How many calories do *you* burn on a cross-trainer?

the cross trainer at the gym tells me i burn 140 kcals in 20 mins

thats on interval level 7!

A personal trainer once told me it's approx 1 cal per 4/5 steps
My usage works out at approx 400 cals per 30 min

It massively depends. The motion varies slightly between brands and models and the commercial ones tend to have higher levels with more resistance and the motion closer to a non - impact version of running. Using your arms either on the arm parts (as opposed to having them stationary) or pumping them in a running style will add to the calorie burn.

For about 90 minutes I'll burn between 900 and 1000 kCal on the gym ones on level 15 out of 25 tracked with a HRM and am normally dripping with sweat. This is closeish to my running figure but slightly lower for the same time and also my HR is about 10 BPM slower on the x-trainer so makes sense.

I can tell that on the ones designed for home use, I won't be working anywhere near as hard and the stride length is much smaller too. Nike+ converts my X-trainer mileage to the equivalent of it in running which is about 1km less every 5km which ties in calories wise what I'd normally burn running for that distance.

Hope that helps.

My answer here will probably end up bordering on rant. I've used crosstrainers or ellipticals for years in the gym. Recently I bought a quality machine for home use. The gym models tended to put me at 500-550 for 45 minutes. When I received my Smooth FItness machine several months ago, my first several workouts per the machine put me at 350 and I was working harder! My Polar HRM however put me at 450. What's ironic is both my wrist unit and machine were working off the exact same transmitter! As I adjusted to the machine, eventually my machine calories reached and then passed the wrist unit as tension increased and today I'm at 670 or so on the machine and 575 on the wrist unit. The machine knows my HR and tension level while the wrist unit only knows my heart rate.

The point here is there are algorithms in both the machines and wrist units that maintain certain assumptions producing dubious results. If the machine is quality, the tension assumption is reduced but not eliminated. So whatever these equipment companies might want to tell you has alot of marketing in it. And what your PT trainer tells you has one part they really don't know and another part you expect an answer and they don't want to make it complicated.

Our only choice is trial and error. Meaning do you best in using, in your case, this thread to come up with an assumed calorie amount, employ that for a while and then based on calories consumed, weight loss results, etc,, adjust it.

I don't know why I had to figure this out coupling the half answers I got from various fitness industry personnel with my own results but that just seems to be the way it is. Good luck.

My answer here will probably end up bordering on rant. I've used crosstrainers or ellipticals for years in the gym. Recently I bought a quality machine for home use. The gym models tended to put me at 500-550 for 45 minutes. When I received my Smooth FItness machine several months ago, my first several workouts per the machine put me at 350 and I was working harder! My Polar HRM however put me at 450. What's ironic is both my wrist unit and machine were working off the exact same transmitter! As I adjusted to the machine, eventually my machine calories reached and then passed the wrist unit as tension increased and today I'm at 670 or so on the machine and 575 on the wrist unit. The machine knows my HR and tension level while the wrist unit only knows my heart rate.

The point here is there are algorithms in both the machines and wrist units that maintain certain assumptions producing dubious results. If the machine is quality, the tension assumption is reduced but not eliminated. So whatever these equipment companies might want to tell you has alot of marketing in it. And what your PT trainer tells you has one part they really don't know and another part you expect an answer and they don't want to make it complicated.

Our only choice is trial and error. Meaning do you best in using, in your case, this thread to come up with an assumed calorie amount, employ that for a while and then based on calories consumed, weight loss results, etc,, adjust it.

I don't know why I had to figure this out coupling the half answers I got from various fitness industry personnel with my own results but that just seems to be the way it is. Good luck.

The explanation is actually quite straightforward. There is no standard movement for an elliptical cross trainer--every manufacturer has their own design. Therefore, there is no standard equation (like we have for running, walking, stairclimbing, stationary cycling on an ergometer) that can be used for estimating calories.

In order to develop an accurate algorithm for estimating calories, each manufacturer would have to develop their own algorithms and do validation testing for each of their machines. Few have the time or resources to do this, so they just "fudge" it by using some other type of calculation --"speed", for example. The only company I know of that does extensive validation testing is Life Fitness, and only for some of their later models. Unfortunately, the most popular model that they sell is a design that is over 11 years old and, to my knowledge, still uses an older software that overestimates by 20%-30%.

Well, here we go again. Cross trainers seem to fall in the same hole as cups tea and table spoons, small apples and my absolute favorit serving size!
i love these exact measures :-)

I use a kettler cross trainer witha heart monitor, setting my age and goal and using the highest setting there is which is a 38 minutes interval with high of 300w magnetic breaking peak and 200 low with a 3 minute in and out pacing.
I burn if I go for 45 minutes, not 38, 4250 kj equals about 1000kcal, 3.4 km distance.

Can I trust that? I dont know, do I trust it? Yes, maybe I cheat myself, but these Kettler machines are pretty much top of the line, have Siemens electronics on board.
Does it really matter as much?
I feel better, I feal healthier. I am diabetic, but witha workout like this I burn of half of my extreme sugar levels any time.

I start with 266 bg, which is not good...but after that I have 120-150.....]

I am not sure if there is a sure method measuring the calories burned, but I know it has a possitive effect on me.

Karsten

Dear lord people get a calorie counting watch I have one after iv been on my cross trainer 60 mins on a hard level I burn 1000 calories!

Anywhere between 800-950 after an hour, but the last 40 minutes my heart rate is up above 160 (never above 180). Level 4 up increments to level 12. It says my pace is around 21kph, but I'm sure that's wrong.

I wouldn't describe myself as fit or unfit, but last time I went to the gym (about five days ago) I burned 471 cals in 30min on fat burn, so wasn't going that fast as you have to keep your heart rate slower than cardio. My friend who is also average can do about 850 in an hour. Obviously if you consider yourself to be someone who exercises very regularly you should do better lol. My friend and I are both 24 and (very) casual gym users.

I have a Cross Trainer at home, everyone seems to be getting greater burns than me, I have it set at level 6-7, but the highest it goes is 8. In about half an hour of using it on 6 it says I burn 50-60 calories, is this right?