The elliptical is an awesome cardio machine for most users. But what if it’s not right for you? Here are your best alternatives to the elliptical, including pros and cons of each, and how to choose the right one for you.
What do you do if you don’t have space in your home gym for all the machines you want?
Let’s be honest: if we had our way, our home gyms would be filled to bursting with all the coolest and best machines—from squat cages to bench presses to cable machines to all our favorite cardio machines.
But, sadly, space is always a factor to consider in our home gyms, which means we’ve got to be very choosy about which machines we actually bring home.
As you’ll have read in my elliptical machine benefits article, there are a lot of reasons to consider an elliptical as your top pick for a cardio machine.
But for the sake of argument, I’ll dedicate this post to looking at the other cardio machines to find out which is the best elliptical alternative for your workouts.
I’ll look at what makes a good elliptical alternative, which the best alternatives are, and the pros and cons of each.
By the end of this post, you’ll know which machine/s are the best choice if an elliptical trainer is not an option for your home.
How to Choose an Elliptical Alternative
Most trainers will agree that the elliptical is one of the best cardio machines around.
However, there are a few factors that would make it less-than ideal for your home gym.
For example, maybe you’re not willing to pay the high cost of an elliptical (significantly more than a treadmill or stationary bike). Or you find that you tend to get numb feet on the elliptical but not on other machines.
If, for whatever reason, you’ve got to consider another machine, here are some of the important things to take into account when searching for the right elliptical alternative:
Low Impact
The elliptical machine is a very low-impact machine, for the simple fact that you never lift your feet off the pedals when you stride.
This makes it excellent for your joints, great as a tool for both rehabilitating existing injuries and training hard without putting your skeletal system at risk of injury.
Any elliptical alternative you consider should also be as low-impact as possible.
Calories Burned
If you look at all the calories burned on the elliptical, you’ll see that this machine does an amazing job of pushing your fitness to the max. It’s not only about the muscles worked (see the next section), but also the pace you set and the incline and resistance.
Finding a machine that can burn almost as many calories as you’d burn on the elliptical is the best you can do to ensure you get a good workout.
Muscles Worked
The elliptical machine works pretty much every muscle in your body:
- Upper Body: Chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and forearms
- Core: Abs, obliques, and spinal supporters
- Lower Body: Glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves
Any elliptical alternative you’re considering should also work as many muscles as possible.
Comfortable
One hallmark of the elliptical machine is that it gives you a comfortable workout every time you step on. The glide is smooth, the pedals encourage a very comfortable rolling motion, and the handles help you to work your upper body and lower body easily in sync.
The elliptical alternative you consider should also be comfortable, encourage good posture and form, and give you a good workout overall.
HIIT-Compatible
One of my favorite things about the elliptical machine is that you don’t have to press any buttons to push it from low-intensity to high-intensity.
You can raise the incline or add resistance, but when it comes down to it, really all you have to do is pedal faster. No adjustments necessary, just pick up the pace.
This makes it one of the best HIIT-compatible machines in the gym. There are a few other machines that offer easy and quick adjustments, but most require you to manually increase the speed.
Space-Efficient
The elliptical machine is not a very space-efficient machine. You can find a few compact ellipticals, typically center drive machines, but most front and rear drive ellipticals tend to be on the larger, bulkier, and heavier side.
If you just don’t have space in your home gym for an elliptical, you’ll likely want to find a machine that is more compact, perhaps even one you can fold down or fold up and stand against the wall.
That way, you’ve got more room in your gym for other machines or weights.
The Best Elliptical Trainer Alternatives
1. Rowing Machine
When it comes to elliptical trainer alternatives, you won’t find them better than the rowing machine.
Rowing machines provide a low-impact workout just like ellipticals, and they work most of the same muscles the elliptical does (minus the chest and triceps).
It’s also a comfortable workout, one that will burn a lot of calories (nearly on par with the elliptical), and can help you to strengthen the muscles that support your joints.
See also: Elliptical Machine vs Rower: Which One is Best for Your Workouts?
One great thing about the rowing machine: it’s HIIT-compatible, just like the elliptical. All you have to do is pick the pace and row harder.
You can easily raise the resistance in a second (just flick the switch/dial that controls it), but simply rowing faster is enough to turn it from low-intensity to high-intensity instantly.
Great for HIIT trainingDoesn’t work as many muscles
Low-impact and very comfortableMay be harder on your knees and lower back
Compact—many are designed to be foldable and space-saving
Burns a lot of calories
2. Treadmill
The treadmill is a gym staple, a machine everyone has used at some point, largely because of how effective it is.
No other machine can really come close to the functionality of the treadmill. After all, you walk, jog, and run everywhere you go, so any machine that encourages more fitness in those specific activities is definitely one you want to train on.
The treadmill is significantly more high-impact than the elliptical, and it works far fewer muscles (just your lower body).
However, it’s one of the best HIIT machines around, though you do have to use the buttons to speed it up/slow it down.
At the end of the day, its functionality makes it one of the top elliptical alternatives around!
(For a more detailed breakdown between these two machines, check out: Elliptical vs Running: Which One is Best for Your Workout Goals?)
