Patent ID: 7874961

Claim:
An elliptical exercise machine comprising: a frame; a rail movably connected to said frame and also connected to a crankshaft such that said rail traverses a path in conjunction with said crankshaft's rotation relative to said frame; an exercise arm connected to said frame that reciprocates as said crankshaft rotates; a footskate capable of reciprocating movement on said rail; a plurality of stationary loadbearing platforms, each platform adapted to support one of said user's feet, with said platforms functionally separated from said crankshaft but rigidly connected to said frame at an operative distance and angle from said exercise arm and sized and shaped to support a user while said user operates said exercise arm; a handlebar fixedly connected to said frame at an operative distance and angle from said footskate and separated from said crankshaft; and, a control panel directing a user's use of said footskate, said platforms, said exercise arm, and said handlebar, wherein said control panel is programmed to: instruct a user at different times to: stand on said platforms and move said exercise arm; stand on said footskate and move said footskate and said exercise arm simultaneously; and stand on said footskate and grasp said handlebar and move said footskate without moving said exercise arm; and alter a resistance associated with the user's use of said footskate and said exercise arm so that different resistance is provided when: said user is standing on said platforms and moving said exercise arm, than when said user is standing on said footskate and moving said footskate and said exercise arm simultaneously, than when said user is standing on said footskate and grasping said handlebar and moving said footskate without moving said exercise arm.