HRM vs the Cals burned on machines FOR RUNNING

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sweetgrasswoman
sweetgrasswoman Posts: 99 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I finally bought a heart rate monitor & love it! It told me that I burned more calories on cardio machines than what the machine told me. Also with my circuit training, I was slacking but with he HRM I learned to burn cals. with intensity. I was sweating away!

Now with running on treadmills, my burned cals was very low on my HRM (110) but the machine read over 280 cals for 30 minutes. Although my heart rate was between 150- 169 the whole time--- I dont get it? Someone please explain what I'm doing wrong? I sweat more running & love the burn (or so I thought). I thought running burned allot of cals?
I dunno Im kind of frustrated because my husband runs marathons so thats all he does is prep for races & he lost over 20 lbs within 8 weeks.....

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  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Trust the HRM. Machines tend to lie especially if you can't input all your info like you do for your HRM. If it makes you feel better my burn for running 5K on a treadmill are in the 280 to 300 calorie range. There's a huge difference between marathon training and doing 30 mins on a treadmill.
  • sweetgrasswoman
    sweetgrasswoman Posts: 99 Member
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    So what are the benefits of running? A good heart I guess huh? Im trying to work my way up to 5K run too but after I saw the real numbers in burnt cals, it seems hopeless & confusing LOL----thanks for the info
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    What was your distance on the treadmill?

    110 calories for 30 minutes on the treadmill actually does seem low. That would suggest that you only went "about a mile" So that would suggest that your treadmill speed was at "about 2 mph" Not very effective for training for a 5k race.

    I don't know much about HRM's so I don't know what would have changed during your run, but physiology laws say it didn't work for your run.

    ETA: I read an article a while back that researched what was the most accurate calorie counting machine at the gym and treadmills topped the list.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    What was your distance on the treadmill?

    110 calories for 30 minutes on the treadmill actually does seem low. That would suggest that you only went "about a mile" So that would suggest that your treadmill speed was at "about 2 mph" Not very effective for training for a 5k race.

    +1

    Calorie burn running is pretty static regardless of your fitness level, and not so much tied to heart rate. You burn about 0.62 KCal per lb per mile.
    If you weigh 200lbs, that means you burn 126 Cal per mile
    If you weigh 150lbs, it's 95 Cal/mi
  • gjulie
    gjulie Posts: 391
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    According to my HRM I burn about 150 cals in 20 mins its way more on the machine!
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
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    I always go with my HRM. But, you might find that you have signal interruption in the gym with either other HRM on other folks or the machines themselves interfere. When I use the stepper at the gym, if I drape my hands over the top of the console, I lose signal from the chest strap to the wrist watch/recorder and, thus, calories burned. If you were indeed running/jogging for 30 min. . .110 does seem low. My guess would be interference of some sort.

    But, I NEVER go with what the cardio machine tells me. It is always WAY higher than my HRM. (That is when I make sure it doesn't have interference!! LOL)
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Just curious...what kind of HRM are you using?
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    Make sure the HRM strap is secure and in the right place. If it isn't in the right place or slips around or something, it isn't going to give you an accurate number. But, if you're running-use the formula given a few posts up-it generally gives me about the same # as my HRM.
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
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    What kind of HRM did you use? Was it on right/tight enough? Did it move? Is it coded-meaning will it only pick up your heart rate not the person or the machine next to you?
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
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    My polar says I usually burn around 145 for 30 mins on the elliptical and the elliptical says i burned almost 600 for the same amount time. unfortunately, I go with the HRM even though I like the numbers instead.
  • sweetgrasswoman
    sweetgrasswoman Posts: 99 Member
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    I use Sportline Watch with built in HRM and cal counter, so I wore it on my wrist. Im about 177 lbs, 5"4 and ran about 2 to 2.5 miles for 30 mins (im into my second month of losing weight). The Cardio machine tells me I burn over 250 cals....
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
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    I use Sportline Watch with built in HRM and cal counter, so I wore it on my wrist. Im about 177 lbs, 5"4 and ran about 2 to 2.5 miles for 30 mins (im into my second month of losing weight). The Cardio machine tells me I burn over 250 cals....

    So it doesn't have a chest strap? It's just the watch? From what I've heard (I've only ever had ones with the strap) if it's just a watch it can be off a bit. I don't know how much exactly though. The machine will only tell you for your weight when a HRM will (as you know) tell you based on your sex, height, weight and it can get a real read on you while the machine doesn't know how often you go over your target heart rate or under. I'd still say go with the HRM, it's better to say it's low than have it be too high and eat back more than what you really burned
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    You are probably in the 200 to 250 calorie burned range for 30 minutes then. And HRM without a strap is not going to be as accurate.

    I find that MFP's calorie counters for running using the actual speed are quite accurate.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    I use Sportline Watch with built in HRM and cal counter, so I wore it on my wrist. Im about 177 lbs, 5"4 and ran about 2 to 2.5 miles for 30 mins (im into my second month of losing weight). The Cardio machine tells me I burn over 250 cals....

    Seems about right.
    You burn about 110 calories per mile you run.
    2.5 miles would be 275 Calories.
  • sweetgrasswoman
    sweetgrasswoman Posts: 99 Member
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    ok great- maybe Ill just average out both numbers & eat below my cals. Also use the formula given- thanks everyone!

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