WOW ... HRM vs Gym Equipment Calorie Count

juandatsg

So, I took the advice of the folks on the forums and went out and got a HRM with the chest strap. I was surprised by the huge difference in calorie counts.

The Gym Treadmill (Precor) said I burned 865 calories.

The HRM (Garmin F60) said I burned 684 calories.

I guess i'll be using my HRM from now on and not eating back all those calories ... ha ha ha.

inspiration345

Oh but there is a little thing you have to be careful of. The after burn. If you stop exercising and keep wearing your HRM for atleast 20 more minutes you will see that you would still be burning lots of calories and it will end around where the Gym machine said. All gym calorie counters are set for people weighing 70 kgs or 154 lbs, so when you exercise you can add or subtract from that number depending on your own weight.

wolfchild59

Yeah, Precor machines always give me huge burns compared to my HRM. Life Motion are a little better, but still always high. I'm grateful that when I first started working out I didn't know about the whole idea of eating the exercise calories back cuz I would have been crazy over until I got my HRM.

luv2ash

yep, I never rely on what those machines tell me.

keenercam

Now, I find this fascinating because the gym equipment always tells me considerably less than what the exercise database here says, and I am no where near an average weight. I always use the lower calorie count, just to be safe.

wolfchild59

Oh but there is a little thing you have to be careful of. The after burn. If you stop exercising and keep wearing your HRM for atleast 20 more minutes you will see that you would still be burning lots of calories and it will end around where the Gym machine said. All gym calorie counters are set for people weighing 70 kgs or 154 lbs, so when you exercise you can add or subtract from that number depending on your own weight.

I really think the amount of afterburn varies a ton. Unfortunately an HRM won't accurately record that because they're only made to record heart rate/calories burned when the heart rate is elevated to work out levels.

But I wear a BodyMedia Fit and haven't ever seen actual evidence of an after burn with anything I do. From running (2 miles to 6 miles, depending on the day, between 5.7-6 MPH), 1 hour of circuit strength, 35-45 min on the elliptical on level 4/level 9 resistance intervals, to roller skating 45-60 minutes at around a 12 MPH pace, the most I see is a .2 or .3 increase in burn immediately following the activity and then it drops back to my overall norm. I haven't done any HIIT, so I can't report what happens after that though.

wolfchild59

Now, I find this fascinating because the gym equipment always tells me considerably less than what the exercise database here says, and I am no where near an average weight. I always use the lower calorie count, just to be safe.

MFP has always been high for me as well. Before I got my HRM, when I'd enter my exercise off of the machine info, MFP was always higher. Which means that's it's usually stupid high compared to my HRM.

kapeluza

Yeah, welcome to the real world!

inspiration345

@Wolfchild: Hmm it worked for me. I would burn say 300 calories on the stationary cycle and my HRM would say 150, then I would walk around the apartment or do dishes until the HRM said 300 and jumped back on the cycle to burn more. It was like burning calories while resting or doing house chores. It burned 9-16 calories a minute. I find the batteries of HRM too expensive and they run out fast, so now I don't use them but I trust the caloriemeter on my exercise bike.
Gosh Wolfchild, you really exercise a lot. Impressive .

wolfchild59

Oh, and no, I'm not taking it easy on my workouts. I lift to "breaking point" on my reps and I keep my heart rate around 160+ when doing cardio, upwards of 170+ when I'm working increasing my pace on running.

mandasimba

Oh but there is a little thing you have to be careful of. The after burn. If you stop exercising and keep wearing your HRM for atleast 20 more minutes you will see that you would still be burning lots of calories and it will end around where the Gym machine said. All gym calorie counters are set for people weighing 70 kgs or 154 lbs, so when you exercise you can add or subtract from that number depending on your own weight.

Not necessarily. All the cardio machines at the gym I go to ask for your weight and age before you start. I've walked with the bf before and him being heavier burns a lot more calories according to the machine than I do, even if we do similar workouts.

Also, I don't know how accurate this is, but found it while searching... http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm You can input your average heart rate and it will calculate the calories for you. I have a heart rate monitor that does just that... measures your heart rate, nothing else so I thought I would test it out of curiousity.

becalee26

My HRM has me burning more cals than the machines tell me. Goes to show everyone can be so different!

inspiration345

[/quote]

Not necessarily. All the cardio machines at the gym I go to ask for your weight and age before you start. I've walked with the bf before and him being heavier burns a lot more calories according to the machine than I do, even if we do similar workouts.

[/quote]
Oh right. Sorry. I forgot times have changed and it's been 3 years since I have been in a gym. I guess I should say exercise equipment which don't have the input weight feature.

inspiration345

[/quote]

Not necessarily. All the cardio machines at the gym I go to ask for your weight and age before you start. I've walked with the bf before and him being heavier burns a lot more calories according to the machine than I do, even if we do similar workouts.

