calories burned or not?

mamakathy
mamakathy Posts: 130
edited September 25 in Health and Weight Loss
I bought a heart rate watch that accounts for your age and then you frequently check your heart rate while exercising. It gives you a calorie burned. My delimma is that it calculates my calories at a much higher rate than the actual machine I'm working out on does. For example, my workout this morning according to the machines was about 420 calories and by the watch was about 970 calories. Both the machines and the watch have the same reading for heart rate. Which do I use?

Replies

  • ashley0616
    ashley0616 Posts: 579 Member
    That depends: does either thing ask for your height, age, weight, and gender? I would probably go with whichever one uses the most variables to get your calories burned. If you think the heart watch is too high, then subtract say 200 calories and you have still burned an amazing 770 calories.
  • SakanaUshi
    SakanaUshi Posts: 27
    Do the machine and/or heart rate monitor have your weight and age information entered? I know that, before I realized I could enter my weight and age into the ellipticals at my gym, my calories burned were a lot lower.
  • mkcalvert
    mkcalvert Posts: 219 Member
    I would go with the HRM. Not too long ago I read an article on the net(can't remember the site), but it said that most machines aren't as accurate as a HRM...Hope this helps
  • RRS1983
    RRS1983 Posts: 18
    The machine's are a 'general idea' of calories burned -- at least from what I was told. Even though you fill in all of your stats, it doesn't have anything to measure how hard you're actually working. The heart rate watch (I LOVE MINE!!!), even though you enter your stats, has something to measure. It's seeing how hard your heart is pumping & working during your workout.

    (Plus, it's so much more motivating/rewarding to look down and see 900 instead of 400 calories burned, right?!)

    Hopefully this helps and good luck with your goals!!!


    Randi
  • jkohan
    jkohan Posts: 184 Member
    Even if the machine asks for your age, height, weight, etc...it does NOT use that info to compute calories burned. it ONLY uses that info to determine target HR ranges. The calories burned function is determined by speed/level and time and is an estimate at BEST.

    Regarding your HRM--unless it has a chest strap AND you have input your age, weight, height and gender it is not entirely accurate either. Be sure your personal info is being computed--just having age in there is not going to help you get an accurate number.
  • mamakathy
    mamakathy Posts: 130
    That depends: does either thing ask for your height, age, weight, and gender? I would probably go with whichever one uses the most variables to get your calories burned. If you think the heart watch is too high, then subtract say 200 calories and you have still burned an amazing 770 calories.



    The watch requires age and gender while the equipment requires weight only.
  • jkohan
    jkohan Posts: 184 Member
    That depends: does either thing ask for your height, age, weight, and gender? I would probably go with whichever one uses the most variables to get your calories burned. If you think the heart watch is too high, then subtract say 200 calories and you have still burned an amazing 770 calories.



    The watch requires age and gender while the equipment requires weight only.

    That is not an accurate accounting for calories burned for either the machine or the watch. Is there a chest strap?
  • mamakathy
    mamakathy Posts: 130
    That depends: does either thing ask for your height, age, weight, and gender? I would probably go with whichever one uses the most variables to get your calories burned. If you think the heart watch is too high, then subtract say 200 calories and you have still burned an amazing 770 calories.



    The watch requires age and gender while the equipment requires weight only.

    That is not an accurate accounting for calories burned for either the machine or the watch. Is there a chest strap?

    no chest strap, I realize that neither is totally accurate. My question I suppose, is which should I use for my calorie burn?
This discussion has been closed.

Categories