cow Ms. Energizer Bunny!!
Combine your cardio workout with my 15 minute total body circuit and we’ve given our readers a workout plan for the week 🙂
Pinning for later!
This is a great workout to keep in my back pocket because while it’s 70 here right now (so strange!), there will come a time when I can’t get to our gym and will want to do a quick one on the elliptical. Thanks for sharing.