elliptical trainer calories burned?

I am SO confused.  We have an elliptical runner and I have been dilligently on it for three weeks now- for about 30-50 minutes at a time.  The most it says I have burned is 267 calories!  Could this be right?  According to the activity thing on this site- it says 600-700 calories an hour..Today, I was on it for 51 minutes and it was 267 calories!  what should I believe?  Could my trainer be callibrated wrong?

Thanks for the help!  Sharon

is it better if you do it at a slower rpm, but higher resistance?

or faster rpm but lower resistance?

the elliptical i was on has this power watts figure also, whats the significance of that? thanks!

Wattage is another way of calculating the energy you're putting out.  1 watt is equal to about 4.2 calories per hour.  So if you sustain a 75 watt pace for 1 hour, you've burned 315 calories.

As for rpms / resistance, the workout will accomplish the same basic goal, but it will change in some regards.  If you focus on low rpms / high resistance, the session will have a focus of strength training.  Your body will need to recruit different muscle fiber types due to the high level of power required.  High rpms / low resistance will focus more on the cardiovascular aspect, and improve endurance.

Hi, I have an elliptical at home, and the "basic" numbers for me, not taking into account weight or anything is that for about 30 minutes it says I burn about 400 calories, with my heart rate at around 140 bpm. 

The elliptical at the gym seems pretty good w/ the calorie estimation to my running comparison.

I usually do a 5K, on an incline of 1 or 2, resistance of 1 or 2. Completing the 5K in about 33-34 minutes gives me about 360 calories burned, which seems pretty reasonable. My heart rate averages about 157-160 bpm -- which seems high still -- but down from the 185-190 heart-beating-out-of-my-chest when I took up jogging/elliptical about a month ago. Not bad for about a 5.9mph pace I guess.

Note that those machines calculate based on a "typical person". If you don't go in and enter your weight and age before starting the workout, the calories burned may not be yours.

Hope this helps,

Evan

I wear a Polar Heart Rate Monitor.  It is set-up for my age, weight, sex, resting heart rate, etc.  The calories burned are calculated for you based on this information.

These are a little expensive ($89 to $200 depending on model) but I have found that I really make the most of every workout.  I saw the reduction in calorie burn when I "slacked off" and the increase when I added intensity. 

I'm a cancer surviver.  I was on a Brain barrier infiltrate that took 3 or 4 days to break down after it had been in my system for 24 hours.  I was not happy with the 3 or 4 day breakdown, so I started working out when they started running the neutrallizing substance.  I used many different methods over the insueing months a.  Walking and recumbant cu=ycle wre the most effective. I found that 20 minutes on the cycle every 2 hrs was the most effictive. I was able to metabolize the chemicals in 1 day in the end.  I mantained a 140/150 pulse for 20 mins.pedal rate was about 100 RPMs and moderate resictance.  You should adjust RepsX resitance to maintain 140   = Pulse.  Works great. Dave

 30 min? 800 calories? not likely!

I recently got a ellipitcal machine and I use it everyday for about an hour!! When I looked at the calories I had burned it was only 37!!! I had my machine on resistance 5! I am confussed because I do 40 mins of brisk walking on my treadmill and acheive 250 calories! How can this be when I feel more work and sweat much more on my ellipitcal?? Is my machine broken!

Ohh I would also like to add that my speed is around 15 on ellipitcal and 3.5 on treadmill!!

i have an eliptical at home and if i work really hard on the highst incline and nearly the hardest tension then i can burn 500 cal in 30 min. If you are working very hard for an hour on your eliptical you have to be burning more than 250. 

try not to ever go by your calorie counter on your treadmil. those are notorious for over estimating calories burned. And if you are trying to seriously track caloires in and out to achieve weight loss you will be seriously disapointed. There are online calorie calculators available for free. I can usually find one by google. They will ask for your weight, your time exercising, resistance, incline, and speed to determine your true caloric expendature.

Happy exercising!

ps. For best results exercise in the morning before you have any carbs so your body will go straight to fat storage for energy. Plus your body burns more calories by converting fat to energy (katos) than it does converting carbs to energy (glucose).