When you exercise, it’s natural to want to know how many calories you’re blasting as you sweat away on the elliptical machine or treadmill. Most exercise machines have a read-out that tells you how many calories you’ve burned exercising, but are they accurate?
Calories Burned Exercising: Are Exercise Machine Readouts Accurate?
Even if you enter your weight, you still may not get an accurate reading for calories burned on a treadmill or elliptical machine. How many calories you actually burn depends on your form. If you hold onto the handrails while running on a treadmill, you’ll burn fewer calories than the machine says. The same goes for the elliptical machine. The elliptical readout assumes you’re using good form when it calculates calories burned – pushing your weight forward and limiting side-to-side motion.
Your Fitness Level is Important Too
Another reason exercise machine readouts aren’t accurate is that they don’t take into account a person’s level of fitness. People who are fit usually burn fewer calories performing the same workout as someone who’s just starting out. A fit person’s muscles and cardiovascular system adapt to a workout as their body’s become used to the movements. The exercise machine readout assumes you’re a newbie when it calculates calories burned exercising. So, if you’re fit, you’re probably burning fewer calories than the machine says.
Calories Burned Exercising: The Bottom Line?
Most exercise machines aren’t entirely accurate due to variables such as form and level of fitness. On the other hand, they’re a good way to compare how hard you’re working relative to previous workouts – and it’s motivating to see those numbers go up as you exercise. Use them to monitor your progress, but don’t take the values as absolutes.
References:
Men’s Health. “How Accurate Are Calorie Counters?”