Burned Calories???

JMJohnson1005
JMJohnson1005 Posts: 209 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have been seeing my friends posts about the amount of calories they burn on the elliptical, which compared to mine seem super high. My elliptical tells me that for 43 minutes I burned 270 calories, but MFP tells me that I burned over 500. Which do you think is the closest to being accurate? My elliptical also seems to have my heart rate really low, under 120. My average speed is about 4.5 mph. What do y'all think?

Replies

  • Crystals422
    Crystals422 Posts: 382 Member
    How much do you weigh and what level resistance are you doing? I
  • ewegner
    ewegner Posts: 48 Member
    It seems low, but it depends on the level/resistance you have the machine on as well. To get the best workout, I would think your heart rate needs to be higher than just 120 - how do you feel when you're working out? Are you out of breath or comfortable? The best way to know is using a HRM, I have a polar watch, but the batteries go out after about a year of use - but definitely the most accurate indicator of calorie burn/heart rate. Hope this helps.
  • JMJohnson1005
    JMJohnson1005 Posts: 209 Member
    195 and not exactly sure about the level of resistance. It says I am on level 5, whatever that means.
  • dreamc08
    dreamc08 Posts: 74 Member
    Does the elliptical you use allow you to enter your weight and age? The one I prefer to use at my gym lets me enter that info and my heartrate and calories seem consistent.
  • taliyai
    taliyai Posts: 38
    On level 5 you should definitely be burning at least more than 300 calories in that much time. I'd make sure your elliptical settings are accurate, and that the actual machine isn't broken. Even at my heaviest, when I first started, I burned something like 200 calories in 20 minutes.
  • JMJohnson1005
    JMJohnson1005 Posts: 209 Member
    I do have a HRM, and I did wear it once but it was saying that my heart rate was to high (I set it a couple years back and now I can't find the instructions to change it) and kept beeping so I took it off. It was saying that it was 181. The elliptical says I am on level 5 as far as resistance.
  • JMJohnson1005
    JMJohnson1005 Posts: 209 Member
    Yes, I have entered my weight and age. The machine it self is consistant with the readings it gives me on a daily basis, it just seems extremely low to me.
  • velix
    velix Posts: 437 Member
    I use the elliptical for 30 minutes, level 12 resistance (incline 10) and burn around 350-390 cals based on my HRM (5'7, 207lbs, 37yrs) - the numbers you are saying seem low to me .... I would bring your HRM to your gym and ask someone there to reprogram it (the manager programmed mine for me when I bought mine)
  • Lizzie08
    Lizzie08 Posts: 15 Member
    I run into the same problem so I stick to what the machine tells me... I just started working out 5 days ago so currently I use the elliptical 25 minutes resistance level 15 and incline of 1 with a heart rate of about 130 - 150 and I can burn up to 200... The gym I go to has been open close to 3 years so the machines are not that old (it lets me enter weight & age) .... Hopefully it helps :smile:
  • cutelashawn
    cutelashawn Posts: 182
    I use an HRM and I think that is more accurate than the machine calorie counter. My Polar HRM always seems to be 80 calories less than the gym's calorie counter on the machine. So to be more accurate get an HRM. You will see better results with being more accurate.

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