Elliptical trainers provide and easy to use and versatile workout that meets anyone's needs. The machine can be set to work with sprinting workouts, slow workouts, fartlek, time trials, and absolutely anything else that the user wants to use it for. Some machines have pre-programmed or programmable profiles that, for example, allow the resistances to change over time to simulate hilly terrain, an uphill run, or a fartlek training session.

Elliptical trainers hold a distinct advantage over the more 'traditional' treadmills that induce impact on the lower half of the body and can cause serious trauma to the legs, knees and back. Ellipticals utilise pedals and handles that mimic a comfortable, natural rhythm that is easy to maintain; feet stay flat on the pedals (thus no impact), and the hands grip handles that are attached to the pedals. Elliptical trainers provide a full-body workout that is rare for a single piece of gym equipment.

Typically stand-alone pieces of equipment, elliptical trainers do not require expensive accessories or additional pieces of equipment in order to provide the full-body workout.

The resistance provided by the workout itself can easily be adjusted simply by changing the machine's controls - in the higher-quality examples the handle resistance can be set independently of the pedal resistance, allowing for an independently controlled workout with a high granularity of individual control over what muscles are worked, and how hard.

Higher-quality ellipticals use weight cross-training to provide a high-quality workout without the need to buy, maintain and waste time with heavy weights; ellipticals have easy-to-use controls that change the resistance and result difficult of the workout easily and quickly. Training can work either forwards or in reverse, and this simple fact puts the versatility of the elliptical trainer head and shoulders above many other pieces of equipment.