Elliptical calories - Help!

cmriverside
cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
edited September 18 in Fitness and Exercise
I LOVE the Elliptical machine: it is by far my favorite cardio - except for this one thing.

How come the Ellipticals vary SOOOO much in the calories burned? One machine says one number, and another machine (same program) says another number. I wish I could figure my own kcals....even the "Calories-Burned" websites fluctuate....?? :huh:

Anyone know the REAL answer - "Fessler", or "PowerfulCreator"??

CM

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    I LOVE the Elliptical machine: it is by far my favorite cardio - except for this one thing.

    How come the Ellipticals vary SOOOO much in the calories burned? One machine says one number, and another machine (same program) says another number. I wish I could figure my own kcals....even the "Calories-Burned" websites fluctuate....?? :huh:

    Anyone know the REAL answer - "Fessler", or "PowerfulCreator"??

    CM
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,788 Member
    You're not alone in thinking this:
    http://www.ellipticaltrainers.com/articles/elliptical-calories.htm

    On top of that, like you said, different websites stated different results for my weight and time I did on the elliptical today. Anywhere from 300-600. I just stick with this website, it's usually close enough -- and hits in the middle.

    I'm still stumped on the fact that any karate type exercise burns over 700 calories an hour. Doesn't seem right either.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    You're not alone in thinking this:
    http://www.ellipticaltrainers.com/articles/elliptical-calories.htm

    Thanks, Marywd,

    I am very obsessed with making my numbers match! :explode: I guess that's one more thing I need to "let go.."
    I'm glad it's not just me.

    I was working HARD to get to 150 calories last night and it took me 35 minutes! That's how I KNEW there was something not right. I was using a machine that lets me adjust my stride, because I have really long legs. On other nights on the same machine, and the same inputs, 45 minutes gives me 400 calories more. How can that be?

    The rep for the machines was in when I was at the gym last week - and of course he swears they're calibrated correctly...differences in individuals...blah, blah, yadda, yadda. The gym employee with him said the :heart: monitors were a nightmare to calibrate as they are always wet and are glued onto the handles, but ducked my question.

    I know it must burn more than the same amount of walking....maybe a bit less than a 5mph jog, but......I don't think 550 calories in 45 minutes? If that's right, I'm getting on it every day!

    ~cm
  • joh2020
    joh2020 Posts: 4
    The one's I use at my gym no matter which one I am on give me 333 calories for 30 minute...I think your 500 may be right for about 45 minutes. My mom just bought one for her house. she was going to buy a more expensive treadmill but the owner of the store told her she would get a better exercise and burn more calories on the elliptical, so she purchased it instead for less money. He said it was because your moving all parts of your body, arms and legs and because of the resistance. When you use a tread mill or run your only resistance is the incline and it does not have the same effects as an elliptical has. Even though when you run it feels like your body is working harder, it doesn't always mean more calories. Trainers always told me to increase the resistance not the time if you are trying to burn more calories..its more effective.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,409 Member
    joh,

    Well, I like your answer. I just really like the elliptical machine and would like to have some accuracy in how many calories I really am burning.

    Thank you so much for your help. Maybe I'll just take an average! I feel better about the numbers, though.

    ~cm
  • rethun01
    rethun01 Posts: 167
    I just bought a heart rate monitor and I couldn't believe the difference in what the machine said I burned and what I ACTUALLY burned.

    I'm going to do some research on it, but I've always been told that your personal :heart: rate monitor is the best source for knowing the number of calories burned. It was an $80 investment, but I say well worth it rather than constantly wondering how many calories I ACTUALLY burned.
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,788 Member
    I just bought a heart rate monitor and I couldn't believe the difference in what the machine said I burned and what I ACTUALLY burned.

    I'm going to do some research on it, but I've always been told that your personal :heart: rate monitor is the best source for knowing the number of calories burned. It was an $80 investment, but I say well worth it rather than constantly wondering how many calories I ACTUALLY burned.

    How does that work? I can go on a 5 mile hike/walk and not raise my heart rate much, but I still should be burning calories.
  • SKINNYPIG
    SKINNYPIG Posts: 25
    I've been looking for a wrist monitor without a chest strap. If this is the kind you purchased, can you tell me its name, manufacturer, and where you purchased it?

    Thanks much.
  • rethun01
    rethun01 Posts: 167
    The one I bought has a watch that you wear, and then I strap that goes around your chest. It basically sits right below your bra line. When you press the start button on the watch it begins counting your heart rate and shows you on the screen of the watch what you're heart rate is. The one I bought also calculates the number of calories you've burned and displays them on the screen.

    I purchased one that came highly recommended from Rissa :tongue: It is a Polar and I believe the model number is an F4. I found it at a local sporting goods store.
  • SKINNYPIG
    SKINNYPIG Posts: 25
    Thanks for your fast reply. You look really great in your picture.:smile: How long have you been part of this website? I am a 49 year old female who has gained weight slowly over the past twenty years and really fast over the last year. I am finding that the site really helps me know how much I am really ingesting in calories and motivates me to get to the gym to help burn them off. Has it helped you, too?
  • katiechakos
    katiechakos Posts: 348 Member
    Rethun, when you say you were surprised at what you actually burned vs what the machine said you burned, was that surprised in a good way or in a bad way? Just curious...
  • rethun01
    rethun01 Posts: 167
    Actually, I've only been a member here for a week. My highest weight I've ever been is 200 lbs when I was 21. Then I went on the South Beach diet and had great success losing 35 lbs. I maintianed that and would fluctuate. I'm 25 now and just got married a month a go. Working out and trying to stick to a low carb diet allowed me to lose only 12 pounds before our wedding after working our for 6 months! My wedding dress hid all my "bad parts" so I'm extremely happy with my pictures, but we're going on our honeymoon to Vegas at the end of December and I want to be able to wear a sexy dress out for NYE! So I joined to start counting calories and really paying attention to what I'm eating and doing. I've been on here for a week. I didn't do an initial weigh in when I started, so I'm not sure how many pounds I've lost this week, but it feels like 2 or 3. My ideal weight is 145lbs, and I'm at 160 right now. I don't know if I'll drop 15 pounds in the next 8 weeks, but I'd love to see how close I can get!

    As for the surprise from the number of calories burned, it was a great surprise! The machine told me I had burned 337 calories and the monitor told me 420. I also wore the monitor this morning during my hour long spinning class and my jaw almost hit the ground when at the end I looked down and saw that I had burned 675 calories! Its pretty fun to watch those calories add up!!
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