Yes, you can lose weight on a Gazelle. Lots of it. But you need to use it regularly, perform the movements correctly and use a model with resistance for maximum calorie burn.
Critics say Gazelles doesn’t provide enough resistance or muscle use to provide a worthwhile calorie-burning workout. If you use the machine correctly, however, you can increase your heart rate and challenge enough muscle to create aerobic exercises. You can burn even more calories if you have a Gazelle with resistance and/or do higher-intensity interval workouts.
It Works for Weight Loss
In order to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you eat most days. To lose 1 lb. of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories, or 500 calories more than you eat each day for one week. You can reduce your calories by 500 each day, increase your calorie burn by 500 each day, or use a combination of each. For example, you can decrease your calories by 250 one day and burn 250 calories on a Gazelle.
A Gazelle helps you lose weight by allowing you to exercise routines that work for you. You can create fat-burning, aerobic and anaerobic (sprint training or HIIT) workouts. You will have to use the Gazelle hard enough and long enough to burn sufficient calories for weight loss. The American Heart Association suggests moderate-intensity exercise for 60 minutes, several times per week, for weight loss.
Types of Gazelle Workouts
The Gazelle lets you create 5 different types of workouts:
- Beginner get-in-shape workout
- Intermediate and athlete cardio
- Intermediate and athlete HIIT
- Muscular endurance
- Toning/Body shaping
Beginners should use the Gazelle on a low resistance setting (if the machine comes with one) and at a moderate pace, similar to brisk walking. Work at a pace that lets you continue to exercise without stopping. You should be breathing hard, but able to talk while you’re exercising.
When you are ready for a more intense, aerobic workout, raise the speed at which you exercise. You should be sweating and breathing hard (but still be able to talk). You can raise your heart rate by increasing the resistance setting, but this extra muscular effort may fatigue you and cause you to stop. Experiment with resistance settings and speed to create the best workout for you.
Shop for a Gazelle
To burn the most calories, you can sprint train (HIIT) on a Gazelle. This type of anaerobic exercise takes in place in short bursts, with breaks in between. For example, Tony Little recommends adding Power Sprints to aerobic workouts, which have you working at a very intense pace for 90 seconds, then slowing down and recovering at a moderate speed for two minutes or more.
He suggests adding several to a 30-minute workout. You can train this way for an entire workout if you want to burn the maximum number of calories and get a longer post-workout calorie burn. You should only try sprint training after getting an OK from a health or fitness professional.
Technique Matters on a Gazelle
In order to improve calorie burning, prevent boredom and work different muscles, you can move the Gazelle in different ways. If you lean forward while you move the pedals and levers, you’ll put more weight on and resistance against your biceps and chest muscles.
If you decrease your leg use and try to move the machine using just the handles, you’ll increase your upper-body muscle use. If you move your elbows away from your body, you’ll begin using more triceps, shoulders and back muscles. If you lean backward during your workout, you will use more leg, hip and buttocks muscles.
Standing sideways on the pedals and using only your legs to work the machine lets you work your inner and outer thighs. If you vary your stride length, you will stretch your muscles differently. Holding a long stride for several seconds, or doing a double-stride, works more core muscles (abs and obliques).
NOTE: As you begin moving faster, the machine can move itself (partially) using the momentum of your body’s weight, decreasing your muscle use and calorie burn. To prevent this, move the pedals and levers using only muscular effort to get the maximum calorie-burning benefit.