already burning 1000 calories per hour

davidwhite1987
davidwhite1987 Posts: 10
in Fitness and Exercise
So I’ve been motivating my friend to start hitting the gym and start exercising.. She finally got convinced,, she is 22 years old around 126 pounds..  She is vegetarian for most part and never been to the gym before,, she didn’t even know what an elliptical machine was… she used to live a normal lifestyle ..Her daily exercise used to be walking to the buss top and walking to classes in her university campus!... after only 2 days at the gym,, she now can burn 1000 calories on the elliptical machine in just an hour! She sets it at almost the highest resistance.. and when she is done,, she is not even feeling exhausted.. sometimes she doesn't leave the gym afterwards and continues on other machines.. She has been doing this every day for almost 2 weeks now (ever since she started hitting the gym).. is this normal?! Or most importantly, is this healthy?! I am kinda concerned for her 
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Replies

  • lina011
    lina011 Posts: 427 Member
    i highly doubt she is burning 1000 cal per hr on the elliptical, im heavier than her and average 600 cal per hr. anywho yeh too much cardio can be trouble, overtraining is a concern but its only been 2 wks lol its new too her so maybe thats why she there all the time, if she continues this crazy cardio just have a chat and voice your concerns. an average 3- 4 days a week is good for cardio, one rest day per week is great also
  • LeanButNotMean44
    LeanButNotMean44 Posts: 852 Member
    What the machine says her calorie burn is versus what it REALLY is are two very different things! I can almost guarantee that she is not burning 1000 calories in an hour; not many people do.
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  • davidwhite1987
    davidwhite1987 Posts: 10
    The calories are being calculated by the machine.. after she enters her age and weight.. the maachine brand is HI.POWER
    That also does sound impossible to me.. even at high resistance. . But still. . She could be going at it fast with a high rpm..
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    The calories are being calculated by the machine.. after she enters her age and weight.. the maachine brand is HI.POWER
    That also does sound impossible to me.. even at high resistance. . But still. . She could be going at it fast with a high rpm..

    she could be doing all those things- but as a smaller person- unless she's like 4 feet- 126 lbs isn't much- she isn't going to be burning 1000 calories per hour.

    it's not happening.
  • davidwhite1987
    davidwhite1987 Posts: 10
    Even if the machines are not accurate... still is it normal for a person who never worked out... to start scoring 1000 calories per our at the machine. ..i mean thats really astonishing .. ibe never expect something like that
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    gross over estimation of calories burned
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    First, no, she is not burning 1,000 calories in an hour, no matter what exercise she's doing.

    Second, walking to the bus stop and to classes was probably pretty good exercise. You don't have to use a gym or even do formal exercise to be getting exercise, so she probably was already in pretty good shape.
  • kjoy_
    kjoy_ Posts: 316 Member
    what are you concerned about? is she not eating enough? that's great if she's really getting a burn that big (which i doubt) if she's eating enough to balance it out.
  • jmayerovitch
    jmayerovitch Posts: 71 Member
    Every elliptical I've ever been on has greatly overestimated my calories burned. I have a Polar heart rate monitor. When the elliptical tells me I burned 800 calories, my HRM usually tells me 500-600.
  • Pete_Mann
    Pete_Mann Posts: 94
    Machines are not always accurate. Most only use the Gender, Weight, and Resistance to determine the calories burnt. Then on top of that they put more on the resistance level than anything else. Back when I first started and I was cranking up the difficulty level on the elliptical I thought I was burning a ton too. Then I got a heart rate monitor which knows nothing of the resistance level and saw a dramatic reporting difference.

    You can guess which number provided greater weight loss.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    There is no way at that size she is burning 1000 calories in an hour.... I am 6 ft. and weigh 250 lbs. and I use the Precor elliptical and max it out at ramp 20 and resistance 20 and in 60 minutes can only hit about 850-900 calories and that is based off my Polar FT60 heartrate monitor.... Now on the ?? is it normal to move on to other machines, yeah I don't see an issues there I will do 60 minutes on the elliptical and then hit the treadmill or rowing machine or etc.. I normal do 90 minute on my heavier cardio day.... Best of Luck
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    Not that it's necessarily a good move for you to interject into her routine (generally, people don't like unwanted advice...), it's nice that you're concerned for her health.

    Even just starting out, 1000 calories for elliptical for an hour is unlikely for someone that age and I assume a healthy weight (you didn't mention height).

    However, you simply asked, "Is this healthy?" I wouldn't say doing an hour of heavy duty elliptical everyday, with no rest, is a good idea. She's not giving her body time to recover, and is most likely lowering her immune system/raising her cortisol, which can eventually backfire.
  • Labouffecestbon
    Labouffecestbon Posts: 182 Member
    The calories are being calculated by the machine.. after she enters her age and weight.. the maachine brand is HI.POWER
    That also does sound impossible to me.. even at high resistance. . But still. . She could be going at it fast with a high rpm..
    You're talking about yourself, right? :happy: It's no biggie, you don't have to hide. :laugh:
    Anywhoooo, shouldn't be your concern how much whoever burns doing whatever workout. :drinker:
  • Nina1007
    Nina1007 Posts: 150
    i highly doubt she is burning 1000 cal per hr on the elliptical, im heavier than her and average 600 cal per hr. anywho yeh too much cardio can be trouble, overtraining is a concern but its only been 2 wks lol its new too her so maybe thats why she there all the time, if she continues this crazy cardio just have a chat and voice your concerns. an average 3- 4 days a week is good for cardio, one rest day per week is great also

    I agree with this. I doubt she is burning that much at her weight. Also she's doing something new which is exciting to her, but I wouldn't be surprised if she burns out soon at the rate she's going.
  • lorigem
    lorigem Posts: 446 Member
    One of two things can happen. Either she will burn out at that rate - in which case, give her room to find her own suitable routine. Or she will continue to do what she's doing and actually enjoy it. Either way, I don't think this is cause for concern.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
    The calories are being calculated by the machine.. after she enters her age and weight.. the maachine brand is HI.POWER
    That also does sound impossible to me.. even at high resistance. . But still. . She could be going at it fast with a high rpm..
    You're talking about yourself, right? :happy: It's no biggie, you don't have to hide. :laugh:

    :laugh:
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    At 126 lbs, if she can burn 1000 calories an hour, I would get her to a coach and start getting her ready for the 2016 Olympics, because that would indicate an elite, world-class VO2max.

