A cardio glide exercise machine is a mongrel, half stationary bike, half rowing machine. Or, maybe, you just call it a stationary bike you row on and drop the name calling. In either case, the important thing is: how does it compare to other cardio machines?

Since you’re interested in this type of machine, you probably are interested in more than getting cardio workouts, you probably want to pack your training time to the hilt with usefulness.

Well, to use this machine, you sit on it and push the pedals with your legs and, at he same time, you pull on the handlebars, bringing them towards your chest. You then bring your feet and arms back to starting position. The superficial-level result is that you raise the seat up, then lower it down. The main result is that you exercise your legs, butt, back, biceps, shoulders and hear but not your chest, triceps or back. Just like a rowing machine.

So, why is a cardio glide machine needed?

It’s not, not from that point of view. However, it feels differently than a rowing machine and, for some people that makes a big difference; i.e., they use it though they would not use a rowing machine.

Can you lose weight on a cardio glide exercise machine? Yup. If you use it regularly and long enough and at high enough intensity.

Assuming a healthy body, there are only 2 ‘tricks’ to losing weight: an improved diet and exercising, with improve diet being the main one. The reason: it takes a lot less time to add calories to your day than to use them up.

Existing takes up about 80 calories if you weight 175 lbs. (The formula is:

• weight in LBS / 2.2 x 1.0, for men
• weight in LBS / 2.2 x 0.90 for women).

Most of the activities you do during a day that are not exercise use up under 250 calories an hour.

On the other hand, a slice of cake can have over 400 calories and you can easily eat one in minutes. (I know, for I have tried. True story, in college, I often had pie for appetizer at lunch time, followed by a large burrito, that was followed by a slice of cheese cake. Lucky for me, when I was in college, I was young and my metabolism was fast and, most importantly, I couldn’t afford a slice of pie and one of cake often.)

Still in the ‘on the other hand’ category, a large order of fries at McDonalds has about 500 calories (if you get fries and a regular pop and a Big Mac, you’re eating more than 1,000 calories (or 10 hours worth of standing).

I know people who are not young and can afford pie and cake several times a day. And often do. Then they wonder why they’re so fat, too!

Back to cardio glide workouts and machines. I don’t like them. I don’t like rowing machines, either. However, I used both and both can get your heart going while letting you use more muscle groups than you would use on a treadmill or elliptical machine or stationary bike without, however, their cardio effectiveness.

But you weren’t interested in the most effective cardio machine, so that’s okay, right?

The best way to determine whether to incorporate one of these machines into your fitness program is to actually use one and see how you like it. If you’re going to buy one, try out some rowing machines too, then decide.