what is a good amount of calories to try to burn a day?

Options
Rhondaj46
Rhondaj46 Posts: 17
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, I have never joined a gym before, and I worked out about 1 hour, I burned a total of 300 calories. This is starting the 3rd week, working out and I want to get the maximum calorie burn in an hour, any suggestions. I walked on the treadmill at a pace of 3.5 for a little over a mile and burned 100, I rode the stationary bike and burned 100 and did the elliptical for 10 minutes( I cant seem to last more than 10 minutes on it) and it showed 100 calories burned(not sure if that is right, sounds a bit much for 10 minutes) does it sound right to you? I also got on the row machine for about 5 minutes.

Replies

  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
    Options
    Sounds really low unless you are a very petite person. I'm 5'8 and BMI 21.5 and I burn 550-580 cals in 55 minutes on the elliptical.

    Any amount of calories is good. It is recommended you do 30 minutes of cardio exercise 3x a week (heart and stroke association) and if you have the time to do 1hour a day excellent. Just be sure to eat back at least ½ of your exercise calories to keep your metabolism from stalling out.
  • ruthiebabe78
    ruthiebabe78 Posts: 20
    Options
    Zumba has a ridiculous amount of calorie burn in an hour workout. I had no idea till I had my 1st class this past Saturday. The class was 53 minutes and based on the intensity between moderate to intense the calories burned were between 813-900 + calories in 53 minutes! WOWSERS!!!! It was pretty easy and I EVERYONE sweated buckets! I'm sure I looked like a fool, but it was amazing.

    My personal trainer did say out of the machines, you will burn more calories on the elliptical, then the treadmill and the lowest would be the stationary bike. HTH!
  • jsteffen80
    jsteffen80 Posts: 136
    Options
    Whatever you are burning this week, strive to burn more next week. Keep pushing yourself harder.

    Every week my goal is to have better sessions than the week before... Go harder on the weights, pedal faster on the bike, blast more flights on the stairmill, or just burn more calories in general.
  • Seanb_us
    Seanb_us Posts: 322 Member
    Options
    Hi,

    Track your food here on myfitnesspal and let that be a guide to your workout. When I go to the gym, I try to burn more than 500 calories ... bearing in mind that the calorie counters for exercise on the gym equipment and on myfitnesspal.com are wobbly at best. If I use the elliptical for an hour on a high setting, I can usually approach 1,000 calories. It's an efficient workout, and I like that, even if the real calorie burn is 75% of that. I also try to use weights or machines for 30 minutes, too.

    If I notice I've eaten a fair number of calories for the day, or fear I will run out of available calories to eat, I try to compensate with some gym time.

    Cheers,

    Sean
  • JenGrape
    JenGrape Posts: 32 Member
    Options
    I try to burn a minimum of 450 calories per workout. That being said. I started out just over a year ago on the elliptical and could barely do 10 minutes... Do the elliptical first and then add treadmill to finish out your 45 minutes (or whatever your tme that you're shooting for... ) Then every couple of workouts up the time on the elliptical by 5 minutes. Do it slow! You'll get there! I can now do 65 minutes on the elliptical on interval mode after barely handling 10 minutes on easy mode a year ago! You can do it!! Keep at it!

    I lost 87 lbs last year from using the elliptical for workouts... :) you can do it too!
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
    Options
    I think your focus should be on just doing the exercise that you are capable of doing right now. We are all at different fitness levels. What I can burn in 30 minutes is not a reflection of what someone else could burn in the same 30 minutes. What I'm doing now I certainly could not have done at the beginning of my journey or 6 months ago. As you found from your exercise experience, the elliptical takes more effort for you than walking at 3.5 mph. More effort = higher heart rate = more calories burned. However, if you can't do the elliptical for more than 10 minutes right now (and there's nothing wrong with that), then you would have to spend 2 hours in the gym to burn 500 calories (essentially doing all that you did twice). There's NO REASON to work out 2 hours a day. Work hard for 30-60 minutes a day and you will be doing great. In time, you will be able to exert more effort in those 30-60 minutes and burn more calories. There's no need to rush it. This is a journey. Enjoy the ride.

    For me...I have a workout plan. I do the workout and then I check my HRM to see how many calories I burned. I don't work out until I burn any certain number of calories.
  • Surgtechmom3
    Surgtechmom3 Posts: 8
    Options
    This is always where I stall...

    I love cardio. I could play on the treadmill all day! Lol...but from what I understand, the big changes are in using weights. That helps your body to continue to burn calories well after you're done and showered! Cardio is good and should be done every day. It will make everything stronger!

    You don't have to use heavy weights. Just hand weights to start. You got this!
  • asgard825
    asgard825 Posts: 1,516 Member
    Options
    MFP Calc says almost 600 burned for 45 min on Elliptical--seems high amount.