Highly functional trainingHigh impact; may lead to joint strain
VersatileOnly works the lower body
HIIT-compatible
Many are designed to be fairly space-saving and compact
3. Stationary Bike
The stationary bike is as low-impact as the elliptical, and allows you to focus on your lower body (though your upper body is sort of left out of the workout).
It’s comfortable, easy to learn, and encourages functional fitness (plenty of opportunities to ride bikes anywhere you are).
See also: Elliptical Trainer vs Stationary Bike: Which One is a Better Workout for You?
Stationary bikes can burn nearly as many calories as the elliptical, though you’ll find you often have the same foot numbness problem you experience on the elliptical.
Because your body is supported by the bike seat, there is no actual load on your legs, so the stationary bike is actually better for rehabilitating your knees post-surgery or post-injury than the elliptical.
No load on your legs; great for knee and back injuriesNo upper body engagement
Very functional trainingDoes cause foot numbness like the elliptical
Good calorie burning
Low-impact
4. Stair Climber
Many of the best ellipticals on the market allow you to raise the incline so that it feels like you’re climbing stairs. Machines like the Bowflex M9 Trainer, NordicTrack FS14i, Sole E95, Nautilus E616 and others have a power incline for increasing difficulty.
This is a highly effective means of training your legs with greater emphasis on your glutes (rather than the greater quad-focus of regular elliptical training).
When it comes to the elliptical vs Stairmaster debate, the stair climber takes that one step further and gives you a machine dedicated to climbing stairs—one, two, or even three steps at a time.
You’ll feel the burn in your quads for sure, but you’ll be able to hammer your glutes even more effectively than you could on an elliptical.
On the downside, there is no upper body engagement, and the workout is much harder on your knees than a smoother, more natural-feeling elliptical workout.
Hammer your glutes hardHigher risk of knee strain
Train your lower body to climbVery large and bulky machines
Burn a lot of caloriesNo upper body engagement
HIIT compatible
5. Jacob’s Ladder
The Jacob’s Ladder is a truly amazing cardio machine! It simulates climbing a ladder, a workout that places a lot of emphasis on your glutes, hamstrings, and calves as well as your quads.
It also burns a lot more calories than the elliptical machine, though it’s difficult to sustain the workout for long because of how difficult it is.
There is some upper body engagement (you are leaning forward and supporting your weight on your arms), and your core has plenty to do as you climb.
Though it’s far from newbie-friendly (like the elliptical is), it offers an excellent workout.
Hammers your glutes, hamstrings, and calvesBulky and VERY expensive machine
Some upper body engagement, lots of core workNot newbie-friendly
Burns a lot of caloriesHard to sustain long-term
HIIT-compatibleNot easy on your knees
6. Recumbent Bike
The recumbent bike is an amazing rehab tool, one that takes all of the strain off your lower back and isolates your legs to do the hard work of pedaling.
On the recumbent bike, you’re essentially sitting and pedaling forward and backward (rather than up and down), a movement that is much gentler on your knees and lower back muscles than the regular stationary bike.
However, this “gentleness” comes at a cost of difficulty. The recumbent bike is one of the easiest machines to use, and you have to push VERY hard to get a cardio workout on par with most of the other machines on our list.
It’s also not very comfortable for HIIT, because trying to pedal a recumbent bike very fast feels awkward and unnatural.
Very gentle on your jointsNot HIIT-compatible
Great for your knees and lower backExpensive compared to regular stationary bikes
Workout may be TOO easy
No upper body engagement
7. Assault Bike
The assault bike (also known as an air bike) is a cardio machine that gives you a full-body workout like the elliptical, because you’ve got to work the handles while you pedal.
Among the many benefits of training with an assault bike, it works almost all of the same muscles as the elliptical trainer.
The big difference is that instead of working out from a standing position with all your weight on your legs, you’re sitting and supporting the weight on your butt. This means there is much more emphasis on your quads with only minimal hamstring and glute engagement.
However, because you’re pumping the handles with your arms while pedaling using your legs, it’s still a full-body workout that burns a lot of calories.
To push it into HIIT territory, you can simply speed up, no buttons or adjustments needed. You can also increase the resistance to give your muscles a more demanding workout.
Full-body trainingMinimal hamstring or glute engagement
Gentler on your kneesExpensive machines
Burns a lot of calories
HIIT-compatible
The Bottom Line
It’s safe to say that the elliptical machine is still the “king of the gym”, delivering a full-body workout that no other machine can truly match, and burning a lot of calories without risking strain to your joints.
However, if you can’t consider an elliptical—because you don’t have space in your home gym or room in your budget—the machines I listed above will be suitable elliptical trainer alternatives that will give you an “almost as good” workout.
Choose your cardio machine of choice and get to work on your training goals!
More Elliptical Guides and Articles
Does the Elliptical Work Your Stomach? (Yes, Here’s How to Do It Right). Looking to work your stomach and core on the elliptical machine? Here’s how to do it properly for maximum effectiveness.
How to Use the Elliptical Machine Like a Champ (Form, Posture, and Pro Tips). The elliptical is an awesome cardio machine for losing weight in the gym. Here’s a detailed guide on how to use it for maximum effectiveness, whether you are trying to lose weight, get in shape, or burn more fat.
