confused....

Brittany_Kayy
Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
edited September 20 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm confused. I got a treadmill for Christmas because for the last year I've been doing this journey that is all I have ever wanted. I live in New york and hate running in the cold weather or in general because people drive like crazies where I am at. LOL.
Anyways, what I'm confused about is it says for 35 minutes of random speeds and inclines, I mean I have been sweating everyday this week , it says I only burned 214 calories today and yesterday 249... but I feel like it should be more?? My friend says she runs for 35 minutes on her treadmill and burns 340 calories.. UGH! I just wan't to know an accurate amount of what I'm burning? Because to me 214 or 249 is not enough for me during the day I want to burn 300 +
Anyone else have this problem?>

Replies

  • tayner
    tayner Posts: 372
    It depends on many factors (height, weight, hr, exertion level, etc).

    I dont use the treadmill as my joints dont like it much, but I spin... moderate to heavy exertion for at least 60 minutes.. and i burn around 450-550 calories depending on my work level for the hour.. so I would guess you are in the right area with where you are... maybe bump up the time to 60 minutes to hit where you want to be?

    It sure is much easier to eat the calories than it is to burn them off... I will say that much!

    Good luck to you
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    you can buy heart Rate Monitor (HRM). Or you could try to borrow someones, even just use it once and you should be able to estimate the cals. Say the HRM says 300 the treadmill says 200 than you know you burn 1.5 times more than the treadmill says, although this won't factor in cals burned as you get more fit and/or loose weight but it would be a good estimate.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    It all depends on what those speeds and inclines are. Sweating doesn't mean anything--it is not a good measure of either intensity or quality of exercise.

    Here is a reference:

    If you were to walk at 3.6 mph and a 6% elevation for the entire time, at your weight you would burn approx 302 Calories in 35 min.

    If you were to run at 5 mph the entire time and 0%, the counter should say you burned around 390 Calories in 35 min.

    You might try these and see what happens. If the numbers are still way off, check the machine setup--you may not have entered your weight correctly.
  • birgithooker
    birgithooker Posts: 68
    I get the same thing. I have set programs that I can choose from. I usually run for 40 minutes. If I only do 30 minutes, the difference in calories burned is incredible! It also makes a difference if I stop or not. On bad days I have to stop at least once. Plus I have a 14 month old so sometimes I have to stop and take care of him if he is awake or fussy. If I stop, it can mean the difference of almost 100 calories . On days when I really want to feel the burn, I set my treadmill at a steady speed. I will let it start slow to get me going and then once it hits 4.0-4.5 miles an hour, I keep it on that speed and let the inclines go up and down. It usually bumps up the calories burned. I am a slow runner over distance so I can't do a pace of 5.0 for very long. I am working up to it slowly. That might help if you can sustain a steady pace over the time and incline variations.
  • Brittany_Kayy
    Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
    Thank you for all the replies!!!! :)
  • Brittany_Kayy
    Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
    Thanks for the advice.. this might sound dumb, but I don't remember entering in my weight. I'm looking at the manual now and it doesn't say that I can do that or even how?
  • jclguru
    jclguru Posts: 123
    What's the make and model of the treadmill? It's possible yours doesn't have that
    option.

    Doug
  • Brittany_Kayy
    Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
    Gold's Gym trainer 480..
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
    I don't trust the machines....if I jog on treadmill my heart rate monitor is about 30% different (lower) than what the machine says. What your saying sounds pretty close.
  • Brittany_Kayy
    Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
    OK, I talked to my hubby. I'm going to go to Sport's Authority this weekend and get a HRM so that I can find out for sure what I'm burning. I've wanted one of these for a long time anyways, so I'm just gonna go ahead and do it. It will help me in the long run anyways. thanks for all the advice everything. You all are very helpful here on MFP :)
  • jclguru
    jclguru Posts: 123
    I looked at a few of the manuals for the 480, I didn't see any mention of
    inputting your weight.

    Doug
  • Brittany_Kayy
    Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
    Yah, in my manual it didn't say anything about inputting weight either. I'm going to try Azdak advice today and do 3.6 mph at 6% incline and see if it burns 302 calories.. we'll see. If not than I will just have to STEP IT UP and WORK Harder. I can do it, I have to!!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    here's the thing, and I'm pretty sure Adzak will agree with me on this one. If the machine doesn't even take weight into account when calculating calories, it's probably not that accurate to begin with. I guess the only exception to that would be if it actually was so advanced that it weighed you itself (although I've never heard of that so I don't think it's the case here).
  • lizzieann
    lizzieann Posts: 10
    I agree. I find that I don't burn as much as I would like to on treadmills even with the varied speeds. I have found mixing it up with different machines and routines give me better results. I really like the arc trainer or trying to get outside whenever I can. Keep trying, I think you'll find you're happy groove!
  • Brittany_Kayy
    Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
    Ok so i did it and it says i burned 344?? is that possible?
  • Brittany_Kayy
    Brittany_Kayy Posts: 262 Member
    Thanks for the advice.. this weekend I'm off to Sports Authority for a HRM :) So I'll be able to know. Cause I need to know if I'm under.. If im over thats a good thing but if I'm under I need to know .. so We'll see this weekend :)
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