Cross trainers are a great piece of home gym equipment, bringing together ease of use, low impact and a full-body cardiovascular workout for awesome calorie burn. Cross trainers also have a range of features and benefits to help you get the most out of your workout, including multiple resistances. We've created a four-week cross trainer workout plan so you can maximise the impact of your workout and use your cross trainer to its full potential...

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  1. The Benefits of Cross Trainers
  2. Different Training Styles
  3. 4 Week Cross Trainer Workout Plan

The Benefits of Cross Trainers

Full Body

When you use a cross trainer, your upper body, lower body and core all work in unison. This maximises your calorie burn and helps to boost your stamina. However, you can also choose where you want to put the emphasis. For example, you can use your arms more for a better upper body workout. You could drop your arms completely so that you blast your core. Or you could put things into reverse to hit different leg muscles. No matter your preferences or goals, a cross-trainer will provide the perfect full-body workout for you.

Low Impact

Another benefit of a cross trainer is the low impact movement it provides. Low impact exercises will reduce the impact on your joints, particularly your knees. On top of that, it means you don't make much noise while you're using the machine, which is an advantage for people who are working out at home and don't want to disturb family members or neighbours.

Variable Resistance

The variable resistance of cross-trainers makes them an ideal choice for your home gym. By starting off low, you can get to know your machine as well as your body's capabilities. Higher resistance means harder work, and as your fitness increases, so will the challenge. That way, you can keep on progressing, improving your fitness and building muscle.

Easy to Use

At home exercise equipment does not get much easier than the cross-trainer. Hop on, tweak the resistance, get going, and then hop off. Cross trainers provide the most customisable and simplistic workouts, ideal for both beginners and fully-fledged fitness fanatics.

woman on a cross trainer

Different Training Styles

Our cross trainer workout plan incorporates three different training styles. This will keep your four week plan exciting.

LISS

First up, LISS, or low intensity steady state cardio. LISS takes things a little easier, but for a much longer time than most other workouts. It's a great way to get started, take things easy and still benefit from a great workout. LISS exercise also burns the highest rate of fat per calorie burned too, which is awesome for getting leaner, if that's something you are looking for.

HIIT

When it comes to serious calorie burn, things don't get much better than HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts. They burn the most calories in the least time, all through sheer hard work and determination. In HIIT workouts, you will alternate between working hard and taking it easy over a short period of time. For example, you could go all out for 30 seconds, and then rest for 30 seconds. HIIT is great for maximising progress.

Distance / Time

Last but not least, we have the classics workout structure of distance and time. Working towards goals - such as walking x amount of miles on the cross trainer, going for a solid hour, or the combination of both - is a great way to keep pushing yourself and tracking your progress, for example, how far you can go in 30 minutes, or how long it takes you to reach a milestone distance.

4 Week Cross Trainer Workout Plan

This cross trainer workout plan lasts for four weeks, but you can repeat as often as you'd like. It involves three workouts per week, which is sustainable for most people and gives you time to rest and recover. You can choose which days you exercise depending on your schedule, but do try to give yourself a day in between workouts if possible. When it comes to the HIIT workouts, you can decide how long you want to work and rest for, but we recommend following a similar structure to this HIIT cross trainer workout plan.

Week / Day

 Workout

Requirements

Week 1

  
MondayDistance2.5 miles
WednesdayLISS25 minutes
FridayHIIT15 minutes

Week 2

  
TuesdayLISS30 minutes
ThursdayDistance4 miles
SaturdayHIIT20 minutes

Week 3

  
MondayHIIT25 minutes
WednesdayDistance5 miles
FridayLISS45 minutes

Week 4

  
TuesdayHIIT25 minutes
ThursdayLISS40 minutes
SaturdayDistance5 miles

Check out the full workout here:

Download the plan here:

4 Week Cross Trainer Workout PlanDownload

Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.

If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.