[/quote]
Oh right. Sorry. I forgot times have changed and it's been 3 years since I have been in a gym. I guess I should say exercise equipment which don't have the input weight feature.

Mkrug221

My Elliptical at home was saying that I was burning around 650/700 calories every time. When I bought the HRM and used it the first time it said I burned 450/500. That's a pretty big difference. So glad I bought mine.

butters1

quoted from above:

[/quote]

Not necessarily. All the cardio machines at the gym I go to ask for your weight and age start. I've walked with the bf before and him being heavier burns a lot more calories according to the machine than I do, even if we do similar workouts.before you

Also, I don't know how accurate this is, but found it while searching... http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm You can input your average heart rate and it will calculate the calories for you. I have a heart rate monitor that does just that... measures your heart rate, nothing else so I thought I would test it out of curiousity.
[/quote]

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me:

the site above is the first i have ever seen that nears my hrm calories burned.

for me..at bpm of 130 (my resting is 50 so this is actually hard for me or seems so), = 425 calories burned per hour. *sigh*

wolfchild59

@Wolfchild: Hmm it worked for me. I would burn say 300 calories on the stationary cycle and my HRM would say 150, then I would walk around the apartment or do dishes until the HRM said 300 and jumped back on the cycle to burn more. It was like burning calories while resting or doing house chores. It burned 9-16 calories a minute. I find the batteries of HRM too expensive and they run out fast, so now I don't use them but I trust the caloriemeter on my exercise bike.
Gosh Wolfchild, you really exercise a lot. Impressive .

Walking around and doing dishes and other household chores will increase your caloric burn whether you are on a post-workout afterburn or not. When I'm sitting around doing nothing, I show a 1-1.2 calorie per minute burn. Post workout, sitting around doing nothing I show a 1-1.3 calorie per minute burn.

Looking at the few nights, I was averaging about a 3 calorie per minute burn. Then when I was cooking my lunch and breakfast for the following day, I was averaging about a 2.5 calorie per minute burn. So I was actually burning less doing the same activity post workout than I was before the workout. Last night was 45 min on the elliptical w/ average heart rate of 158. The night before was a three mile run with an average heart rate of 157 and the night before that was an hour of strength training of mid-weight reps of 15-20 or breaking point.

So really, all I'm saying is that a person shouldn't count on a guaranteed afterburn since, much like everything else with health and fitness, it's going to vary greatly from person to person.

And just as a final note on the HRM itself, my manual specifically said that it wasn't made to accurately calculate calories burned when the heart is below a certain level (I believe it said something close to 130) and so it is not meant to be worn outside of exercise/elevated heart rate activities. So I trust that the company knows what mine is calibrated to do or not to do, so that's what I was going off of in my notation above that HRMs aren't meant to be worn for general calorie burn info.

servilia

Oh but there is a little thing you have to be careful of. The after burn. If you stop exercising and keep wearing your HRM for atleast 20 more minutes you will see that you would still be burning lots of calories and it will end around where the Gym machine said.

But you get the afterburn whether you use your HRM or go by the machine readout. In the end the machine is still showing too much. So you're not burning what you think you did.

CoraGregoryCPA

I've heard that Garmins are way off on Calorie counting. I have a Garmin Forerunner 210, mine has never worked that great.

My Polar Ft7 HRM is awesome though. It always comes in lower than the cardio equipment but I do feel it is more accurate.

For example, 40 minutes on eliptical:

HRM will say 400 calories
Equipment will say 530+.. big difference.

I trust my Polar! BTW.. I only have my HRM on when I'm on the machine, NOT when I'm walking to the bathroom or walking to leave.. I only have it going when I'm actually working out, the only exception is when I'm switching cardio machines or moving between weight machines. I try to be as honest as possible with it.

CoraGregoryCPA

I really think the amount of afterburn varies a ton. Unfortunately an HRM won't accurately record that because they're only made to record heart rate/calories burned when the heart rate is elevated to work out levels.

[/quote]

I completely AGREE With this. That is why you should not "cheat" and wear the HRM after working out.. it's pointless. I think.. just my personal opinion. You are only cheating yourself.

Kikilicious84

My HRM has me burning more cals than the machines tell me. Goes to show everyone can be so different!

Yes this is the same for me.

Fioldaliza

Well Folks I guess I have a serious issue then. My hrm always gives me a super high calorie burn compared to the machine at the gym. Example 45 minutes on the eliptical machine said I burned 459 calories. After finishing and waiting till my heart dropped close to regular heart rate, usually around 77, I checked my calories and it said 811. Does anyone have an answer for this? Thanks