best under desk elliptical

A worldwide pandemic and restrictions on public gatherings indoors and outdoors have frustrated many fitness enthusiasts. A personal and well-equipped gym is not a plausible reality for many, owing to a lack of residential space and financial limitations. And most public gyms have closed for business.

However, all hope is not lost. An at-home workout can be just as impactful as your time spent at the gym. Therefore, when you do not have space or the money to bring home a standard elliptical machine to aid your daily workout, it is worth considering bringing home the best under desk elliptical, which you either at home or in the office. This is exactly what this write-up aims to focus on.

Keep in mind an under-desk elliptical can provide you light exercise that does not involve the whole body; if you are looking for a machine to work out at home, look for the best elliptical for home under 1000 such a machine involve a whole body workout.

3 Best Under Desk Elliptical

It’s only fair that the suggestion to own an under-desk elliptical for low-impact yet effective elliptical home workouts be followed up with suggestions on the best products at your disposal. This is exactly the gist of all information presented here.

Reviewed below are three buyer favorites under desk ellipticals that are the best introductions to all you need to know about these nifty machines. These include the Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical, the Cubii Pro, and the DeskCycle Ellipse. Read now, with the prospect of truly enhancing your pandemic times, at-home workout.

1. Stamina 55-1602 In Motion Elliptical

Priced reasonably, the Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical grabs your attention from the get-go with its compact and stylistic design. But there’s more here than just good looks. With an overall 4.5-star review, this is definitely among the top of the crop under desk ellipticals.

Compact and easily portable, the Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical effectively meets the basic requirements of an under-desk elliptical right off the bat. Furthermore, this nifty elliptical can be used while sitting or standing, allows for pedaling in reverse motion.

It even comes with a stats monitor to check in on the impacts of your elliptical workout in real-time. Metrics displayed by the monitor include exercise time, number of strides per minute, total time, and calories burnt. As such, you are always aware of your performance on the Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical and the resulting benefits for your fitness.

What current users think about the Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical is important if you wish to make a smart purchase. The good news is – Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical gets excellent ratings on factors such as ease of assembly, motion range, quiet operations, and compactness.

Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical does deliver less for more and is quite apparently popular with users. However, before jumping the gun and adding to the cart, do carefully study the pros and cons of the Stamina 55-1602 InMotion Elliptical as detailed below. Also, make a careful comparison with the other choices that make your list.

Pros

Cons

2. Best Under Desk Elliptical

Among your pricier options, the Cubii Pro packs in quite a punch at its price range. For starters, this portable and compact under-desk elliptical features a minimalistic retro design. This design feature is something to look out for when you want your workout equipment to match your home or office aesthetics.

Priced as per its value, the Cubii pro is likely to require digging deeper into your pocket to bring this nifty elliptical home. However, a laundry list of handy features ensures that you get your money’s worth.

A good reason to make the Cubii Pro yours is that it attracts great ratings across the board. Highly rated for easy assembly, minimal noise levels, and maneuverability, this compact elliptical also enjoy user favor for its app connectivity and sturdiness.

Most good-quality under desk ellipticals are heavy, or else you are probably looking at poor-quality parts and construction. As such, weighing in at 32 pounds, the Cubii Pro is not exactly lightweight. However, a prominent carry handle ensures portability, allowing you to carry your compact elliptical wherever you may want to take it with you.

To top it off, the Cubii Pro doubles up as a mini electrical bike, burning up to 125 per hour, even as you dial it up to quicken your strides. That being said, your best bet is to read through the list of Cubii Pro pros and cons, as detailed below. Additionally, closely compare this purchase option with the others featured here.

Pros

Cons

3. Best Under Desk Exerciser

The DeskCycle Ellipse is a worthy addition to any list of the best under-desk elliptical machines for several reasons. For starters, it’s worth highlighting its simple yet compact design, which is a bonus when bulky workout equipment can often prove to be an eyesore in the home and office environment.

While sitting pretty under your desk, the DeskCycle Ellipse manages to get a lot done in terms of helping you meet your fitness goals. This popular elliptical machine delivers a performance that is well worth its price tag which is very moderate.

Furthermore, and for good reasons, the DeskCycle Ellipse is actively promoted as an under-desk elliptical for a wide demographic, meeting the fitness needs of seniors requiring mild exercise while remaining indoors and even young professionals who wish to keep on the path of ‘fitness first’ while spending long hours at the office, or even while lounging at home. 

Yet another winner here, the DeskCycle Ellipse, garners great user ratings and reviews. This under-desk elliptical scores a perfect 5 stars for a range of motion. Additionally, the DeskCycle Ellipse is highly favored for its sturdiness, quiet operations, maneuverability, easy assembly, and app connectivity.

The DeskCycle Ellipse also features a rubber cushioned carry handle which aids portability to a great extent, while the product itself weighs 30.2 pounds. So all of its features make it the best under desk elliptical.

