calories burned according to equipment

watergirl626
watergirl626 Posts: 249 Member
edited September 28 in Fitness and Exercise
How accurate are machines at the gym when it comes to the calories they say you've burned? I notice a lot of discrepancy between the equipment and what is in MFP's database as far as how many calories were burned in correlation with the number of minutes exercised.

Replies

  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    Both MFP and the machines can be off by as much as 50-75%. The best way to get cals burned is use a HRM. If you don't have one, use the lower of the machine or MFP and eat back 75% instead of 100% of them.
  • rebgeo
    rebgeo Posts: 23
    I think you have to be carefull with gym equipment as it depends when/how often they have been re-calibrated.
    I also find that MFP calories burned are high. I tend to use a site called "healthstatus.com" to calculate mine. I also
    like that it's in km's instead of miles.
  • sshap21712
    sshap21712 Posts: 139
    I found that since I got a Heart Rate Monitor, the real calories burned are significantly lower than the gym machines tell you.
  • VanessaFaith
    VanessaFaith Posts: 171 Member
    Check out this site... scroll down and put in your weight and duration. It'll figure your calories specifically for your weight.
    This link takes you to eliptical, but you can check out other exercises the same way. http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/caloriesBurnedInfo.php?id=619

    Vanessa
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Both MFP and the machines can be off by as much as 50-75%. The best way to get cals burned is use a HRM. If you don't have one, use the lower of the machine or MFP and eat back 75% instead of 100% of them.

    this!
  • chrisyoung0422
    chrisyoung0422 Posts: 426 Member
    HRM will always be the most accurate. I always scale back what the machines show because I know what my HRM said. I dont use an HRM all the time now that I have the general idea. It is insane how you can move over one machine and the difference is pretty dramatic.
  • smpearce13
    smpearce13 Posts: 32 Member
    Thanks for the link Vanessa. If that's accurate, my Precor at home (with the HRM in it) is pretty accurate after all then based on my weight and intensity! I've seen some of the gym ellipticals be 50+ calories less than my one at home....
This discussion has been closed.

Categories