    Anyone else have a question of the accuracy of the Exercise tool?
  • justle
    justle Posts: 275 Member
    Options
    yeah try out a zumba is a great workout and when you roughly know the moves the burn is great, i went to my 5th class on thursday and really felt like i was getting what i was doing and i racked up a decent 580cals.

    i burn about 100cals per 10 mins on the cross trainer (elliptical) so i tend to go at it by myself for 10 mins then select the interval training/aerobics workout on there for another 10 mins.
  • kruggsy
    kruggsy Posts: 23 Member
    Options
    I love Zumba it's amazing fun and does make you sweat buckets, I have just started doing a 20-30 min session in the mornings before work. I have no idea how many calories it burns, I tend to put it in as high impact aerobics and judging by what ruthie has just said that's probably about right.As well as the calories it does work every muscle including tum and bum ( most important, lol)
    Sorry that doesn't actually answer any question but it was good to come across another Zumba junkie.Ruthie if you really get into it, there are some great home workout dvd's that you can get from the Zumba website.
  • rc630
    rc630 Posts: 310 Member
    Options
    Sounds really low unless you are a very petite person. I'm 5'8 and BMI 21.5 and I burn 550-580 cals in 55 minutes on the elliptical.

    If she burned 100 calories in 10 minutes on the elliptical, wouldn't that be the same as burning 550 calories in 55 minutes? (I'm really not trying to be rude, I just want to make sure the OP considers the amount of time spent on the machine compared to her calories burned)

    I think what would be most beneficial is 30-60 minutes of cardio with at least some moderate exertion. The amount of calories you'll burn will vary, but because you're petite, your burn will be lower than what larger people burn using the machine at the same pace. I would focus on the time and effort rather than the number unless you feel like you are hungry and need to earn as many calories to eat back as possible.
    I think 10 calories a minute is actually kind of high for someone of average height (I'm assuming here), unless you are really going hard. You also have to consider that the machine and MFP don't subtract the calories you burn from your BMR either (meaning that if you had sat still for one hour and burned say 50 calories, or run for an hour and burned 300, you should only "earn" 250 extra calories). I usually estimate my burn to be between 1/2 and 3/4 of what the machine says, depending on how hard I feel I've worked. It's not super scientific, but it helps me make sure I don't eat back too much.
  • H_Factor
    H_Factor Posts: 1,722 Member
    Options
    MFP Calc says almost 600 burned for 45 min on Elliptical--seems high amount.

    Anyone else have a question of the accuracy of the Exercise tool?

    many of MFP's estimates are over-stated. Either discount MFP's estimates by 30-50% or get a HRM so you know what you actually burn.
  • asgard825
    asgard825 Posts: 1,516 Member
    Options
    MFP Calc says almost 600 burned for 45 min on Elliptical--seems high amount.

    Anyone else have a question of the accuracy of the Exercise tool?

    many of MFP's estimates are over-stated. Either discount MFP's estimates by 30-50% or get a HRM so you know what you actually burn.

    Thanks H--But how does a Heart Rate Monitor help? I do have one but I use it to keep an eye on my rate only--
  • Rhondaj46
    Rhondaj46 Posts: 17
    Options
    Thanks everyone for all the helpful post. I will keep working on the numbers
  • mousepaws22
    mousepaws22 Posts: 380 Member
    Options
    To be honest, according to the calorie counters on the machines at the gym 300 calories is about what I burn. I am only 5 foot tall and very overweight so this may make a difference. I've just started a programme put together for me by one of the trainers at my gym and I'm doing intervals on the treadmill, bike, cross trainer and rowing machine- she says this is the best was for me to burn fat. I'm also doing weights (heavier than I expected to start with) and resistance exercises- apparently I need to build muscle to burn more fat, so you might want to think about that. Good luck!
  • Umpire57
    Umpire57 Posts: 389 Member
    Options
    MFP Calc says almost 600 burned for 45 min on Elliptical--seems high amount.

    Anyone else have a question of the accuracy of the Exercise tool?

    many of MFP's estimates are over-stated. Either discount MFP's estimates by 30-50% or get a HRM so you know what you actually burn.

    Thanks H--But how does a Heart Rate Monitor help? I do have one but I use it to keep an eye on my rate only--

    Many of them also have a calorie burn readout. What model do you have?
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    Options
    Only as much as your diet can support. Creating an excessive deficit will eventually lead to a stall.
  • Kim28dav
    Kim28dav Posts: 50
    Options
    I try to workout 5 days a week and I love the elliptical. I push myself just a little harder each time. I usally do about 35-40 min on the elliptical, 15 on treadmill and at least 15 on weights. Several months ago I couldn't do 5 min on the elliptical so I have really improved.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    Options
    I try to workout 5 days a week and I love the elliptical. I push myself just a little harder each time. I usally do about 35-40 min on the elliptical, 15 on treadmill and at least 15 on weights. Several months ago I couldn't do 5 min on the elliptical so I have really improved.

    Feels great, doesn't it?
  • Rhondaj46
    Rhondaj46 Posts: 17
    Options
    I am trying to increase my time on the ellipical every week, last week I did 5 minutes, I did 10 minutes today and that was pushing it. Thanks for the encouragment, I cant wait until I can say I can do 20 to 30 minutes on it.

Categories