Are the calories burned on excersize equipment accurate?

girlygirl82

I was just curious to hear everyones opinion of whether they think the ditigal calorie counters that are on cardio equipment are very accurate or not. I overheard some people next to me on the elliptical today debating the issue, and it made me curious/ :ohwell:

Any thoughts??

tbrown1025

I think they are more of a guide, a best estimate for the average person. If the machine allows for settings so you can enter gender, height, age, etc. then it would be more accurate. But in general, I the range can vary from person to person.

omid990

not really. treadmills and bikes are more accurate than ellipticals. Personally, i've always just taken half of what the machines give me. I've read that you should put in 5-10 pounds less than what you actually weigh and then subtract 20% off of that. The most accurate reading comes from an HRM.
aisha