elliptical machine question

[fatguy23]

ok so i've been running pretty avidly here lately, and in 2 miles running at 6mph, it takes 20 minutes and burns around 400 calories depending on which calculator you use, of course this will very depending on how much you weigh, I weigh 239, and that's how much it says it burns. My shins have been hurting here recently so today i decided to do the elliptical machine, I was on the lowest resistance possible just kinda cruising for 40 minutes...the counter on the machine said i burned somewhere around 350 calories, but it didnt ask me my weight or anything like that. Figuring that the machine's estimate wasnt very accurate do to the fact that it didnt take my weight into account i looked online and most of the places i found that actually had a reading for elliptical machines and took weight into account were somewhere in the 800s! the average being around 810. Is this possible?!? Because it didn't feel like I was exerting too much effort on it, I could have easily stayed on another 40 minutes if I had too....and I definately wasn't as tired as I am after 20 minutes on the treadmill...anyways any opinions on whether or not this is a farce would be appreciated! thanks.

 

[Doc Bunkum]

Figuring that the machine's estimate wasnt very accurate do to the fact that it didnt take my weight into account i looked online and most of the places i found that actually had a reading for elliptical machines and took weight into account were somewhere in the 800s!

Keep in mind most of those "calorie burn" estimates are at best guesstimates.

Your body composition plays a big factor, for one thing. A person that's more muscular will burn more calories than someone that's fat. The machines don't account for that.

Keep in mind too that even if you didn't use the machine, your body would still have burned a pile of calories - your RMR.

The machine doesn't account for that either. To get a more accurate number for calories burned, you'd have to subtract your RMR from the reading on the scale.

Something else they didn't tell you - but it's common sense if you think about it.

And what about the tension setting on the thing? If someone had burned 800 calories, I'm betting they had the tension cranked up so tight Superman would have got a hernia trying to move it.

 

[fatguy23]

If someone had burned 800 calories, I'm betting they had the tension cranked up so tight Superman would have got a hernia trying to move it.

That's what I was thinking, I put down 300 just to be on the safe side, any more is good i guess, the scale will let me know tomorrow.