How accurate are treadmills?

origamixstarzz
origamixstarzz Posts: 15 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Is the calorie count on a treadmill accurate?

Replies

  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    It varies from brand to brand. Mine comes in very close to my HRM (it allows me to enter age & weight) and I've used a few when traveling that were almost double my hrm (even with entering my stats)

    A quick sanity check is to multiply .72 x your bodyweight in lbs x distance in miles for running or use .57 for walking (it's a formula used by Runners World) - if your treadmill is set to a steeper incline this formula will likely be lower than your actual burn.
  • celtbell3
    celtbell3 Posts: 738 Member
    As Brian says - it depends on the brand!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    If you are using a commercial treadmill and not holding on to the handrails, a treadmill should be pretty accurate for walking, a little less so for running. (assuming, of course, that you can input your weight)

    If you are walking on a treadmill w/no handrail support and the numbers are way off compared to your HRM, it is most likely that your HRM is not very accurate in general or that your setup information is way off.

    It is a huge mistake to use an HRM as the "reference standard" for comparing calorie estimates.
  • edwartwhite
    edwartwhite Posts: 1
    Here is a good review about trademills http://rbrfitness.com/
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,658 Member
    Is the calorie count on a treadmill accurate?

    Treadmills are based on the average calories count a 185lb male would burn.

    For accuracy, an HRM is best.

    My own treadmill has me burning 800 calories per hour for running at 7mph, my HRM shows a burn of around 600. Bit of a difference there.

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