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This is not a question about eating exercise calories!

jrock317
jrock317 Posts: 26
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Isn't it refreshing? haha

Ok here it goes...Please enlighten me.

If I workout on the treadmill for 15 mins, the elliptical for 15 mins, and the bike for 15 mins and maintain a heart rate at 150-160 on all three machines am I burning the same amount of calories on each machine?

I guess I'm wondering why "people" say that "you" burn more calories on a bike than on a treadmill. What if I'm running my a** off on the treadmill yet slowly peddling on a bike?

I hope this isn't a completely silly question.

Replies

  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Theoretically, it is possible to work at equal intensities on 3 different machines and burn the same number of calories on each one.

    Realistically, it is not likely to happen. It has been shown that some machines have a lower perceived exertion rate than others--in other words you will be working at a higher "actual" intensity, but it will "feel" like you are working at the same level as on something else.

    The most likely scenario is that you will burn more running on the treadmill than doing the elliptical and more on the treadmill and elliptical than you will on the bike. Again, in theory, it is possible that you could train yourself to be so proficient on the bike that you could produce an "actual" effort equal to that on the treadmill. However, in reality, not many people can do that.
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Just think about how much (or little) work your body does at each activity.

    Dreadmill = legs and arms (hopefully) pumping hard so you don't end up getting thrown off the back like George Jetson

    Elliptical = lots of stuff moving, but sort of forced/assisted by the machine itself

    Bike = sitting on your butt and moving your legs (not to say it easy per se)
  • jrock317
    jrock317 Posts: 26
    Hmmm, I guess I'm still confused because I do keep my heart rate around 155 while on each of the machines (except when I'm walking for warmup).

    Am I still burning more on a certain machine?
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Hmmm, I guess I'm still confused because I do keep my heart rate around 155 while on each of the machines (except when I'm walking for warmup).

    Am I still burning more on a certain machine?

    Probably--this is where HRMs have some accuracy flaws. Not super huge, but, by the end of the workout, the elevated HR does not truly reflect the intensity of your effort--the HR is higher compared to the actual work being performed.
  • jrock317
    jrock317 Posts: 26
    Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. :)
  • BeeElMarvin
    BeeElMarvin Posts: 2,086 Member
    Heck if I know...
  • SassyCalyGirl
    SassyCalyGirl Posts: 1,932 Member
    get a HRM then you will know!
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    get a HRM then you will know!

    Lol, the OP said they had one. And their HR was the same on all three machines.
  • junyr
    junyr Posts: 416 Member
    Hmmm, I guess I'm still confused because I do keep my heart rate around 155 while on each of the machines (except when I'm walking for warmup).

    Am I still burning more on a certain machine?

    Probably--this is where HRMs have some accuracy flaws. Not super huge, but, by the end of the workout, the elevated HR does not truly reflect the intensity of your effort--the HR is higher compared to the actual work being performed.

    Garmin is trying to work with this in some of their newer products. They've teamed with http://www.firstbeat.fi/ to get stress and intensity calculated into their units and factor that in with heart-rate to give more accurate calorie burn info and gives you a "Training effect" number that lets you know if your workout is not effective, maintains current cardio level, improving or overtraining. The website is not .fi due to it them being based in Finland if I recall correctly.
  • raevynn
    raevynn Posts: 666 Member
    I think I would just trust the HRM calorie burn, and figure that you can do whatever exercise you enjoy the most (dread the least?) to get that result.
  • feistymoon
    feistymoon Posts: 152
    I love this question! I was thinking the same thing yesterday and came to the conclusion that heart rate monitoring is the way forward. I have one in it's box still and am finally getting round to setting it up. Not so sure now though given the above comments?
  • junyr
    junyr Posts: 416 Member

    Garmin is trying to work with this in some of their newer products. They've teamed with http://www.firstbeat.fi/ to get stress and intensity calculated into their units and factor that in with heart-rate to give more accurate calorie burn info and gives you a "Training effect" number that lets you know if your workout is not effective, maintains current cardio level, improving or overtraining. The website is not .fi due to it them being based in Finland if I recall correctly.

