burned calories on the elliptical

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2baninja
2baninja Posts: 511 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
The elliptical I use at the gym doesn't read anything, no HR, no calories burned. On here and on other "calories burned" websites they don't give options for different levels worked, I can't imagine that I'm burning the same amount of calories whether I'm doing an easy level 1 or hauling my a** doing a level 5 interval... I don't care to get a personal fitness "watch" as I've seen too many comments on here about them not being accurate. So does anyone have any ideas about how I can get a more accurate read? Or does it really not matter how hard I work? Thanks

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  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    That's a tough one and really you are down to using perceived exertion and a comparison to a different cardio activity that can give you a reasonable estimate.

    Can you run for the same duration/exertion? Use Runners World calculator.
    Can you row a Concept2 rower for the same duration/exertion - use their calorie calculator.
    Can you use an indoor bike trainer with a power meter?

    Yes it definitely matters how hard you are working for calorie burns, I just did a steady one hour ride and burned 576 net calories, maximal effort for an hour for me would be 724 net calories (25% difference).
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
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    If you have a smart phone you can buy a heart-rate monitor that connects to it and use the calorie estimate from an app. The accuracy is reasonable for sustained workouts in zone 2 or higher.

    (I like the HRMs from Wahaoo fitness.)
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    Level of exertion matters, for sure. And ellipticals could have fairly drastically different calorie burns depending on how they're designed, setup, and maintained. (I've found some ellipticals absolutely crushing with a really high, strenuous step, and others are easy and smooth like butter.)

    But don't overthink it. Just find a burn that "feels" right relative to some other more easily measured exercises and use that. If you find your rate of progress differs from expected, then adjust up or down to compensate.
  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 511 Member
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    I feel I work so much harder on the Ellip. then I do on anything else, I sweat like a pig on there, but hardly sweat at all on the bike or treadmill, so it's hard to compare... I guess as long as I keep losing I'll go along with what it tells me on here.

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