Elliptical Calorie Burn?

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  • Beautifulbridgittlee7
    Beautifulbridgittlee7 Posts: 352 Member
    When I "run" on the elliptical or put the resistance high the sweat pours and I find it hard to talk, so I wonder if the calorie burn is accurate, I could see if your not putting in any effort, not burning that much for 30 or 45 minutes.
  • rbiss
    rbiss Posts: 422 Member
    I am about 300lbs and I burned 360 in 30 minutes doing HIIT and tracked it wearing a monitor.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Got a treadmill available for at least a test?

    Do the treadmill at whatever speed, no more than 3% incline, that feels like the same effort as the elliptical, HR if possible to know, breathing rate too, sweating, effort, ect.

    If you find the speed that matches, then use the better running calc to see what the calorie burn is for that effort.
    Now you know what it is for the elliptical.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

    Gross is what Fitbit, HRM, machine, or database entry would report. Net option is what you would eat back if not using Fitbit.

    And that calculator is going to be better than HRM estimate of calorie burn, so if you have machines that give HR readings by holding the sensors, use that if you have no HRM.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

    As you get more fit, you would need to test that monthly as the figure will change.
    That is where most folks HRM is failing them, they have cheaper one that doesn't take into account their improved fitness level, so they actually get under-reported calorie burn.
  • 32sami
    32sami Posts: 380 Member
    I don't log the calories I burn cause I think people tend to over think that stuff sometimes. The fact that sweat is dripping from my hair is enough to tell me I did a damn good job :)
  • Heatherybit
    Heatherybit Posts: 91 Member
    I think the best investment I have made was the heart rate monitor. It links wirelessly to the elliptical and I do believe it gives a much more accurate account of calories. I have learned the hard way to never trust the machines or MFP's rate for calories.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I have a FitBit and don't log in MFP when I walk / run because Fit Bit takes care of that for me. But for Elliptical I have started logging that in thru MFP (and making sure that I log my time started so MFP will remove FitBit calories burned from that timeframe).

    BUT, I noticed that the MFP calorie burn calculations for Elliptical seem really high. (679 cals for 40 minutes?) Even higher than what the machine tells me. Are these correct or on the high side? And should I just let my FitBit record those calories burned (on elliptical) for me instead of overriding them?

    Thanks in advance!!
    My advice is to NOT use MFP calorie burns, as they are way overstated.

    I'm curious as to why you didn't just use your Fitbit (?) to record your calorie burn for the elliptical?

    Like Heather said, my heart rate monitor was the best thing I've bought for myself. Thus far it has been very accurate.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I have tested out the elliptical using my HRM and then compared my numbers. What I found is that my calculated calorie burn with my HRM was less than the ellipitcal and still less than MFP's numbers.

    Also MFP does not account for resistance settings, rate of travel, weight of subject etc.etc.etc. I am afraid that there are a lot of new people doing some light elliptical and getting lulled into thinking that they are burning a lot more calories than they think they are.
    Exactly, as it is with all gym machines.

    I normally do a run of between 4.5 and six miles. My HRM generally shows I burn between 425 and 550, depending on how fast I run (anywhere from 6.1 to 6.6 mph), whether I had some hills (2% to 4%) and of course how far I run. Well, the machine usually renders 2 to 2.25 more than my HRM, and i think that MFP is higher than my HRM but lower than the machine readings.

    Exercise machines, including the elliptical, render higher numbers because they want to to either buy their machine or continue using it.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    I have tested out the elliptical using my HRM and then compared my numbers. What I found is that my calculated calorie burn with my HRM was less than the ellipitcal and still less than MFP's numbers.

    Also MFP does not account for resistance settings, rate of travel, weight of subject etc.etc.etc. I am afraid that there are a lot of new people doing some light elliptical and getting lulled into thinking that they are burning a lot more calories than they think they are.
    Exactly, as it is with all gym machines.

    I normally do a run of between 4.5 and six miles. My HRM generally shows I burn between 425 and 550, depending on how fast I run (anywhere from 6.1 to 6.6 mph), whether I had some hills (2% to 4%) and of course how far I run. Well, the machine usually renders 2 to 2.25 more than my HRM, and i think that MFP is higher than my HRM but lower than the machine readings.

    Exercise machines, including the elliptical, render higher numbers because they want to to either buy their machine or continue using it.

    Pretty close, the formulas that are within 4% of measured would give for 45 min run 3% incline at 6.3 mph - 603 calories burned.

    Does your HRM have VO2max stat on it?

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