Do not make a mistake when buying an elliptical trainer!! If you do, it can be very costly. Dozens of manufacturers now make them and they can range in price from $300 all the way up to $4-5,000.

A little background on elliptical trainers. They made their first appearances in gyms and health clubs in North America circa 1998 or so. At that point in time Stairmasters were THE lower-body-only, cardio-toning workout of choice. Elliptical trainers quickly replaced Stairmasters though. Initially, only lower-body ellipticals were available. The target market for those machines were petite women and featured an incline ramp which would target various muscle groups in the lower body (glutes, quads, calves, etc.).  For a great selection of elliptical trainers on Ebay visit http://stores.ebay.com/The-Fitness-Forum.

As we entered the 21s century, that lower-body-only workout that was targeted at the shorter ladies was replaced by total body elliptical trainers which made it even easier to get your heart rate up into the training zone faster. The bonus and what made these machines popular was that people working out on them thought or had the perception that they were not working out as hard!! On top of that users could expect to burn up to 40% more calories in the same amount of time.  Here are a couple of comparisons for you. Ellipticals can burn 50-70% more calories than walking on the flat and at least 20% more calories than walking at a reasonable incline level. A very aggressive trainer who uses more than 100 watts of resistance can even burn more calories than running at about an 8-minute per mile pace!