Omg I think my treadmill was totally ripping me off

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jocelyne2
jocelyne2 Posts: 271 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
K So I bought a heart rate monitor yesterday and I enter all my info weight height etc etc etc . So I jump on the treadmill and did a liitle light walking at 2.5 mph for 30 mins ..... According to the heart rate monitor it said I was working the entire time at 75 -79 %
( 138-146 bpm) of max heart rate so it gave me 240 cals burned and my enemy :sad: the treadmill told me I burned only 116 cals and when I would take pulse on the machine it was always approx 30-40 beats lower than HRM ....Does that sound right Im still not sure which one is lying to me:noway:

Replies

  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
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    I used my HRM while running intervals on the treadmill Wednesday and it was a HUGE difference as well. The treadmill said I would have burned about 116 calories in 20 minutes. I can only run at 5.0mph, but for me that gets my heart rate up to the 170's. I ended up burning 350 calories for a 30 minutes run/walk interval! I definitely don't trust workout machine estimates anymore. The elliptical wasn't nearly as bad, it came in closer to what the HRM said, but the treadmill definitely not...
  • Nina74
    Nina74 Posts: 470 Member
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    Treadmills, elliptical, etc are notorious for being wrong, so your readings don't surprise me! Even my trainer told me to ignore what the treadmill/elliptical/etc told me!
  • WrenLynn
    WrenLynn Posts: 213
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    I'm not sure how much you weigh but I weigh 187 and I am 5 feet 3.75 inches tall and when I walk on the treadmill I use my HRM and 30 minutes at a faster rate than what you were walking (3 mph) gets me about 180 calories. I then reduce that by 45 for the calories I would have burned anyway and just record burning 135 for additional eating purposes.
  • whittrusty
    whittrusty Posts: 533 Member
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    Definitely go off of your HRM. It's tracking your heart rate the whole time and it knows your age, weight, height, etc, so it's much more accurate.

    P.S. I love my HRM. :) It makes me feel like I'm actually accomplishing something! Best money I've ever spent!
  • cobygrey
    cobygrey Posts: 270 Member
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    Trust the HRM!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    Wait, your HRM had you between 75 and 80% Max HR for walking? Did you just start walking? That sounds really high for light walking, I'm skeptical. I'm not saying I'm positive it's wrong, but that just sounds off to me.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Depends on your weight. At that speed (2.5 mph) in 30 min you will burn approx 1.45 calories per kilogram of body weight. Your heart rate doesn't make any difference--that's the energy cost of the activity. In order to burn 240 calories in 30 min walking 2.5 mph, you would have to weigh more than 350 pounds.

    The fact that you are supposedly working at 75%-79% of maximum heart rate walking at 2.5 mph means is that either your true maximum heart rate is notably higher than the age-predicted number calculated by the HRM or your setup is somehow incorrect.
  • jocelyne2
    jocelyne2 Posts: 271 Member
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    Well that could all be a factor I am 35 and a smoker so I know my HR is higher than normal and I also have chronic bronchitis ... I weight 165 and Im 5ft 6 .... Just to be sure I read to take resting heart rate in the morning before stepping out of bed .... Im still confused lol
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Treadmills, elliptical, etc are notorious for being wrong, so your readings don't surprise me! Even my trainer told me to ignore what the treadmill/elliptical/etc told me!

    At walking speeds, and walking at inclines (without holding on), commercial treadmills by known brand names are quite accurate--more accurate than HRMs. Treadmills become less accurate at higher speeds, due to lack of wind resistance and inaccuracies in the ACSM energy equations that most of them use. At running speeds of 7 mph, they are probably off by 15%-20% (but so are HRMs in many cases). Elliptical cross trainers are a mess because there is no standard movement pattern and most companies don't have the resources to develop machine-specific algorithms.
  • jocelyne2
    jocelyne2 Posts: 271 Member
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    Well that could all be a factor I am 35 and a smoker so I know my HR is higher than normal and I also have chronic bronchitis ... I weight 165 and Im 5ft 6 .... Just to be sure I read to take resting heart rate in the morning before stepping out of bed .... Im still confused lol

    Oh and on one website it says to determine max heart rate to take 220-35 (age) which gives me 185 then x 75 % = 138 bpm which was the exact range I was in so I really don't know what to think lol :laugh:
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Well that could all be a factor I am 35 and a smoker so I know my HR is higher than normal and I also have chronic bronchitis ... I weight 165 and Im 5ft 6 .... Just to be sure I read to take resting heart rate in the morning before stepping out of bed .... Im still confused lol

    That certainly could be a factor--although you are still pretty young. Sometimes pulmonary issues can cause the chest muscles to have to work harder for ventilation which can increase the energy cost of the activity.

    You are doing the right thing by exercising, so whatever keeps you motivated is a good thing.
  • disneyfetishboy
    disneyfetishboy Posts: 65 Member
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    treadmill told me I burned only 116 cals and when I would take pulse on the machine it was always approx 30-40 beats lower than HRM ....Does that sound right Im still not sure which one is lying to me:noway:

    Just not sure the others caught this - the heart rate measured on the treadmill and by your HRM were significantly different. That would throw off the numbers quite a bit! Something definitely seems wrong here.

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