How to Burn an Additional 500 Calories a Day on the Elliptical

Alongside their cardio-building benefits, elliptical machines can burn quite a bit of calories in a short period of time. And although calories aren't the most important metric in a workout, having an idea of your total burn can help you accomplish certain fitness goals.

Learn exactly how long it takes to burn 500 calories on an elliptical and how to make the most out of your workouts.

The amount of calories you burn doing any kind of exercise depends on a variety of factors, including your age, weight and fitness level, according to Harvard Health Publishing. It can take anywhere from about 40 minutes to an hour (or longer).

Using your weight, you can figure out, roughly, how long it takes to burn 500 calories on an elliptical. Check the chart below to get an idea of how long it may take to burn 500 calories on an elliptical.

While burning 500 calories on a treadmill won't take ‌too‌ long, it's definitely not a goal you need to shoot for during each workout. Instead, aim to get about 150 minutes of steady-state cardio (or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio) each week, recommend the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Broken down, that comes to about 30 minutes a day, five days per week. Use the chart below to estimate how many calories 30 minutes on an elliptical burns for your bodyweight.

As mentioned above, you can make your elliptical workouts more difficult by increasing the resistance, according to Carolina Araujo, CPT, a New York-based strength coach.

"The elliptical is a great low-impact cardio option," she says. "You can imitate hills by increasing or dropping the resistance. This can help you build lower-body strength and make your workout more challenging."

One advantage ellipticals have over spin bikes or treadmills? Arm levers! Using the arm levers on an elliptical is optional but can help increase your overall calorie burn.

"If using the arm levers for your whole workout is too difficult, you can do intervals," Araujo recommends. "Try doing a minute with the levers, two minutes without. From there, adjust your interval lengths as needed."

You can make your elliptical workouts high-intensity with intervals. Build a high-intensity elliptical workout by alternating between faster speed and higher resistance levels.