Arc training is a style of cardio exercise performed on a machine called the Arc Trainer, originally designed by Cybex (now under Life Fitness). Unlike an elliptical, where your feet travel in a closed oval loop, the Arc Trainer moves your feet forward and backward along a crescent-shaped arc path with a distinct “down and back” drive. This motion keeps your foot positioned more directly under your knee, which changes both the muscles you target and how your joints handle the stress.
How the Movement Differs From an Elliptical
On a standard elliptical, the pedals trace a continuous oval. Your foot pushes forward at the top of the stroke and pulls back at the bottom, creating a gliding sensation that stays relatively consistent regardless of settings. The Arc Trainer breaks from that pattern entirely. Its pedals reverse direction along the same arc rather than completing a loop, producing a motion that feels more like stepping or climbing than gliding.
The key mechanical advantage is what this does to your knees. Because the arc path keeps your foot underneath you instead of pushing it forward, the shearing force on the knee joint drops significantly. Shearing force is the sideways stress that can aggravate the kneecap and surrounding ligaments. This makes the Arc Trainer a strong option if you have knee discomfort during traditional cardio but still want an intense workout. Research on the machine’s biomechanics found that perceived effort and joint discomfort were “totally different” compared with elliptical machines, with the arc path described as simulating a rhythmic step-up activity with proper mechanics.
Three Training Zones in One Machine
The Arc Trainer’s standout feature is its adjustable incline, which creates three distinct movement feels across 21 incline levels. The machine has a 24-inch stride length and resistance that can reach up to 900 watts, but the incline is what really shapes each workout.
- Glide (incline 0 to 6): A longer, flatter foot path that feels closest to skating or cross-country skiing. This range emphasizes a sweeping leg motion and tends to be the most comfortable starting point for beginners.
- Stride (incline 7 to 14): The mid-range feels most similar to a traditional running or jogging stride. This is where the machine overlaps most with an elliptical in terms of general cardio feel, though the arc motion still keeps more emphasis on a downward push.
- Climb (incline 15 to 21): At higher inclines, the push-through becomes steep and vertical, similar to hiking uphill or climbing stairs. Your glutes and hamstrings take on a heavier share of the work, and your heart rate climbs quickly even at moderate speeds.
Switching between these zones during a single session is one of the reasons people find arc training more engaging than steady-state elliptical work. Raising the incline while holding your cadence steady creates a rapid spike in effort that feels more athletic than simply pedaling faster.
Which Muscles Arc Training Targets
Arc training is primarily a lower-body workout. The down-and-back drive loads your quadriceps and glutes more heavily than a typical elliptical session, where the circular motion distributes effort more evenly (and often less intensely) across the legs. At lower inclines, your quads do the bulk of the work. As you increase the incline into the climb zone, your glutes and hamstrings engage more aggressively to drive the steep pushing motion.
Your calves stay active throughout, and because you’re standing upright and stabilizing your torso, your core works continuously as well. Some Arc Trainer models include moving arm handles, which add an upper-body component similar to what you’d get on an elliptical with arms. The lower-body-only models (without handles) actually demand more core engagement since your trunk has to stabilize without holding onto anything.
What a Typical Arc Trainer Workout Looks Like
Most arc training sessions run about 30 minutes. A solid general fitness approach starts with a 5 to 10 minute warm-up where you experiment with incline settings between 3 and 8 and resistance between 15 and 30, aiming for a pace of 100 to 120 steps per minute. Once you’ve found a comfortable baseline (usually around incline 5 to 6 with resistance of 20 to 25), the real work begins.
A straightforward interval structure alternates 3 minutes of work at 100 to 120 steps per minute with 1 minute of active recovery at a walking pace of around 60 steps per minute. Each work interval, you bump the resistance up by 5. You repeat this cycle until you hit 30 minutes. The goal over weeks is to push that resistance number higher while keeping your cadence at 120 steps per minute. Recreational runners typically work up to resistance levels of 50 to 60, while people focused on general fitness often settle into a productive range of 30 to 35.
For more intense sessions, a one-minute-on, one-minute-off format works well. You increase resistance every working minute for as long as you can hold 120 strides per minute through the full interval. A power endurance variation uses 3 minutes on, 1 minute off for 24 minutes, starting at about 35 percent of the machine’s resistance and climbing from there. These shorter, harder formats build both cardiovascular fitness and functional leg strength in a compressed timeframe.
Who Benefits Most From Arc Training
Arc training fills a specific niche: high-effort cardio with low joint impact. It’s particularly well suited for people who find running painful but want a workout that genuinely challenges their cardiovascular system and legs. The reduced knee shear makes it a common choice for anyone recovering from knee issues or managing chronic joint sensitivity.
It also appeals to people who get bored easily on cardio machines. The ability to shift between glide, stride, and climb within a single session creates enough variety to hold attention, and the resistance ceiling is high enough that even well-conditioned athletes can find a challenge. If you’ve been defaulting to the elliptical and find it feels too easy at high settings, the Arc Trainer’s combination of incline and resistance will likely feel noticeably harder at comparable perceived effort levels.
The main limitation is availability. Arc Trainers are less common than ellipticals in commercial gyms, and they carry a higher price point for home use. If your gym has one, it’s worth trying across all three incline zones to see how the movement compares to what you’re used to. Start in the stride range (incline 7 to 10) with moderate resistance, and give yourself two or three sessions before judging it. The motion feels unfamiliar at first, but most people find a natural rhythm within a few workouts.