The Arc Trainer is a beginner-friendly machine strength exercise that targets the quadriceps, with the glutes, hamstrings and calves working alongside. Here's how to do it right — and what to stop doing.
Primary musclesQuads
Secondary musclesGlutes, Hamstrings, Calves
EquipmentMachine
LevelBeginner
TypeStrength
3D demo in the EGON app
01 Execution
How to do the Arc Trainer
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.
02 The payoff
Why it earns its spot
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.
03 Don't do this
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 machine only ever loads one part of the lower body.
Chasing stride rate with a short, choppy range instead of completing the full arc.
Stepping off before the plates stop moving, which is how ankles get caught.
EGON Put it on record
Track it in EGON.
Log every set of the Arc Trainer, get your PRs detected automatically, earn aura for the work — and climb five leagues of statues, from Stone to Ego.