Keeping in mind the DeskCycle Ellipse elliptical’s pros and cons, and making a careful comparison with other products on this listicle/buying guide, is your ‘note to self’ to ensure a smart purchase. Read further to know more.

Pros

Cons

6 Reasons to Get an Under-Desk Elliptical Cycle?

Any purchase should be preceded by the quintessential ‘Why.’ You’re all set to spend good money on an under-desk elliptical, and in-depth insights into the benefits of an under-desk elliptical workout are worth looking into. Here’s all you need to know about the many advantages of owning an under-desk elliptical machine.

  • Take Your Workout with You
  • Wide-Ranging Resistance
  • Easy Assembly and Limited Space Constraints
  • Joint Supportive
  • The Antidote to a Sedentary Lifestyle
  • Facilitates Weight Loss, Toning, and Overall Fitness

i) Take Your Workout with You

For most of us, life is often stationary, even while being constantly on the move. It sounds like a paradox, right? But not when you consider long hours spent at the office and home, doing a wide range of tasks, or engaging in leisure activities while remaining seated.

The need to make the commute from home to the workplace and back is the everyday grind. So, you’re constantly on the move, but wherever your destination, there’s often a lot of sitting around involved. As such, the under-desk elliptical fits right in with this paradox of contemporary lifestyles.

Take your elliptical workout with you, wherever you may be, at home or the office. And while you remain stationary, getting many integral tasks done, ensure that your body isn’t adversely impacted sedentary lifestyle. Your under-desk elliptical ensures a proactive lower body workout whenever you see fit.

ii) Wide-Ranging Resistance

  • When you own an under-desk elliptical offering multiple resistance levels, you determine the intensity of your lower body workout. You do so in keeping with your fitness goals and enthusiasm and involvement.
  • Your lazy day does not have to mean you’re sitting around losing out on fitness gains you make when performing high-intensity workouts. You simply adjust your resistance on your under-desk elliptical machine. This easy adjustment ensures that you remain on the move without feeling like you’re in the throes of a high-intensity workout.
  • This benefit of the under-desk elliptical proves to be highly beneficial for seniors and those with mobility issues. A strenuous standing workout may prove hazardous or impossible for such individuals. However, a low resistance elliptical workout does facilitate better fitness levels and prevents escalating health problems due to a sedentary lifestyle.
  • Conversely, when you desire a strenuous workout while remaining seated and multitasking, it’s at your fingertips. Simply turn up resistance levels and burn a significant number of calories for every hour spent on your under-desk elliptical machine.

iii) Easy Assembly and Limited Space Constraints

A full-sized elliptical machine does facilitate a full-body workout. However, it might prove to be a hassle owing to space constraints in the home and office environment or even difficult to assemble. This does not apply to the under-desk elliptical.

A standard under-desk elliptical can fit easily under a table or desk in your home or office. As such, the under-desk elliptical is taking up no space at all, apart from the space already occupied by the table or desk in question.

When compared to a full-sized elliptical, the same fundamentals apply for the under-desk elliptical. Lesser and smaller components mean easy assembly in little to no time. Easy assembly and limited space constraints are a big part of the allure of under-desk ellipticals.

iv) Joint Supportive

As mentioned prior, the under-desk elliptical is a popular workout aid for seniors and those with mobility issues. Advancing age often leads to weakened joints that cannot sustain strenuous workouts on a full-sized elliptical. Especially so when standing up is a primary requirement. Standing up, in turn, leads to weight-bearing on the lower body.

Conversely, the under-desk elliptical allows for mild to strenuous elliptical workouts while remaining seated. The under-desk elliptical ensures mild lower body workouts for those who may wish to avoid aggravating weak joints. With no weight-bearing impacts on the limb joints, the under-desk elliptical is sufficiently joint supportive.

v) The Antidote to a Sedentary Lifestyle

Modern living means a lot of our lifespan is spent up sitting around. Long hours at your work desk at the office are further aggravated with time spent on ‘Netflix and Chill’ at home. And before you know it, you become some variation of a couch potato, even if unintentionally.

The fundamentals of an active lifestyle are all about keeping it moving. As such, even when you cannot get away from your work desk to make sure you indulge in a standard workout, or even while you are lounging around at home, the under-desk elliptical ensures you get a low impact lower body workout.

vi) Facilitates Weight Loss, Toning, and Overall Fitness

When your standard daily workout isn’t speeding up the achievement of your wealth loss goals, your under-desk elliptical delivers that extra push towards burning calories. A strenuous elliptical workout with an under-desk aid can burn as much as 125 calories per hour. Conversely, simply sitting around just aggravates weight gain.

With the under-desk elliptical, you are toning your legs to fit into those perfect pairs of jeans even while you’re slimming down your waistline. And whether it’s weight loss or toning, the under-desk elliptical is going a long way in enhancing your fitness levels over time.

We recently published our recommendations of elliptical for seniors as the best elliptical machine for seniors and we write about how to find the best elliptical for the low ceiling in best elliptical for low ceilings; these two resources will help you a lot set up a home gym.

