Arc Trainer

The Arc Trainer is a stationary cardio machine that guides your legs through an arc-shaped stride. It mainly trains your quadriceps and glutes, while your hamstrings and calves help push and stabilize. It builds leg endurance and conditioning with less pounding on your joints than running.

Step onto the pedals and hold the moving handles if your machine has them. Stand tall with your feet centered on the pedals and your weight balanced through the middle of each foot. Keep a slight bend in your knees at the bottom of the stride so your joints stay comfortable.

Push down and forward through the mid-foot of one leg while the other leg rises along the arc. Let the machine guide the path, but stay in control of each stride. Keep your chest up and your hips under your shoulders as you move. Hold the same pace and effort for the full duration rather than sprinting and slowing down.

Breathe in a steady rhythm that matches your stride, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Keep your core lightly braced so your torso does not sway side to side. To make it easier, lower the resistance or shorten your stride; to make it harder, raise the resistance or increase your stride rate while keeping tall posture.

Fault: Leaning heavily on the handles or hunching over the console. Fix: Stand tall, relax your grip, and let your legs carry the effort.

Fault: Pushing only through the toes or the heels, which can stress the knees. Fix: Drive through the middle of your foot on each pedal stroke.

Fault: Starting fast and then slowing to a crawl. Fix: Pick a pace you can sustain and keep your effort steady for the prescribed zone.

Fault: Locking the knees at the bottom of each stride. Fix: Keep a soft bend in your knees throughout the motion, and ease the resistance if your knees ache.