A ProForm elliptical machine might be perfect if you're looking for an impact-free cardiovascular workout. The cross-training machine is known for its pedals that have comfortable foot placement to keep your legs in constant motion. You'll also get an upper-body workout from the back-and-forth motion of the arm handles.

Although there are a few different models such as the 850 SpaceSaver, the iSeries 785F and the Crosswalk 8.0, they all fall within the same category of ProForm ellipticals.

The 850 SpaceSaver Proform Elliptical has a variety of workouts ranging from six personal trainer workouts to two heartrate workouts. Resistance and stride length can be altered to provide a slightly different workout. On this particular machine there are 10 different intensity levels to ramp up that heartrate. This particular model may be folded into storage when you're not using it, making it a great option for those without a lot of space.

The iSeries785F Proform elliptical has 14 personal trainer workouts and six weight-loss workouts. By changing the power intensity ramp, you can target your glutes, quads and calves. There is also a built-in compatible music port for iPods.

The ProForm Crosswalk 8.0 takes up half the space of the standard elliptical and has 20 built-in workouts to keep you entertained.

Prices range from approximately $599 to $999 for a new ProForm elliptical machine. These elliptical machines have been rated as light duty machines for the casual user.

Don't think you can stay motivated to workout on your own? Check out our weight-loss success stories.

If you're trying to create the perfect home gym, check out our information on Proform treadmills and other elliptical machines.

Burpees. The name's not pretty, but the results sure are!

A combination of squat, push-up, and vertical jump, the burpee has a somewhat nasty reputation for being the exercise of choice in prisons. But you should consider adding burpees to your routine for the same reasons inmates might: The burpee requires no equipment and can be done just about anywhere. Plus, it works your entire body, including those important core muscles, while increasing your cardio endurance.

So how do you do a burpee? The basic version is a six count move. Begin in the standing position, then:

1. Sit into a squat.
2. Kick your feet behind you so you're in a push-up position.
3. Lower your chest to the ground.
4. Press back up to complete the push up.
5. Pull your feet back in so you're in squat position.
6. Jump up in the air while clapping overhead.

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Rowing machine in the gym – waste of time or a good way to get in shape? Sandra Kearney – Texas

Nothing is a waste of time if you put in the effort and practice good form. The rowing machine is no exception. At the gym, I like a rowing machine that consists of a flywheel, fan, and cable with a handle attached to one end. You pull the handle toward you as you slide the seat backwards. The fan creates air resistance, which makes the movement feel pretty close to skimming across the water. If your gym has one of those rickety hydraulic powered row-thingies it's time to ask yourself why you belong to that gym.

When you're trying to get in shape for a rowing or paddling sport, you'll love working out on a quality rowing simulator. Even if you never plan to hit the water, you may learn to love rowing for its ability to combine upper body, lower body and cardio conditioning all in one package, something few other cardio workouts can do. Contrary to popular myth, rowing isn't bad for your back. If you do it correctly, you initiate the movement from your legs and buttocks; this eliminates excess stress on your back muscles.

Men and women become less fit as they age, according to a new report in the October 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

This should come with a big "duh". But it also comes with some good news.

First the not-so-good news. "The U.S. population is aging and is becoming more obese and sedentary", the authors tell us. No surprise there. But it's a vicious circle. Cardiorespiratory fitness of both sexes declines with age: two of the best indicators of cardiorespiratory fitness are body composition (fat vs. muscle) and physical activity.

The more fat you've got and the less active you are, the higher the chances of disease, not to mention the ability to function independently.

And by the way, the decline gets worse after age 45, and it's worse for men than for women.

What to do, what to do?

Researchers from the University of Houston studied about 20,000 women and men between 20 to 96(!) in a study called the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study between 1974 and 2006. The 30 years of data collected on such a large group of people offer some strong take home messages for anyone who wants to age well. (Here comes the good news.)

Love handles refer to fat deposited on the sides of the waist. These unsightly bulges are also known as a spare tire or a muffin top, which occurs when excess fat hangs over a person's waistband.

Most people agree that having excess fat around the midsection is undesirable. Research shows that abdominal fat leads to higher risks of heart disease, diabetes and even certain types of cancers. But how do you go about getting rid of love handles?

One way to effectively eliminate love handles is to lose weight by following a reduced-calorie diet and by consistently doing cardiovascular exercise.

As you begin your diet and exercise program, you can disguise your love handles by wearing clothes that fit properly. Avoid too-tight clothing, low-rise jeans and midriff-baring shirts. Opt for pants that go around your natural waist and for women, skirts and dresses that sit at your natural waist.

Check out AOL Health's belly-bloating foods to avoid or eat belly-flattening foods. AOL Health also has sections on how to burn ab fat and ab workouts.

Scared of needles? Thirty minutes on the bike is more effective than heart surgery.

Zumba: The word definitely sounds more like a festive tropical energy drink than a workout and I'll admit, until recently I'd never heard of it either. But if trend tracking is to be believed, this Latin-themed aerobic dance workout -- sometimes called zumba dance -- may be on the way to your gym even as we speak. As of July 2009, classes were being offered at over 40,000 gyms in 75 countries. And spinoff genres--among them Country Line Dancing Zumba, Aqua Zumba, an even Zumba Gold for seniors are gaining ground.

