How accurate??...

Kidvicious28
Kidvicious28 Posts: 1,613 Member
edited September 19 in Fitness and Exercise
How accurate are the calorie counters on exercise machines? The calories burned on MFP are completely different (usually lower) than what the machines at the gym say. How off are exercise machines? ....ones that don't make you put in your height and weight.

Replies

  • Kidvicious28
    Kidvicious28 Posts: 1,613 Member
    How accurate are the calorie counters on exercise machines? The calories burned on MFP are completely different (usually lower) than what the machines at the gym say. How off are exercise machines? ....ones that don't make you put in your height and weight.
  • aprilvet
    aprilvet Posts: 724 Member
    Usually WAY OFF! Can be too high OR too low. Get a good hrm to more accurately track your calorie burn.:flowerforyou:
  • JDHINAZ
    JDHINAZ Posts: 641 Member
    Even the ones that allow you to enter your height, weight, age and measure your heart rate can be off., especially if they're older machines. Heart rate monitors are the best way to go....I just ordered mine and I'm still awaiting its arrival. Until then, I'm using the the machines calories burned, but I make sure I enter every bit of info into the machine that it asks for. It'll be interesting to see what my HRM will way when I get it....
  • weaverc
    weaverc Posts: 158
    Good to know that the machines are off sometimes. I just started looking into HRM and I hope to get one soon. I hope the accuracy will help me drop weight quicker.
  • theresefulford
    theresefulford Posts: 22 Member
    Even the ones that allow you to enter your height, weight, age and measure your heart rate can be off., especially if they're older machines. Heart rate monitors are the best way to go....I just ordered mine and I'm still awaiting its arrival. Until then, I'm using the the machines calories burned, but I make sure I enter every bit of info into the machine that it asks for. It'll be interesting to see what my HRM will way when I get it....

    Hey where did you order your monitor from?
  • mrsyac2
    mrsyac2 Posts: 2,784 Member
    they aren't accurate just like the websites that tell you how many calories you burn doing stuff aren't accurate--

    Invest in a HRM just make sure you get one that Counts Calories too-
  • annaliza
    annaliza Posts: 809
    I just ordered a HRM from woot.com (available for today only, I believe) for $20. I'm tired of guessing how many calories I've burned and I have a feeling that MFP is a little off since they don't list the actual exercises when I use my Wii Fit and My Fitness Coach.
  • dimplzz
    dimplzz Posts: 456 Member
    Yes, check out woot.com today. I have the HRM they are selling today and I love it! I found that my calories were wayyyy off. (too low) before I got my hrm. I have been losing weight faster since getting it. I don't think that I wasn't eating enough calories before. (the treadmill said so few were being burned and I didn't realize how many I was burning doing the workout dvds) Now that I have up'd my calories, it seems to be working.
  • toots99
    toots99 Posts: 3,794 Member
    Is a heart rate monitor all you'd need to most efficiently track calories burned? And do I have to strap it to my chest, or is there one that will go around your wrist only?
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
    Is a heart rate monitor all you'd need to most efficiently track calories burned? And do I have to strap it to my chest, or is there one that will go around your wrist only?

    You need to get one that straps around your chest if you want it to be accurate. You don't even know that it's on really while you're working out.
  • tydunn
    tydunn Posts: 13
    Please let me know how this works out for you once you've received it and tried it out for awhile. I'm interested in one, now that I hear that the machine's numbers can be inaccurate.

    Thanks
  • Iceprincessk25
    Iceprincessk25 Posts: 1,888 Member
    Please let me know how this works out for you once you've received it and tried it out for awhile. I'm interested in one, now that I hear that the machine's numbers can be inaccurate.

    Thanks

    HRM are a must for losing weight! I found out that I was actually burning more calories than some of the machines said so that was a treat! :laugh:

    I now work out to burn a certain amount of calories everyday instead of just for a certain amount of time.

    BEST money that I ever spent!
  • dimplzz
    dimplzz Posts: 456 Member
    Please let me know how this works out for you once you've received it and tried it out for awhile. I'm interested in one, now that I hear that the machine's numbers can be inaccurate.

    Thanks

    HRM are a must for losing weight! I found out that I was actually burning more calories than some of the machines said so that was a treat! :laugh:

    I now work out to burn a certain amount of calories everyday instead of just for a certain amount of time.

    BEST money that I ever spent!

    I agree! :happy:
  • JDHINAZ
    JDHINAZ Posts: 641 Member
    Even the ones that allow you to enter your height, weight, age and measure your heart rate can be off., especially if they're older machines. Heart rate monitors are the best way to go....I just ordered mine and I'm still awaiting its arrival. Until then, I'm using the the machines calories burned, but I make sure I enter every bit of info into the machine that it asks for. It'll be interesting to see what my HRM will way when I get it....

    Hey where did you order your monitor from?

    drugstore.com. ok, you're about to find out just how cheap I am. I purchaed a Polar F6, but do this. Go to ebates.com. Sign up. It's free, but you have to enter your email and home address. Whenever you want to buy something on the internet, go to ebates.com, login, and look for the vendor you want to buy from. They will give you a percentage back, in the form of a check, on everything you buy as long as you click through from the ebates website. The percentages vary...usually 1-6%, and you have to have so much in rebates before they'll send you a check, but it's an easy way to save some dough. I paid $109 for the HRM, free shipping, then I got a rebate of over $6.00. it's the best deal I could find on a new one.
  • Kidvicious28
    Kidvicious28 Posts: 1,613 Member
    where do you guys get the HRM's? (besides woot.com) How much do they usually cost?
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
    where do you guys get the HRM's? (besides woot.com) How much do they usually cost?

    It depends entirely on the heart rate monitor to be honest. A good Polar heart rate monitor (they're the big name brand) can run you from 70-200$ depending on what features you want. You can go to walmart and get a Mio heart rate monitor for 30$, but it may not be as accurate. If you're trying to use it just for knowing how many calories you burnt, the lower end should be fine.

    The more expensive stuff usually has features that are nice but not necessary. I have a Polar F11 I got off ebay for 110$ brand new, in box with the chest strap. I can set up exercise plans, it will test my VO2Max, it will beep at me to speed up/slow down to get into my target heart rate, it will let me upload sessions to an online log, etc. A ton of cool features, but none of them are needed if you just want to count calories. I'm a geek, so I like my gauges and bells and whistles.
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