How to Use the ElliptiGO in Your Training
The ElliptiGO is an excellent tool for any runner who is looking to improve, but it is especially useful for aging runners and runners who are injury-prone.
I’m not an injury-prone runner, but I am an aging runner (edging closer and closer to that Masters category) and the ElliptiGO has been a great way for me to continue to improve (I’m getting faster!) without beating up my body. Here’s how I’ve used the ElliptiGO in my own training:
Exploring rural roads on my ElliptiGO is the highlight of the summer.
Run-Ride
Stacking runs with an ElliptiGO Ride is a great way to get additional volume on a single day. I’ve played around with running first (usually 60 minutes) and then riding the ElliptiGO for another 60 minutes. It’s primarily an easy or recovery effort and the time on the ElliptiGO feels almost like a shakeout or cooldown (except on the hills and there are a lot of them around here).
>>> I TYPICALLY AVERAGE 13 MPH FOR A 60 MINUTE ELLIPTIGO RIDE, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT 6 MILES RUNNING <<<
The other option is to ride the ElliptiGO first, then run. This I’ve found is a bit more challenging of a transition. After 60 minutes on the ElliptiGO running feels effortful for the first mile, but I soon find a groove.
Another option is to stack multiple runs and rides, like ride-run-ride or run-ride-run. You can play around with intensity and duration.
Because I’m not training for a race-specific combination of riding and running, it doesn’t matter what order I put them in, the benefit is the same. Although if you want to replicate late-race fatigue, riding first then running is a great way to do that.
Warm-Ups/Cool-Downs
One of my favorite workouts that developed over the summer was an ElliptiGO ride to and from the local track for a workout. At about four miles away, the brief 16-minute ride on the ElliptiGO was a great way to warm-up my body for the workout. I’d then run an additional mile or two warm-up on the track before getting into the workout intervals.
After the workout, I’d climb back on the ElliptiGO and ride back up the hill to my house, this ride acted as an extended cool down, adding another 24 to 25 minutes of riding to my 1 or 2 mile jog cool down.
>> I NEVER THOUGHT I’D BUY AN ELLIPTIGO...NOW I HAVE THREE. Read the story HERE. <<
The ElliptiGO is a great way to warm up and cool down before a track workout.
Long Rides
The truth is that I have come to love long rides on the ElliptiGO almost more than long runs. When I initially got my ElliptiGO, I was fresh off a 50K race. I became accustomed to 3 and 4 hours long runs on the weekends. I had come to love that block of time as a chance to explore rural roads, reflect and think.
Once I got the ElliptiGO and became comfortable riding on the road (I rode on the bike path several times and shorter road rides before I ventured onto more trafficked roads.) it seemed that the distance I traveled was only limited by the water and the snacks I could carry.
Long rides quickly replaced those long runs because I didn’t feel beat up afterward. After four hours of running, I’d need an Epsom salt bath and a nap, but four hours on the GO and I could still go to the playground or beach with my family and not feel wrecked.
>> FIND OUT WHICH ELLIPTIGO IS RIGHT FOR YOU HERE. <<
Hill Repeats + Intervals
While most of my use of the ElliptiGO is for easy or recovery efforts, you can still use the ElliptiGO for workouts.
I’ve raced a 5K on the ElliptiGO (and held the women’s record for all of 45-minutes before my friend and coach, Kim Nedeau took it back), I’ve never seen my heart rate as high as I did during that time trial.
Riding intervals or hill repeats on the ElliptiGO is another great way to use it for workouts. I’ve done intervals repeats (on a slightly inclined terrain to help elevate my heart rate a little more quickly) and hill repeats on the big climb close to my house. If you attempt this, try to pick a spot where there is little to no traffic.
There are so many ways to incorporate the ElliptiGO into your training and so many reasons to do it, but the biggest and most compelling reason is that it is FUN! Serious fun. Even if you’re a serious runner you can still incorporate an element of FUN into your training with some serious benefits.
Happy Running and Riding!
-Sarah
