CC estimates way above cardio machines

Hi

 

Im sorry about this, I know this has been answered before but I am still very confused. Most people seem to think that CC is below their cardio machine however I have the opposite problem. For example, I just did 30 minutes on a stationary bike at an average 150 watts. It told me I burnt 110 calories but CC put me in at over 300. Which should I believe?

 I also did 40 mins of circuits and CC has me down for 525 calories which seems very high, should I trust that?  Is this becuase I am so overweight? Im 5'6" and 226 pounds?

 

 

 

i would trust cc as there pretty accurate and exercise machnines arent really accurate at telling you how much cals you burned. You should try and get a watch that tells you how much cals you burned. THere fairly accurate

I don't understand why people here think that the estimates here are better than a machine at the gym.  Here, you input one number for your level of effort, the amount of time you spent doing the exercise, your age and weight and it spits out a number.  And the level of effort is often just a guess based on perceived effort.  The machines I use at the gym, ask for my age, weight, constantly monitor my heart rate, the rate at which I am running, cycling, or ellipticalling (is that even a word?), the amount of energy I am expending in watts and uses all of this constantly updated information to give me the amount of calories burned.  How is the number here supposed to be more accurate than that?  I can understand if your machine doesn't take your age and weight and doesn't measure your heart rate, but a modern machine at a gym that does?  That just doesn't make any sense at all.

Thats' weird because it the opposite for me.  The machines always estimate more than CC.  For example an hour running on CC for is usually about 75-100 calories less than the machines say.

most people use machines that don't have an input for weight, from what I understand.

Original Post by suiteraj:

Hi

 

Im sorry about this, I know this has been answered before but I am still very confused. Most people seem to think that CC is below their cardio machine however I have the opposite problem. For example, I just did 30 minutes on a stationary bike at an average 150 watts. It told me I burnt 110 calories but CC put me in at over 300. Which should I believe?

I also did 40 mins of circuits and CC has me down for 525 calories which seems very high, should I trust that? Is this becuase I am so overweight? Im 5'6" and 226 pounds?

 

 

 

 Not all 40 minute circuit sessions are equal, even if you had a twin doing them right next to you. Calories burned really depend on your effort. And that doesn't mean going faster or slower. Sometimes going SLOWER can actually require more effort-- such as in weight lifting, because you have to use your muscles instead of momentum to keep the weight from rising and falling too fast.

The only way you will get a really accurate measure is if you get a heart rate monitor, or if the machine comes with one. 

Like not all forty minute workouts are the same neither are heart monitors. The algorithms used to calculate calories are based on averages and they can be very erratic based on specific physiological factors.

If an accurate accounting of calories are important I would suggest buying a personal trainer heart monitor. These typically come with a sports strap that goes around your chest and a transmitter that transmits your heart rate to a watch. T

hese are different than the monitors that you find on machines because you are able to also test your sitting heart rate and your max heart rate which is used to calculate something similar to your VO2max (ml x min -1 x kg-1), which is typically used as a descriptor of your own aerobic/cardio vascular fitness.

I use a polar personal trainer heart monitor it retailed for about $200 a year ago so it is probably cheaper. Anyway, it usually calculates my caloric expenditure at about 200-250 calories lower than the Nautilus Elliptical Trainer (where I can enter my age, weight, and it monitors my heart) in a fifty minute workout.

 

I would suggest getting a heart rate monitior.  If you look for good sales they are not that expensive.  I managed to get mine during REI's sidewalk sale and spent under $30.  If you look up spin on here it says 1100 something for an hour.  I wore my monitor today and my spin class was 50+ minutes long.  I checked the calories burned when I got to my truck (just over 60 min on the monitor) and it said I had burned over 1500 calories.  I think a monitor is the best way to go.  You can put in your exact information and since it is constantly monitoring your heart rate you get an accurate reading.

Thank you guys that is very helpful. Guess Ill have to have a look out for personal monitor. Appreciate it.