Logging Exercise

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stages95
stages95 Posts: 39 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All,

I currently to a lot of my cardio on a cross-trainer at home. I log my exercise as " walking -3.5mph". The problem is I feel like the calories "burned" to do not equal the work put into the cardio.

For instance, today I did 17 minutes on the cross-trainer. Under walking (3.5mph) that would be a burn of 89 calories. I have looked into logging my exercise as "elliptical trainer" but I find that gives me burns of "230+" calories which seems high...

Suggeestions would be great, Cheers :smile:

Also my cross-trainer calorie counter is rubbish, it gives me readings of 20 calories for a 10 minute work out

Replies

  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    The only way you'll know for sure what the burn is is if you get a heart rate monitor
  • ElusivePete
    ElusivePete Posts: 50 Member
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    The resistance level of your cross trainer, the speed you maintain, and your weight will all affect your actual calorie burn. Unfortunately, the estimates on MFP don't (or can't) take any of that into account, and for some reason always end up being ridiculously high.

    To give you an idea, I've been using cross trainers for a couple of years, and I can push myself to burn nearly 800 calories in an hour. That's if I maintain 80% max. heartrate or more throughout. The machine at my gym calculates that for me with a built-in heart rate monitor (it's one of the perks of my gym being attached to a sport science facility!).
  • cmsmj1
    cmsmj1 Posts: 66 Member
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    walking a mile is somewhere about (just under though) 100 cal for me - I reckon your 89 for 17 minutes at 3.5 mph is spot on.

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