Diet fads and fitness crazes come and go. Health and exercise buffs jump at the chance to try new work out videos as well as new exercise equipment. Manufacturers of exercise equipment continuously vie with each other to produce the best machines.

A recent invention that is gaining popularity among exercise enthusiasts is the elliptical trainer. This is one invention that has developed staying power. This machine had even surpassed the popularity of the treadmill and the stationary bike. This maybe due to the fact that an elliptical trainer is a treadmill, a stair climber, and a stationary bike all rolled into one. An elliptical trainer is a stationary exercise machine that imitates walking or running. Running is a good exercise. Aside from burning calories, the runner gets to increase his stamina. But of course you can not run in inclement weather. Moreover if you are suffering or recovering from joint problems, running would be difficult for you.

The solution for this is to make use of elliptical trainers. With this machine the user will burn the same amount of calories as jogging but with less impact on the feet and joints. Running exercise is similar to running in midair because of the very low impact. This is the reason why this machine is recommended for the use of the elderly or for people recovering from back, ankle and joint injuries. Elliptical trainers are designed to work the upper and the lower body. The whole lower body is worked by the elliptical motion of the feet and the legs, while the rotating motion of the handlebars is toning arm muscles and the upper body. Because of its low impact the user will not really notice that emphasis is given to working the hip and thigh area.

Users of the elliptical trainers are known to burn more calories in the same span of time as they could through use of other kinds of exercise machines. Another feature of the elliptical trainer is adjustable resistance level. Setting the resistance level to what is best for you will give you maximum chance to tone the body. So good bye flabby arms and thighs!

Aside from intense work out resulting in high caloric burn and the very low impact, an elliptical trainer can be rolled in front of the TV. Watching your favorite sitcom is a good way to take your mind off the monotony of exercise.