Calories burnt on gym machines

lordvoldemort1

I was wondering about the calories cardio machines say they burn at the gym? I know they're not totally reliable...but are they consistent? Every time I go to the gym I try to up how many calories I burn overall by about 20 cals, but if theres absolutely no consistency then I'm wasting my time! I just want to know I'm improving, I don't take the numbers to heart. How can you reasonably know how good your workout was without those cals (beyond just how you feel afterwards)?

yesimpson

At the gym I go to, the machines give a consistent estimate even though it's not realistic for me. For example, the elliptical will always tell me I've burnt 280 calories, give or take, for 30 minutes at a moderate resistance level - I would consider that a bit on the high side. Before you start they ask for your age and weight, so they're possibly more accurate than a machine which does not, but as they aren't aware of my gender, body fat percentage, fitness level, or any other factor, I'm not convinced they have enough info to be considered a reliable estimate.

I think with your method you can be reasonably confident you are improving, but just take the overall numbers with a pinch of salt. You can always measure improvement by the amount of time you speed on there, or by increasing the speed/resistance level too if you prefer.

sijomial

How good your workout is shouldn't be judged by the calorie burn - estimated or otherwise.
Faster, further, stronger - they are the kind of metrics you should be looking at.

If the machines measure your output in watts then increased power developed is a good metric too.