Who invented elliptical trainer

Most elliptical trainers work the user's upper and lower body although some models do not have moving upper body components. Though elliptical trainers are considered to be minimal-impact, they are an example of a weight-bearing form of exercise. Elliptical riders use an arrangement of links known to the kinematics community as four-bar linkage. The pedals are attached to the floating link referred to as the coupler. The first published work on the subject of elliptical path generation is given in by researchers at Purdue University in which the path of a point on the floating link is shown to approximately follow an elliptical shape.

In , Precor introduced the Elliptical Fitness Crosstrainer EFX , the first piece of exercise equipment to allow the foot to roll from heel to toe just like in running.

Its patented mechanism weds a rear flywheel with a forward foot pedal, creating a smooth, elliptical movement. This is key to foot comfort and reduces numbing of the foot experienced on other stationary cardio equipment.

This approach is classified as "low impact" as it keeps a person's heels in contact with the pedals, reducing muscle and tendon stress. There are three types of elliptical trainers, categorized by the location of the motor or "drive. On some models, the incline of sloping roller-ramps beneath the pedal-links can be adjusted to produce varying pedal-motion paths.

An adjustable ramp, whether automatic or manual, alters the angle of the elliptical path which can vary hip actuation as well as vary the stride length. This can allow a user to alter his or her workout to target various lower body muscles. In addition to the lower body, elliptical workouts are known to target the whole body. While mostly targeting the glutes , hamstrings and calves , ellipticals can also target the core, triceps , biceps and shoulders depending on the workout.

Some elliptical trainers even enable exercisers to use preset programs to automatically vary incline , resistance , and stride length over the course of a workout. In addition, some elliptical trainers can be driven in either a forward or a reverse direction. Elliptical trainers are primarily driven by the user's legs, and most are combination designs having handle-levers attached to each pedal-link to enable some burden on the arms and to provide a secondary source of driving power.

The user grips the handles below shoulder height and pushes and pulls the arms while shuffling the feet back and forth within elliptically-shaped paths. Thus the oscillating handle-motions are dependent on — and coordinated with — the constrained pedal-motions. Some poorly designed machines are too dependent on the user's leg power, producing excessive handle speeds due to mechanical ratios that do not provide enough mechanical advantage to the handle-levers.

Consequently, such machines might feel to the user as if his arms are simply "going along for the ride" rather than performing a meaningful portion of the work.

Using a multitude of parts intended for other things, St. Paul inventor Bill Eggert has invented something that's sort of an elliptical trainer on wheels. This is a detail shot of part of the steering mechanism for one of the 'bikes'.

When Bill Eggert takes his new invention out for a spin, it looks like an elliptical exercise machine that escaped from the health club and is rolling down the streets of St.

The St. About four years ago, he started tinkering with an idea that started when he developed some running injuries. A physical therapist suggested low-impact exercise like swimming or bicycling. Metal frame models came next, combining parts from elliptical trainers, old NordicTrack cross country skiing machines, heavy-duty shelving systems, and recumbent and standard bicycles.

The basic setup is a tricycle with a single drive wheel in the rear and two steering wheels in the front. To propel the thing, the rider stands on the footpads connected to pivoting sliding shafts and makes elliptical stepping motions.

You push and pull on arm levers at the same time. Both the footpads and the arm levers provide energy to a chain drive. This means that other elliptical machines have a different variation of the oval pedal motion which may not be evident by looking at it, but it will be when you try out the home trainer.

But then Precor went a step further in their design. They added the incline ramp technology with a range of 10 to 40 degrees, allowing you to target different muscle groups. The result was a full cross-training and cardiovascular workout. Some purists will argue that this gives the elliptical a crutch; that you should simply drop your hands off the front bar so that you work harder using more of the core muscle group while maintaining body balance.

Either design works well for most people and is ultimately a matter of preference. Home elliptical trainers continue to evolve and gain in popularity.