proper alignment on the elliptical
 

hey everyone,
I want to try out the elliptical at my gym but I'm not sure as to proper form and whatnot - does anyone have any tips?
I went on one ages ago, and I found my heels coming off of the footrests - I'm assuming that's not right. Should I be holding the moving bars?
Things like that - if anyone has any advice, it would be appreciated :)

I use the elliptical on a semi-regular basis. For starts you need to have your feet fully on the footrest. I find it easier to keep my knees slightly bent and not lock my knees when in motion. If you want a tougher workout hold on to the moving bars and try to exaggerate the movement.
My elliptical has resistance settings, I usually keep it at around 45% and can feel the resistance when working out. Good luck :)

I love the elliptical.

I move my feet in a semi-rolling motion that corresponds to the movement of the machine. It's hard to explain, but I'm not sure you're supposed to keep your feet perfectly still. (someone please correct me if I'm wrong)

I have seen people holding the moving bars and I've seen people hold onto the bars in the middle that don't move. It's up to you. Also, I'm on the short side and find that the handle grips are a little high for me. I hold onto the moving bars right below the handle grips.

When I first tried the elliptical ages ago, I thought you were supposed to keep your foot flat on the footrest the entire time, but then I saw that no one else in the gym was doing that, so I tried the "rolling motion" that someone else mentioned and it feels much more natural. My heel comes off slightly at one point in the rotation. My gym has two kinds of ellipticals -- the one with the moving arm thingies and the one with just hand rests. I always use the one with moving arms because I feel like I get a better workout when my whole body is moving, and I don't want to be tempted to rest my upper body too much.

Occasionally my big toes feel slightly numb (if I've been on the elliptical for more than half an hour), but shifting my feet around slightly on occasion helps with that.