Difference between treadmill calorie count vs polar watch count

I recently started working out. I bought a Polar watch to monitor my heartrate and keep track of my routines. I have a question regarding the calorie burn count. Today i noticed the treadmill had a calorie burn count of 150 while my polar watch was telling me 360. Can someone explain this difference to me? why would there be a difference and which one should i follow?

thanks

CH

If the HRM is programmable with your vital stats ( age sex weight height) then its going to be more accurate.  

Machines are not to trusted.  They will never be right.  The factory default is for a male 5'7" and 175 lbs so if this is not you there is no way its accurate.

HRMs are generally more accurate unless you are bp or heart drugs such as beta blockers which limit heart rate. In that case calibrate based on percieved exertion.

Original Post by carlos1234:

I recently started working out. I bought a Polar watch to monitor my heartrate and keep track of my routines. I have a question regarding the calorie burn count. Today i noticed the treadmill had a calorie burn count of 150 while my polar watch was telling me 360. Can someone explain this difference to me? why would there be a difference and which one should i follow?

thanks

CH

 Whoah.  I've never had a machine show a LOWER number than my HRM - ever.  It's always a higher number.  I'd make sure that I had all my stats entered correctly in the HRM - that doesn't sound right.  What was the exercise?  How long, and what intensity?

Original Post by fitmom4life:

Original Post by carlos1234:

 

 Whoah.  I've never had a machine show a LOWER number than my HRM - ever.  It's always a higher number.  I'd make sure that I had all my stats entered correctly in the HRM - that doesn't sound right.  What was the exercise?  How long, and what intensity?

This is why they should never be trusted - I've never had that didn't give a lower  number.  Because we are all different ages, weights, height and sex all our burns are going to vary machine to machine and even day to day.  If you have a HRM use its burn

This is a common issue with heart rate monitors vs machines. There is no one simple answer.

There are long-standing formulas for estimating energy expenditure for walking, running (on the flat or incline), stairclimbing, and stationary cycling (on a machine that measures workload). If you are on a machine made by a major manufacturer (Life Fitness, Precor, Technogym, Star Track, etc), and you correctly input your weight, chances are the calorie readouts will be "accurate" (within the validity of the equations themselves). Machines that do not allow weight input, or do not use standard movements (e.g. ellipticals) may not be as accurate.

A heart rate monitor uses the association between heart rate and oxygen uptake to estimate calorie expenditure. The accuracy of the HRM also depends a great deal on the accuracy of the setup--i.e. the user's weight, resting HR, maximum HR and VO2 max. Heart rate montors do not directly measure calorie expenditure. Anything that affects heart rate (illness, fatigue, stress, temperature, cardiovascular drift) will also make the HRM less accurate.

Thanks to the marketing efforts of the HRM manufacturers, there is a common assumption that HRMs are ALWAYS more accurate than machines, but that is not always the case.

Original Post by dbackerfan:

Original Post by fitmom4life:

Original Post by carlos1234:

 

 Whoah.  I've never had a machine show a LOWER number than my HRM - ever.  It's always a higher number.  I'd make sure that I had all my stats entered correctly in the HRM - that doesn't sound right.  What was the exercise?  How long, and what intensity?

This is why they should never be trusted - I've never had that didn't give a lower  number.  Because we are all different ages, weights, height and sex all our burns are going to vary machine to machine and even day to day.  If you have a HRM use its burn

 Yes, I agree the machines are ALWAYS off.  (I never use those numbers.) But since MOST people do show an (incorrect) higher number on them, I was questioning her setup on her HRM.