    Here's a link that speaks of firstbeat specifically to garmin units...

    http://www.firstbeat.fi/consumers/heart-rate-monitors/garmin-heart-rate-monitors
  • jrock317
    jrock317 Posts: 26

    Garmin is trying to work with this in some of their newer products. They've teamed with http://www.firstbeat.fi/ to get stress and intensity calculated into their units and factor that in with heart-rate to give more accurate calorie burn info and gives you a "Training effect" number that lets you know if your workout is not effective, maintains current cardio level, improving or overtraining. The website is not .fi due to it them being based in Finland if I recall correctly.

    Here's a link that speaks of firstbeat specifically to garmin units...

    http://www.firstbeat.fi/consumers/heart-rate-monitors/garmin-heart-rate-monitors


    Omg! I want one of these! I guess I'm not the only one who wonders this considering Garmin is creating a product for it! Thanks so much! Gotta love technology!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Hmmm, I guess I'm still confused because I do keep my heart rate around 155 while on each of the machines (except when I'm walking for warmup).

    Am I still burning more on a certain machine?

    Probably--this is where HRMs have some accuracy flaws. Not super huge, but, by the end of the workout, the elevated HR does not truly reflect the intensity of your effort--the HR is higher compared to the actual work being performed.

    Garmin is trying to work with this in some of their newer products. They've teamed with http://www.firstbeat.fi/ to get stress and intensity calculated into their units and factor that in with heart-rate to give more accurate calorie burn info and gives you a "Training effect" number that lets you know if your workout is not effective, maintains current cardio level, improving or overtraining. The website is not .fi due to it them being based in Finland if I recall correctly.

    The firstbeat technology is also used in the top-end HRMs from Suunto-- T6d model. It relies by beat-by-beat analysis of heart rate. Firstbeat sells a standalone software package that can be used with any model that has the capability of R-R analysis -- including some Polar models.

    Firstbeat claims that they can capture the effects of both EPOC and cardiovascular drift. I have no way to independently verify that, as I have never had $400 of disposable income to puchase a T6d. I have read their published research, but that always sounds good.

    I did correspond with one of their techs on some of these subjects back in 2009. To be honest, even though they were very friendly and wrote in english, the answers still didn't make any sense. I personally think that the HRM manufacturers are concerned 98% with fitness training and about 2% with calorie burn. They include calorie estimating features because they know it drives sales, but I don't think they care all that much.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member

    Garmin is trying to work with this in some of their newer products. They've teamed with http://www.firstbeat.fi/ to get stress and intensity calculated into their units and factor that in with heart-rate to give more accurate calorie burn info and gives you a "Training effect" number that lets you know if your workout is not effective, maintains current cardio level, improving or overtraining. The website is not .fi due to it them being based in Finland if I recall correctly.

    Here's a link that speaks of firstbeat specifically to garmin units...

    http://www.firstbeat.fi/consumers/heart-rate-monitors/garmin-heart-rate-monitors


    Omg! I want one of these! I guess I'm not the only one who wonders this considering Garmin is creating a product for it! Thanks so much! Gotta love technology!

    The Suuto T6d uses the same techology, as does the Polar RS800x. One caveat with Garmin is that their chest strap transmitters are not compatible with Polar receivers, so your Garmin chest strap won't work with most gym equipment (unless they have changed things--that was true a year ago).

    Firstbeat also sells a standalone software that analyzes data from a top-end HRM and provides much more information than any of the manufacturers.

    Just be aware that these are not "plug and play" devices. There is a learning curve.
  • junyr
    junyr Posts: 416 Member
    Hmmm, I guess I'm still confused because I do keep my heart rate around 155 while on each of the machines (except when I'm walking for warmup).

