Should it cause pain?

Trinity

Hi

First time in this forum am hoping for a bit of advice.

Am hardly a fitness freak but decided to tone up so bought a carl lewis elliptical trainer ( its like a cross country machine).

Anyway i followed all instructions, did lots of stretches and a warm up but after only about 2 mins on this machine my knee absolutely kills me!

I have used these machines in the gym beofre and have never experienced pain. It has happened everytime i used my own one.

Is it me or is there something wrong with this machine? I bought it from a home shopping catalogue and they say once its assembled there is no return, however the pulse monitor is not working properly its stuck on 72 so if they take it back they will only replace it and if it is causing me pain i really dont want it back!!

Thanks

Dragan

The problem with most machines like this is they are normally made for a pretty specific structure, i have never found an eliptical trainer that did not cause me a degree of pain in my knee's, so i don't use them.

Trinity

Thanks for the reply. I should have started off smaller

cowzerp

I dont like the home versions of these machines-but if your knee is hurting there must be an underlying problem-if using it use a low resistance till you build up a bit of strenght and fitness-if pain persists see a physio about it..

Trinity

cowzerp wrote:

I dont like the home versions of these machines-but if your knee is hurting there must be an underlying problem-if using it use a low resistance till you build up a bit of strenght and fitness-if pain persists see a physio about it..

I have fibromyalgia and exercise is supposed to help, i used a similar one in the gym and it didnt hurt at all. I just think i am out of my league with this machine!! The ones in the gym are obviously a lot better and a lot more expensive. Thanks for replies.

Boru.

The Carl Lewis models are pretty poor machines. The tracking is awful and will stress most people's knee joints. The best type are made by Kettler, who suply most medical and rehab facilities and Horizon / Vision which are the higher end home use. Both have excellent alignement and are adjustabe to accomadate both leg length and hip width. Certainly more expensive, but far more efficent and enjoyable.

That being said - a simple 45-60 min walk at a nice easy, but invigorating pace (around 60-70% of your max heart rate) will provide you with even more benefits and its free.

iregk

Id echo what Boru said. The Lewis ones are cheap crap. There is a reason why some machines cost a couple of hundred and others cost a couple of thousand! Id go with either Life Fitness or Kettler but again, your going to pay!