What to Look for in Best Under Desk Elliptical Worth your Money?

best under desk elliptical

Your best under desk elliptical purchase is best aided by insights into what makes any one of the various brands and models available worth your money. You are paying for performance, ease of use, machine resistance to meet fitness goals, ownership practicality, and more.

As such, it’s best to let your money work for you and bring home the best under-desk elliptical. How’s that – you say? Just keep in mind the salient features of a quality under-desk elliptical, as mentioned below, at the time of making your purchase.

1. Sturdy Base

You do not want your compact elliptical to slip and slide around while working out. As such, ensure your purchase comes with a sturdy non-slip base to support a mild to intense elliptical workout.

2. Non-Slip Sturdy Foothold

The effectiveness of an under-desk elliptical workout is dependent on your feet being firmly planted on the pedals of this machine while working against the resistance offered, be it mild or at peak levels.

It might seem like a given, considering that a lower body workout is what you’re paying for. Unfortunately, all under-desk ellipticals do not deliver on this premise. The top three choices reviewed earlier do, and you have ensured a sturdy non-slip foothold with any of these under-desk ellipticals.

All of the above elliptical choices deliver performance ease throughout your workout and at any resistance level.

3. A Range of Resistance Levels

With any workout, you ultimately want to progress to the next level by pushing harder to meet body fitness goals. The resistance aids Machine-aided workouts offered up by a machine, which your body works against to build muscle and facilitate toning and weight loss.

Some machines offer a range of resistance levels, and some do not. The same applies to the under-desk elliptical.

As such, when you wish to build muscle and facilitate toning and weight loss, do so by purchasing the compact elliptical that offers a range of resistance levels.

4. Workout Monitoring

You’d never know whether a workout is working for you unless there’s a way to monitor your progress and the goals you are achieving. Fortunately, there’s a wide selection of under-desk ellipticals that allow you to monitor the impacts and duration of your workout.

As such, your money on an under-desk elliptical is well spent when your purchase comes with a display meter. Look out for display monitors showing real-time metrics such as calories burned, speed achieved, strides performed, and workout duration.

5. Durability

When you want your money’s worth, you have to consider the durability of your purchase. A quality under-desk elliptical might prove to be quite the pocket pinch but offers you long-term use. A cheaper product is likely to break down or malfunction after a few uses.

6. Quiet Operations

Cheaper and less effective under-desk ellipticals do not deliver quiet operations. The noise is a distraction from your workout and a disturbance for others in the home and office environment. Conversely, quality products can deliver quiet operations mainly aided by a magnetic drive system, a feature to look out for in your under-desk elliptical purchase.

Furthermore, some ellipticals do not make as much noise as the others because the machine makeup does not include frictional parts that are prone to wear and tear. As such, under-desk ellipticals delivering quiet operations are also significantly more durable than noisier models.

7. Portability

Even when compact and portable, a good under-desk elliptical is hardly lightweight. As such, when looking for a portable machine, opt for under-desk ellipticals that come with prominent carry handles.

When you let the machine’s weight take precedence when judging portability, you stand the risk of purchasing an under-desk elliptical with substandard construction. Such an elliptical does not offer the durability or even ease of use you expect from your purchase.

8. Forward and Reverse Direction

You want to switch your strides while working out on an under-desk elliptical, not only to break the monotony of your workout but to work harder against the resistance offered up by the machine. As such, purchase an under-desk elliptical that offers dual-directional stride motions whenever in use.

9. App Compatibility

For some, this may prove to be a necessity, while for others, app compatibility is a bonus. However, app compatibility with your Android or Apple device does allow you to monitor your progress while working out on an under-desk elliptical.

Furthermore, it allows you to set goals and tweak your workout routine in keeping with your fitness needs. Also, look into compatibility with your Fitbit or any other fitness band if you are dedicated to the use of such accessories.

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Best elliptical for money is a resource that will help you to find an affordable elliptical. At the same time, we also review the best 2 in 1 elliptical and bike, which can provide you dual benefits.

Under-Desk Elliptical Machines – Pros and Cons

Smart spending requires that you have insights into the pros and cons of any purchase you make. The infographic below provides a comprehensive overview of the pros and cons of an under-desk elliptical.

Pros Cons
Works well for transitioning from a sedentary to an active lifestyle May not fit under all desks or tables
It fits into small spaces, making it the perfect workout aid in small homes and offices While compact, a quality under-desk elliptical is not lightweight
Supportive of multitasking - allowing users to work out while handling other desk-based chores and tasks
Proves to be motivational when working out, as minimal effort is required

It’s worth knowing that your under-desk elliptical purchase is best guided by a working knowledge of the best options available to you. Working knowledge of the requirements from a quality product, the pros, and cons of your purchase, and a general overview of the needs your purchase meets are factors to look into. As is want from any comprehensive information source, this writeup answers all queries in this regard.

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