    Am I still burning more on a certain machine?

    Probably--this is where HRMs have some accuracy flaws. Not super huge, but, by the end of the workout, the elevated HR does not truly reflect the intensity of your effort--the HR is higher compared to the actual work being performed.

    Garmin is trying to work with this in some of their newer products. They've teamed with http://www.firstbeat.fi/ to get stress and intensity calculated into their units and factor that in with heart-rate to give more accurate calorie burn info and gives you a "Training effect" number that lets you know if your workout is not effective, maintains current cardio level, improving or overtraining. The website is not .fi due to it them being based in Finland if I recall correctly.

    The firstbeat technology is also used in the top-end HRMs from Suunto-- T6d model. It relies by beat-by-beat analysis of heart rate. Firstbeat sells a standalone software package that can be used with any model that has the capability of R-R analysis -- including some Polar models.

    Firstbeat claims that they can capture the effects of both EPOC and cardiovascular drift. I have no way to independently verify that, as I have never had $400 of disposable income to puchase a T6d. I have read their published research, but that always sounds good.

    I did correspond with one of their techs on some of these subjects back in 2009. To be honest, even though they were very friendly and wrote in english, the answers still didn't make any sense. I personally think that the HRM manufacturers are concerned 98% with fitness training and about 2% with calorie burn. They include calorie estimating features because they know it drives sales, but I don't think they care all that much.

    I wasn't trying to argue the point. I wanted merely to illustrate that these types of things are being looked into by the "powers that be". Even if it is geared more toward training rather than calorie counting, I think it's still a step in the right direction and a level above a HRM that simply does the math for you to get the calorie number based on existing formulas.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Hmmm, I guess I'm still confused because I do keep my heart rate around 155 while on each of the machines (except when I'm walking for warmup).

    Am I still burning more on a certain machine?

    Probably--this is where HRMs have some accuracy flaws. Not super huge, but, by the end of the workout, the elevated HR does not truly reflect the intensity of your effort--the HR is higher compared to the actual work being performed.

    Garmin is trying to work with this in some of their newer products. They've teamed with http://www.firstbeat.fi/ to get stress and intensity calculated into their units and factor that in with heart-rate to give more accurate calorie burn info and gives you a "Training effect" number that lets you know if your workout is not effective, maintains current cardio level, improving or overtraining. The website is not .fi due to it them being based in Finland if I recall correctly.

    The firstbeat technology is also used in the top-end HRMs from Suunto-- T6d model. It relies by beat-by-beat analysis of heart rate. Firstbeat sells a standalone software package that can be used with any model that has the capability of R-R analysis -- including some Polar models.

    Firstbeat claims that they can capture the effects of both EPOC and cardiovascular drift. I have no way to independently verify that, as I have never had $400 of disposable income to puchase a T6d. I have read their published research, but that always sounds good.

    I did correspond with one of their techs on some of these subjects back in 2009. To be honest, even though they were very friendly and wrote in english, the answers still didn't make any sense. I personally think that the HRM manufacturers are concerned 98% with fitness training and about 2% with calorie burn. They include calorie estimating features because they know it drives sales, but I don't think they care all that much.

    I wasn't trying to argue the point. I wanted merely to illustrate that these types of things are being looked into by the "powers that be". Even if it is geared more toward training rather than calorie counting, I think it's still a step in the right direction and a level above a HRM that simply does the math for you to get the calorie number based on existing formulas.

    Sorry--me neither. I thought I was just adding more information onto your comment. Sorry if it didn't come across that way.

    Even my comment that "I don't think they care that much about calories" was not meant to be perjorative against the HRM manufacturers. I have just found that--when you correspond with them or read their manuals, etc--they just don't seem to give the calorie-estimating feature of their HRMs the same level of importance as the average person who buys their products. I didn't mean to imply they were being dishonest--just that they were much more interested in the performance aspects of the devices.
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