Arc Trainer
Standing arc-motion cardio where a long, low-impact stride and adjustable incline load the quads and glutes.
How to do it
- Step onto the footplates with your feet flat and rest your hands on the fixed console handlebar.
- Set the incline for your target: low to bias calves, glutes and hamstrings, high to bias quads.
- Dial resistance in separately from incline so effort and muscle emphasis stay independent.
- Press one foot down and back along the arc while the opposite plate rises into position.
- Keep your torso tall and let the legs set the rhythm instead of pulling on the bar.
- Wind resistance down for the last minute, then step off once the plates have stopped.
Key technique cue
Load the legs, not the handlebar — hands only steady you.
Common mistakes
- ✕ Hanging your bodyweight on the fixed handlebar, which unloads the legs and flattens the training effect.
- ✕ Leaving incline on the default, so the muscle emphasis never changes even though it can be shifted.
- ✕ Chasing stride rate with a short, choppy range instead of completing the full arc.
- ✕ Stepping off before the plates stop moving, which makes it easy to lose balance and catch an ankle.
Benefits
- ✓ Loads quads and glutes hard while keeping joint impact lower than running.
- ✓ Reaches oxygen uptake comparable to treadmill running in tested comparisons.
- ✓ Covers steady aerobic work and short power intervals on the same machine.
Progression: from easier to harder
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Step 1 You are here - Arc Trainer
- Elliptical trainer
About the exercise
The Arc Trainer moves your feet along a fixed arc rather than an ellipse, so hip and knee extend together while the foot stays under the knee. The handlebar is fixed, so the legs produce all of the work and the hands only steady you. Incline is the muscle dial: low settings bias calves, glutes and hamstrings, high settings shift the work onto the quads. Resistance is set separately, so one machine covers steady aerobic work, intervals and power efforts. In a tested comparison the arc trainer reached oxygen uptake similar to treadmill running with less hip discomfort than an elliptical.
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