    Since she is probably not at that level, it 's a good bet to assume that the calorie readings are way off. Unless the company does it's own validation studies, they usually "borrow" equations from other modalities -- like running -- and use them on the cross trainers.

    It could very well be that she has some genetic cardiovascular ability that is allowing her to achieve higher levels of performance more quickly than the average person. I wouldn't be overly concerned unless she starts experiencing symptoms of overtraining or overuse injuries.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    But, is she eating at least 1200 calories per day, and getting enough protein on her vegetarian diet? Muscle loss isn't a good look.
  • Chicky_fitt
    Chicky_fitt Posts: 18
    Well,3 years ago I was going to the gym,I weighed around 120 lbs (5ft7.5),I was a bulimic and was "The Master Of The Eliptical" XD
    And I did burn around a 1000 ccal per hour.Of course that backfired and I ended up losing my muscle mass and having the biggest yoyo of all times (gained 20 lbs in 3 weeks)
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
    Someone that weighs 126 pounds will never burn 1000 calories per hour, unless they were quite literally on fire. Probably around 280-350 is reasonable.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    She's almost certainly too light to burn that much. Here's a cut & paste from another post on the weight and pace one needs to run for an hour to hit 1,000: At some point you get too light to be able to do it.

    210 lbs @ ~9:00 pace should get you over 1,000

    200 lbs @ ~8:30 pace

    190 lbs @ ~8:00 pace

    180 lbs @ ~7:30 pace

    170 @ ~7:00 pace

    150 @ ~ 6:40 pace
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Well,3 years ago I was going to the gym,I weighed around 120 lbs (5ft7.5),I was a bulimic and was "The Master Of The Eliptical" XD
    And I did burn around a 1000 ccal per hour.Of course that backfired and I ended up losing my muscle mass and having the biggest yoyo of all times (gained 20 lbs in 3 weeks)
    Please tell me how you POSSIBLY burned 1,000 calories in an hour at 120 pounds. You would have to be The Flash. Unless you have some super power, it isn't physically possible to do that.
  • davidwhite1987
    davidwhite1987 Posts: 10
    So now I got a pic of her workout summary..  . This is how a 22 y o woman.. 126 pounds.. 5ft 7in... who just started working out .. burns 1000 calories in an hour on the elliptical

      axkxo6.jpg

      xb00pc.jpg
  • KinoM
    KinoM Posts: 359 Member
    I calculated her necessary average heart rate over the hour to achieve that at her age & weight, and it's 208 bpm. Whilst that is theoretically possible it is far more usual to find these levels in elite athletes rather than a someone who doesn't really exercise. See if you can get her to do an hour on the elliptical wearing a chest strap heart rate monitor to get a more accurate read.
  • davidwhite1987
    davidwhite1987 Posts: 10
    Still.. even if the numbers are not accurate..its still an extraordinary achievement to score these values in just an our for a 126 lb woman.. who has just started working out for the first time ever
  • KinoM
    KinoM Posts: 359 Member
    It certainly seems it, but I'd recommend a more accurate reading with a good heart rate monitor & a follow up with a fitness professional. She may but going above her safe maximum heart rate & could be doing herself damage if that is the case.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Still.. even if the numbers are not accurate..its still an extraordinary achievement to score these values in just an our for a 126 lb woman.. who has just started working out for the first time ever
    My elliptical gives the same calorie count no matter who's on it. It goes by intensity and speed. She didn't do anything exraordinary. The machine is grossly overestimating.

    And like I said earlier, she was already getting plenty of exercise. Just because she wasn't in a gym doesn't mean she was out of shape.
  • Chicky_fitt
    Chicky_fitt Posts: 18
    Well,3 years ago I was going to the gym,I weighed around 120 lbs (5ft7.5),I was a bulimic and was "The Master Of The Eliptical" XD
    And I did burn around a 1000 ccal per hour.Of course that backfired and I ended up losing my muscle mass and having the biggest yoyo of all times (gained 20 lbs in 3 weeks)
    Please tell me how you POSSIBLY burned 1,000 calories in an hour at 120 pounds. You would have to be The Flash. Unless you have some super power, it isn't physically possible to do that.

    It is pretty simple.You kill that f*cking machine! And I did not say exactly 1000,I said about 1000. I did burn 650 in 45 min.That would bring it to 866 ccal per hour. I have a stationary bike at home and I burn 700 per hour.I dont know how you exercise but that is the way it is for me.
  • Chicky_fitt
    Chicky_fitt Posts: 18
    I calculated her necessary average heart rate over the hour to achieve that at her age & weight, and it's 208 bpm. Whilst that is theoretically possible it is far more usual to find these levels in elite athletes rather than a someone who doesn't really exercise. See if you can get her to do an hour on the elliptical wearing a chest strap heart rate monitor to get a more accurate read.
    I have problems with my It is not restricting or anything like that,just sometimes..but my point is my resting hr is around 100-110.
    So for me to get my hr up to 200 is a piece of cake..
    And I was wrong.I did not weigh 120 but 130 lbs.We do it metric here and I have converted it in my head quickly...

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