Calorie readouts on cardio equipment

spyrosmom

spyrosmom

Cathlete
For those of you who have HR monitors and the calorie readouts on your cardio equipment, how accurate is the equipment? I've done 3 Cardio Coaches (I go by perceived exersion) so far on my new eliptical and they all come in over 1000 cals. That seems high. If I put those same mins in to the WM, it comes in aroun 800 or so. I know if varies from person to person, but I think more like 50% of those totals would be accurate. So, how does you HR monitor compare to the reading on the equipment?

Nan
 
Generally, when I do an iClimb or iTread with my HR monitor the machine's # of cals burned is higher by up to 20-80 cals or so, depending on how long I've worked out (usually 20-60 minutes).

--Sharon
 
My elliptical's calorie count is usually 30-50% higher than my HRM. I'm sure it varies among equipment but I have never found one yet that is accurate compared to a HRM.

JJ
 
For my run this morning, my treadmill said 500ish cals, and my Polar said 446. Not sure about an elliptical. 1000 cals seems REALLY high though...
 
I don't even pay attention to the calorie readout on my elliptical -- I know it's a load of crap. Apparently, when I do Cardio Coach on mine, I burn 1800. I don't think I burned 1800 calories during my marathon last fall!!!
 
i was wondering the same thing. I did volume 7 today. ran 7miles and it said I burned over 1000 calories. granted I was at a decent pace and mostly on an incline , which causes you to burn more callories. I dont know if I really burned that many though.
 
I have the Polar F11 and my 50 min workout on my eliptical is 800 cals but my Polar HRM says only 558!! I would guess 40 to 45% less the machine read out is acurate.
Better to be safe than sorry. Buy a HRM, you will LOVE it!
 
I totally agree w/ the other posters that cardio equipment rates calorie burn higher than it actually is.

But I have a question for all of the heart rate monitor users... are these always accurate too?

I've never really used one so I am not experienced with them. However, are they "spot on" based on your personal experience? Are some brands less reliable than others?

Lynn M.
 
What is a hrm? I have an elliptical and I never pay attention to it. I have always heard that 140lb woman will burn about 100cals and hour.. if you weigh less you burn less.. So when I run 6 miles in an hour and burn less than 600 cals. I find it hard to believe my elliptical when it says I burn 800+ in 60 mins. I don't know what they base their info on, but they all seem high. Even the equipment at the gym show really high cal. burn. Seems impossible.
 
Judging by the previous responses, I suspect the readout on my NordicTrac treadmill is actually fairly accurate. I kill myself with Cardio Coach and the most calories it ever says I burn is around 600+ when I do volume 7. Volume 8 will net me 500-600+ and most other volumes register between 300-400+. But while I assume the measurements aren't strictly scientific I do rely on them as a means of comparing the caloric expenditure of one treadmill workout to another. For instance, I always get the highest readings with volume 7, followed by volume 8. I take that to mean volume 7 is inherently tougher for me, regardless of my actual expenditure. I sure as heck can make volume 1 tough, though ;).
 
I think it depends on how much of an elevation one uses and the pace they are running. I only go on a 2 percent grade but run anywhere from a 10 min pace to a 7:57 pace. Mainly doing a 9:13 pace on an elevation most of the workout. during sprints though I push it to under 8 min. I usually complete about 6miles at least with these workouts.
 
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