The obesity rate in the United States has skyrocketed to a mind blowing 60%. Now, more than ever before is their a need for people to understand the benefits of regular exercise.

Did you know that someone who exercises regularly burns up to five times as many calories per hour than someone who doesn't exercise?

People also need to grasp the fact that exercise and fitness are completely up to you. Even the best elliptical machine, treadmill, bike, or home gym will be useless if it ends up gathering dust.

How Much Should I Exercise?

Exercising is known to offer a multitude of health benefits from heart health to weight control. The optimal amount of exercise varies from person to person and also depends on your specific goals.

The best way to start getting in shape is walking for one hour a day. Walking is the best exercise for long-term weight loss and overall health. Running is good too, but make sure your knees are good enough to take the impact.

If you are looking for the fitness benefits of walking or running, but don't want to have to worry about impact on your joints you should try an elliptical trainer. Being able to burn calories, strengthen the lower body and provide benefits to the heart muscle is the goal of the best elliptical exercise program.

Overdoing it, however, is not a good thing. Exercising to much can deplete your body of what it needs.

The Best Ellipticals Impact Health, Not Joints

Many older people decide that later in life they need to exercise more to remain healthy, but walking may hurt their joints. The best elliptical program can exercise their legs and get the blood flowing while reducing the potential for joint injury or pain. Strength training is very important as you age because each decade you lose muscle and your bones, tendons, ligaments, and joints all become weaker unless you exercise.

Being overweight is also said to be a contributing cause to Type II, or adult onset diabetes and keeping the weight down to a recommended level can be a preventative measure. The best elliptical machines can burn upwards of 800 calories an hour, or about 400 calories in the typical 30-minute session.

The amount of calories you burn will depend on your metabolism and the intensity of your workout. Your metabolism depends primarily on your muscle mass.

Think of it this way; muscles = metabolism, metabolism = burned calories. That is why exercise and strength training is so crucial to long-term sustained weight loss.