An elliptical cross trainer is one of the best ways to burn calories and lose weight. You will typically burn more calories on a cross trainer as opposed to other cardio equipment such as an exercise bike. An elliptical recruits more muscles through the use of both your arms and legs to provide a full body fat burn workout. You can burn more calories on a cross trainer by increasing your pace, intensity, resistance and incline. An elliptical relies on you to generate the pace and speed of the workout, so the number of calories you burn each session depends on the intensity of your workout.