Target HR/calorie counters on machines

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grace159

0
How accurate are the calorie counters on workout machines (I put in my age and weight) Should I focus more on my heart rate as a guide to how many calories I am burning or what the machine says. For example if I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes that is appx 300+ calories, but when I am on the stair mill for 30 I feel like I am working harder and getting more of a work out, but it only says I have burned about 150 calories for the same amount of time. On the other hand, if I am on the eliptical for 30 minutes that also calculates to appx. 300 calories and I hardly feel tired or like I have worked out at all. Has anyone else ever encounterd this?
Any input on this would be much appreciated.

By the way, my goal is to lose fat and gain muscle.
Thanks!
 
I'd be interested in this as well.

The treadmill I use asks for my weight input...after a session it returns a total caloric burn of 488. Whereas, my heart rate monitor (chest strap/watch combo programmed with age, sex, and weight) gives me a caloric burn of 838.

The treadmill gets my heart rate from the chest strap, too. Both watch and treadmill read the same heart rate...only the calories and personal data input are way different.
 
Which of those machines have you used the most often? My guess would be that the one you use more often would be the one that would be more difficult to get your heart rate up. That said, if you are able to monitor your heart rate, it might be an idea to do some interval training with it. That is, get your heart rate to 85% of max for x minutes, then let it recover to say 65% for y minutes, and repeat. If you do that the calories should take care of themselves. Doing it this way will give you a better idea of how hard you've worked rather than the final calorie count on the machine or heart rate monitor.
 
The simplest thing to do is google max heart rate, calculate yours (usually 220-age, but it's better to work it out based on your resting pulse), then use a percentage of that as your target heart rate. I find the hand sensors on my equipment pretty shady and unreliable.

If you simply press your index and middle finger against your throat for 6 seconds and count off your pulse, then multiply by 10, you can get a pretty accurate reading of your heart rate mid-exercise. As for the calorie counters, they're generally wildly inaccurate, so I wouldn't worry about them. If you must know, google some formulas and use them to reason it out, based on your body size, composition and the intensity of the exercise (the % of MHR, as mentioned).
 
Thanks for thre responses. I guess basically what I want to know is as long as my heart rate is up I am burning calories correct? Regardless of what a calorie counter says?
 
I'd say yes - exactly how many calories depends on the individual. (Some have higher heart rates to begin with than others). You might want to find out what your resting heart rate is and go from there.
 
I think the rule of thumb is around 85% of your max heart rate, you won't be able to say a full sentence without taking a breath.
 
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