The Zumba story's a pretty winning one: Back in the 1990s, Alberto Perez, a young aerobics instructor teaching in Cali, Columbia, arrived at his class only to realize he'd forgotten all his tapes. Luckily, he had plenty of salsa and merengue tracks in his car -- he grabbed them, and proceeded to improvise the whole class to those beats. People loved it and there was, he says, just no going back. In 1999, he paired with some enthusiastic backers and brought the concept stateside, where it became something of an American Dream fitness story. Zumba's landed everything from book deals and videos to a partnership with Kellogg's (it's been featured on the back of their cereal boxes as part of a fitness campaign for the Hispanic market).

By now it's almost a farce. Contestants on "The Biggest Loser" are pushed to run mind-numbing sprints on the treadmill. The contestants hesitate, saying, "I can't do it!" The trainer gets in their faces, calls them on their fears, and screams until they get back on the treadmill. Pushed to completion, the nearly-collapsed contestants develop looks of awe on their faces and praise the trainer and the show for helping them face and conquer their fears. You have just experienced treadmill sprinting, "Biggest Loser" style. And this season, it appears to be happening every episode.

So how do we mere mortals pull off this exercise without a TV crew? Is it even worth it to do treadmill sprints?

Sure, and here's an easy way to start:

• Practice jumping onto the metal runners on either side of the treadmill. Use your arms to support your weight as you open your legs to each side of the moving belt. Be sure you can do this quickly and easily, in case you need to perform this movement during the sprint.
• Increase your speed by 25 percent of your normal pace, so if you usually walk at 4 mph, jump it up to 5. If you normally run a 10-minute mile (6 mph), try running at an eight-minute mile pace (7.5 mph). Try to stay on the treadmill for 20 seconds. If you feel like you're going to fall, or if you feel dizzy, stop immediately.
• If you're successful at the increased speed, try to keep it up for 30 seconds the next time. Do two or three of these sprints during your first 30-minute treadmill workout. Over the course of the next month, attempt to increase the amount of time you continuously sprint to two minutes.
• Once you are regularly sprinting for two minutes at a time, do three or four sprints per workout.

Sprint training can be done once or twice per week. It increases your cardiovascular endurance, your anaerobic threshold and will give a little goose to your calorie burn during the workout. The sprints allow you to burn about 20 to 30 more calories a session, about the same as a Hershey's kiss!

If you're just getting started, try this beginner running plan.

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Next time you're sweating it out at the gym, pump up the volume on your iPod. Recent studies showed that women who listened to their workout tunes a bit louder than usual not only increased the intensity of the workout but were in a better mood too. During the study, women who listened to loud music did 36 reps of the leg press, compared to 29 reps for women who listened to low or medium-volume music and 26 reps for those who listened to no music at all.

While the findings were true for both cardio and strength training exercises, the difference was most noticeable in participants who were pumping iron. Could it be that listening to music takes your mind off the fact that good grief, this hurts like heck? Yep, study author Janet McMordie tells MSNBC: "Psychologically, music gets you pumped up and it also distracts you from what you're doing," she says. Additionally, listening to music helps bust boredom in even the most routine workout.

A word of caution, though -- don't crank your tunes too much. Prolonged exposure to levels of 85 decibels or higher can permanently damage your hearing.

Ready to fire up your fitness? Check out our That's Fit playlist, sure to inspire you through the toughest of sets.

What are your favorite workout tunes?

Is it possible to go too hard and too long when you're working out? Sure enough, says Love+Blueberries expert Dr. Natasha Turner, author of "The Hormone Diet," who weighs in on how more exercise isn't always better.

Turner often sees women doing too much cardio exercise, like running five days a week for up to an hour. You don't need to work out for an hour straight, says Turner, because unless you're a very conditioned athlete, after 40 minutes of exercise, your stress hormones will start to rise -- and this tears down your muscles. Going shorter is key -- and so is strength training.

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You probably already know that swimming burns more calories than walking, but did you know that walkers tend to lose more weight? That's because the coolness of the water seems to slow fat loss. Swimming's great exercise, so if you love it, keep on doing it. But there are plenty of other great tips for maximizing your workout in this quiz over at AOL Health.

No one wants to waste time and energy on a workout that's not going anywhere. If you're looking to create an efficient cardio workout that maximizes the number of calories burned, here are some tips:

• Head for the hills: Whether you're on treadmill or trail, hills instantly boost the intensity of a workout, making your muscles work harder and burn more calories.
• Try intervals: Interval training or speedwork is an easy way to maximize a workout.
• Add in arm work: Using your arms when you walk will increase your speed and make you work harder too. Just be sure to keep your arms in close to your body, bent at a 90 degree angle.
• Eat a healthy diet: Overeating packs on pounds, but under-eating will quickly undermine your workout too.

What workout tips and tricks give you the biggest bang for your cardio buck?

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Hopping on the treadmill or running the same path every day can get boring, and the repetitive motion can wear on your muscles. FitSugar says we should break out of the rut and include at least three types of cardio in our weekly routines. Make your three sports swimming, biking and running and you might just get yourself in shape for a triathlon. Hey, Kristen will convince you that the sprint tri is definitely doable for the average gal or guy.

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That's Fit Club is our feature devoted to you, the reader. We have all learned so much on our paths to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other. That's Fit Club members are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect; some are not. But all have health on the mind.

Besides showing you off, we want to reward you for all of your hard work! Adidas is giving gorgeous gym bags to each featured member. To join, please send Fitz your answers to these questions, with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Mark Allen Church

Age: 42

Occupation: IT Project Manager

How often do you exercise? Most of the time, I train four times a week.

What type of exercise do you do? Cardio and weights twice a week. I also play racquetball and mountain hike once each week.

What gets you to work out, even when you're feeling lazy? Knowing I can avoid the energy drop that comes from missing exercise.

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