elliptical calories

lilbuddytatertot
lilbuddytatertot Posts: 57 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
should i go by what the machine said or what myfitnesspal says.., and if the machine, the how do i log it?

Replies

  • jrueckert
    jrueckert Posts: 355 Member
    I do the elliptical at high resistance and MFP doesn't have that option to choose from, so I log it as Elliptical Trainer and just change the calories to what the machine says. That's all I have to go off of.
  • wide_rider
    wide_rider Posts: 6
    Enter your time and how many calories the machine says you burned. It changes every time, based on the intensity of your workout, settings, etc.
  • aanddplusoanda
    aanddplusoanda Posts: 189 Member
    I have an elliptical. I also got a heartrate moniter and used it to see what was more accurate and my elliptical was right on with my heartrate moniter but that may be different for others.
  • ebkins7
    ebkins7 Posts: 427 Member
    I have to throw in here that everyone is different... I NEVER go by the machine... it's always WAY lower than what my HRM says. For me... MFP is always closer.

    If you really want to know what you ACTUALLY burned... invest in a HRM!
  • maryloo2011
    maryloo2011 Posts: 446
    I go by the machine.

    Editing to echo the above: provided you gave the machine your weight and age, I'd think it would be more accurate (than MFP) with estimating the calorie burn because IT knows the intensity of the workout you did. I don't have experience with a HRM but would guess that would be even more accurate.
  • lilbuddytatertot
    lilbuddytatertot Posts: 57 Member
    ohhh.,,, i didnt realize you could just add calories burned
  • ObviousIndigo
    ObviousIndigo Posts: 382 Member
    I choose to go by MFP because I can go on medium intensity for 45 mins, go 10kms and it says I only burned 150 cals.... I think that is way too low...
  • anitamartina
    anitamartina Posts: 18
    I think it's recommended by most fitness people/trainers when you're at the gym that the best way to figure out your calories is to get one of those heart rate / calorie monitors that you strap around your ribs. Then you're supposed to check each machine and compare what your monitor says versus what the machine says. I notice that what the machine says is different from what the MFP and other exercise calculators say.

    I'm realizing that it's easier to keep it simple and just do the activity and make the tracking as easy as possible so that
    you keep exercising and keep tracking in MFP.

    I'm so glad that this question got asked and that several people responded because I was spending too much effort on trying to be 100% accurate.

    Thanks!

    -Anita :happy:
  • thysduque
    thysduque Posts: 3
    The calorie count from the elliptical will depend a lot on the resistance you set and on the brand you use.
    The brand that is available at the Gym has the flowing problems:

    1) At very low resistance it will underestimate the calorie count. One hour of elliptical will give me 300 calories, which I know is not reasonable.
    2) At very high resistance it will overestimate the calorie count. At the difficulty that I do it will tell me I burn 1300 calories an hour. Running at 6MPH will only burn about 800 C/h so I know the elliptical is wrong in this sense.

    Heart rate monitors may help but they may also be widely inaccurate. My tip is, calibrate your cardio calorie count based on a treadmill session of equal difficulty.
  • slapshotgolf
    slapshotgolf Posts: 163 Member
    In order of most accurate to least accurate -

    1. HRM - Heart Rate Monitor - great investment - monitors your heart rate constantly, and based on the data you input (age/gender/weight), calculates your calorie burn - can be purchased for as little as $40-$50.

    2. Machine - Most machines allow you to input your current weight, and occasionally your age. While you can intermittently check your heart rate, the machine uses an internal calculation which is usually close, however since its doesn't monitor your heart rate constantly, can't be viewed as completely accurate.

    3. MFP - Least reliable, as the data is not specific to age, gender, weight, intensity or heart rate.

    **Note - something I learned recently is that the HRM isn't always as accurate as you would like. If you have a high caffeine diet for example, your heart rate jumps more quickly than others, however its not indicative of the "work" or energy (calories) you
    actually burned. For that reason, you may want to take 90% of the HRM value for tracking purposes.

    Good luck, SSG.
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