400 cals in 20 minutes?!?

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Moolieloo
Moolieloo Posts: 28 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been working out on an elliptical machine at home on a preset program (20 minutes) that has intervals of varying resistance. It starts out with a medium resistance, then really gets your heart rate up by the end. If I really push myself and keep a steady, fast pace it tells me that I've burned around 400 calories in the 20 minutes! The machine only asks for my age, not my weight, male/female or anything. I am 34, female, I weigh around 140, 5'10". Does this calorie burn sound right? (I don't have a heart rate monitor, and that number sounds awfully high)
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Replies

  • chameleonguy
    chameleonguy Posts: 8
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    Without HRM, it will be veryhard to get an exact reading on how many calories you burned. I would suggest going to some other websites that have calculators for burned calories. Plug in your numbers and see what you get. These numbers likely won't be exact either, but at least you will get an idea of how close your eliptical is.
  • cmurphy04722
    cmurphy04722 Posts: 254
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    Just for a comparison, I'm 23, 5'4" and about 155. I generally burn 100 calories/10 minutes of hard work on the elliptical. I usually do 30-45 minutes, burning 300-450 or so.

    Unless you're literally sweating a pool the entire time, I think the numbers may be inflated. I wear a Polar HRM when I exercise, it'd probably be best to get a HRM (one with a chest band for accuracy) so you really know what's going on.
  • shanerylee
    shanerylee Posts: 298 Member
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    If you are going at a high pace the whole time like that, it could very well be. I would test it with an HRM to be sure. Good for you girl. thats awesome :)
  • vicki9792
    vicki9792 Posts: 31
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    My elliptical gives me a similar reading. Last night it was 500 for 25 min. I also do more intense resistance so I don't always rely on the # MFP gives me because it seems low and I don't think it accounts for that. I try to take an average of the two. Hope that helps! Good luck!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    That sounds extremely high. At best I burn 15 cal per minute this would be 20/minute. The machine is probably judging you as a 200 pound man to get caloric burns that high. Most likely you are burning between 9 and 15 calories per minute but would need a HRM to get the most accurate estimate.
  • gjulie
    gjulie Posts: 391
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    hi I usually find I burn 300 in 40 minutes on the threadmill at a gradient of 8.5% and a speed of 5.5 Im almost 42 and im 5ft 2 tall and weigh 149lbs! it must be a very intense workout to burn 400 in 20 mins
  • thendrick
    thendrick Posts: 102 Member
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    I'm 38, 5'4" and weigh 154 lbs and I usually burn 330 calories for 30 minutes on the elliptical (gradual level increase).
  • kwaters7
    kwaters7 Posts: 129
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    Hi

    I agree with the comment above about '9-15 cals per minute'. I'm just under 140 and have to keep my speed around 210-215 RPM average to get close to the 300 in 20 mins on the interval setting, if you are doing 200 plus consistently that's quite a very tough pace to maintain.....
  • Behavior_Modification
    Behavior_Modification Posts: 24,482 Member
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    That sounds really high.
  • Moolieloo
    Moolieloo Posts: 28 Member
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    Thank you all for the comments. I figured it was too good to be true! :) I guess I just need to get an HRM, and until then I'll just figure it using the suggested formula. Too bad...it was nice seeing "You've earned 811 calories for today"!!
  • Moolieloo
    Moolieloo Posts: 28 Member
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    Today I paid attention to the timing of the calorie burn...I had burned around 180 in the first 10 minutes. Thats a little high, but not too much (18 cals a minute) but in the last 5-6 minutes at the highest resistance the machine has, at a steady 4 kph, it says I burn around 100 calories. What do you think of that?
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Today I paid attention to the timing of the calorie burn...I had burned around 180 in the first 10 minutes. Thats a little high, but not too much (18 cals a minute) but in the last 5-6 minutes at the highest resistance the machine has, at a steady 4 kph, it says I burn around 100 calories. What do you think of that?

    Here is a comparison: at your weight, if you ran 6 mph (10 min mile) outdoors, you would burn approx 210 calories in 20 min. Can you run at 6 mph for 20 min?

    To burn 400 calories in 20 min you would have to be running at the speed of an elite women's marathoner--like winning the Boston Marathon speed.
  • mrsyatesy
    mrsyatesy Posts: 173
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    Hi,
    I wear a HRM all the time now and on the eliptical I burn between 10 and 12 calories a minute, that's about as good as it gets for me and I am fit and healthy and active. I run frequently and exercise daily, and have a resting heart rate of 59 so sadly I think your machine is a little on the optimistic side! You could just carry on though and keep burning the cals!
    Happy exercising!
  • mrsyatesy
    mrsyatesy Posts: 173
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    Too bad...it was nice seeing "You've earned 811 calories for today"!!

    You could always get a sticker and put that across instead :bigsmile:
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
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    400 Kcal is what I burn in 20 minutes of jogging....but I have 130 lbs on you.

    So yes, a little high.
  • jkohan
    jkohan Posts: 184 Member
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    Very high--I am not in good shape and have much more weight than you--and I did a consistent 4.5 on my elliptical last night for 32 minutes in a 40 min session. The machine told me I burned 600 calories. My HRM said 301. My HR average was 154. Soooo I would say that your elliptical is a bit optimistic. sorry!
  • starkiss100
    starkiss100 Posts: 235 Member
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    Just for a comparison, I'm 23, 5'4" and about 155. I generally burn 100 calories/10 minutes of hard work on the elliptical. I usually do 30-45 minutes, burning 300-450 or so.

    Unless you're literally sweating a pool the entire time, I think the numbers may be inflated. I wear a Polar HRM when I exercise, it'd probably be best to get a HRM (one with a chest band for accuracy) so you really know what's going on.

    I am 29, F, 5"6 and about 156 and I also burn 100 calories per 10 minutes according to the elliptical machine at the gym. It asks my age and weight.
  • Moolieloo
    Moolieloo Posts: 28 Member
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    Whoa. I guess its a good thing I never ate those exercise calories! I would have gained for sure! :ohwell:
  • SimonLondon
    SimonLondon Posts: 350
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    I really went for it on the Elliptical last night (covered 10k in 49 mins on level 10, I'm 39, 140lb) and I still only burned 600 Cal according to my HRM.

    A HRM is really the best way to know but you really need one with the strap as it is far more accurate.
  • dj_stevie_c
    dj_stevie_c Posts: 270
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    On the tread climber at the gym I usualy get around 330cals for 20 mins. It's a pretty hard workout and I am sweating like crazy while doing it (though not struggling too much). Normally for 10 mins work on the cross trainer I end up with about 100 cals.

    So yeah sounds like the numbers are a little inflated.

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