Do you trust treadmills or any other machines?

amirk4747
amirk4747 Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
How accurate are the calories that these machines are reporting that we burn?
Do you trust them?

Replies

  • 6spdeg
    6spdeg Posts: 394 Member
    ive read somewhere treadmills are the closest.. but still i take with a grain of salt.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,619 Member
    I use a treadmill and compare calorie burns given by the treadmill to runningahead website and mpf database. They are usually pretty close, and I lost weight using them along with mpf calorie tracking, so I trust them. Just know that nothing is 100%. I like to choose the greater of my calorie choices and a lower calorie burn, if I have a choice.
  • howardheilweil
    howardheilweil Posts: 604 Member
    Depends... If the built in heart rate monitor is accurate and you input your age and weight, they should be fairly accurate. I find that the HRMs on the machines at the gym I go to seem to jump around a lot, so I question how accurate they are. In general, they should give you a good estimate of calories burned.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    Without a known-accurate benchmark, you can't really form an opinion of how accurate treadmills are.

    What you can do, however, is compare the expected results based on the numbers, with the actual results observed.

    I use treadmill figures, MFP estimates (for sports and food) and my fitbit calorie adjustment (for everything else). From these I build my 500 calorie deficit. I've found that this reliably gives me a 1 pound per week weight loss. So on that basis, I'd say, yes, they are accurate. At least for me.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,927 Member
    I recently got a HRM.

    My typical cardio workout is 65 minutes on the elliptical. 10 minutes warmup, then targeting a heart rate of 140, doing 20 second sprints whenever necessary, followed by a 5 minute cool down. The HRM says I burn around 530, the machine says around 780 and the MFP database says 926.

    I have since been told that programmers for the calorie burn functions of machines are instructed to use formulas that reflect the high end of calories burned, rather than the average. Sounds like good marketing.
  • ChristinaR720
    ChristinaR720 Posts: 1,186
    I trust my heart rate monitor.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    How accurate are the calories that these machines are reporting that we burn?
    Do you trust them?

    The most accurate calorie burn you will get will be via an HRM as it will have your personal details on it and be suited to you alone.

    As an example, if I run on my own treadmill for one hour, my treadmill will say I have burned around the 800 calorie mark and yet my HRM will say between 500 and 600 calories burned.

    That is quite a difference, especially if you are a person that eats them all back.
  • hardyjessicag
    hardyjessicag Posts: 93 Member
    I've read that depending on your BF%, actual calories burned can vary by 10-20%. So I usually subtract about 100 calories just to be safe, but it might not be that drastic of a difference. I have a HRM arriving this Tuesday, so I plant to compare the numbers :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I've found that they vary widely from model to model, I trust my HRM (when I do use my treadmill they're surprisingly close)
  • LostInHollyw00d
    LostInHollyw00d Posts: 47
    I wouldn't know much about it, I hate treadmills..
    I like to be moving when I walk, run, or jog.. I can't stand staying in one place.
    I'd suggest just buying an HRM, because I've heard machines are pretty inaccurate.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
    As others have said, it really depends on the machine. When I have used machines, I usually compare a few sources (the machine, MFP, other Web sites) to gauge the estimated burn, then pick something in the low-middle of the range.

    I recently got a HRM with a chest strap, and will probably use that number when I use machines from now on.
  • bumblebums
    bumblebums Posts: 2,181 Member
    The machines give me far more conservative numbers than the fantastic estimates I see in MFP's exercise database, so I am inclined to trust the machines more. This said, I don't log my exercise calories; I just estimated my TDEE based on my typical exercise regimen (it doesn't change that much from day to day).
  • ehargis09
    ehargis09 Posts: 12
    I wouldn't know much about it, I hate treadmills..
    I like to be moving when I walk, run, or jog.. I can't stand staying in one place.
    I'd suggest just buying an HRM, because I've heard machines are pretty inaccurate.

    This is me exactly! I prefer to be outside as well for the scenery. The only time I use a treadmill is for HIIT training because I find it easier to use when having to go from one precise speed to another in short, timed increments.

    I do not bother with what any machine says in terms of calorie burn. I just ignore it and work out hard!

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