Does an hour of elliptical really calculate

Melroxsox

The site tells me an hour of elliptical is about 1053 cals burned...my elliptical says an hour burned 700. how do i know how accurate each one is?

erickirb

The best way is to buy a heart rate monitor with a chest strap and use that info. In the absence of a HRM I would go with the lowest calculation so you don't over estimate your caloric burn.

Suedre

My elliptical said 189 for and hour. Here it was close to 1000. I used my average heart rate and came up with 675. It's so hard to know which is why I tend to only eat half to three quarters of my exercise calories.

ashlee954

A HRM can tell you the most accurate number. MFP grossly over estimates cals burned on a lot of exercises. Calories burned are so different from person to person that you cannot rely on the site's numbers. If your elliptical is one where you hold onto handle bars the entire time and it reads you HR then that is more accurate. Best bet though is to buy a worthy HRM and use that to determine your cals burned. My HRM tells me 480 for one hour on the eliptical. But that is for my weight, my age, and my HR.

alphasigalum

Hey there! I think the best way to get the most accurate calories burned is to wear a heart rate monitor. I like the Polar F6 personally. It tells me my calories and it's based on my HR, my weight and height. The machines think that you are a man and the only thing you can adjust is your weight. Obviously men burn more calories then women. I am not sure how MFP calculates calories however the site is always way higher than what my HRM states.. can you invest in a HRM? That will be the best in my opinion.

rml_16

I wear a heart rate monitor to calculate my calories. At my weight (around 145ish) and fitness level, working as hard as possible, I can burn no more than 600 calories in an hour of elliptical. If I'm not working as hard, about 500.

toots99

My elliptical said 189 for and hour. Here it was close to 1000. I used my average heart rate and came up with 675. It's so hard to know which is why I tend to only eat half to three quarters of my exercise calories.

189 for an HOUR? That's not right.

rml_16

My elliptical said 189 for and hour. Here it was close to 1000. I used my average heart rate and came up with 675. It's so hard to know which is why I tend to only eat half to three quarters of my exercise calories.

189 for an HOUR? That's not right.

Well, it could be if you're going really, really slow!

abbychelle07

My elliptical says 150ish calories for 20 minutes. I only go 1.2 miles in 20 minutes on level 8. Anyway, MFP gives me twice as many calories for 20 minutes of elliptical, I usually put 11 minutes into the website to make it right. I don't have a heart rate monitor, so I just go with the lower number and figure it's fine.

stormieweather

If I'm really working hard at my cardio, I can burn approximately 100 calories in 10 minutes (this works out to be 600 calories per hour). I've found that this holds fairly true on whatever machine I'm using (elliptical, cross trainer, treadmill on max incline -5mph, rowing machine), except the stationary cycle which is much lower (about 400kc/hr). This happens to work out to nearly exactly what MFP calculates.

In any case, I only eat 1/2 or so of my exercise calories, to make sure I'm not over/under doing it.

Ps...I like to see how hard I can push it, to burn more than my 100kc per 10 minutes. On hill Intervals on the elliptical - max level, I can do 125kc per 10 minutes (750kc per hour).

Melroxsox

Thank you all for answering! My elliptical does have the HRM and i use the arm bars the whole time...so I think from now on Im going to stick with my machine calories instead.

kdiamond

If I'm really working hard at my cardio, I can burn approximately 100 calories in 10 minutes (this works out to be 600 calories per hour). I've found that this holds fairly true on whatever machine I'm using (elliptical, cross trainer, treadmill on max incline -5mph, rowing machine), except the stationary cycle which is much lower (about 400kc/hr). This happens to work out to nearly exactly what MFP calculates.

Yes, this is about right for an average size person...a little more for heavier people. It is a good benchmark though, if you don't have an HRM. I believe this site is a little below, which is fine for losing weight.

Suedre

That's a good thought. I don't know what really slow is. The 189 came from an hour where I started it on level 5, used random hills and went from 5 - 20 while maintaining 125+ RPMs. Is that slow? Could be. I spot check my heart rate and it's almost always in the 160s so I figure it's ok. It suks though, cant turn the calorie counter off and I have to watch it slowly count up to nothing!