You jump on your elliptical and you starting turning the pedals. After what seems like forever, you have managed to tick off 5 miles and burn 400 calories, according to the read out on the machine. That Chinese food you ate last night is finally burned away and you can feel great when you sit down to your salad tonight. But, how do you know the number on the machine is the true number of calories you burned?

If during your workout you increase your heart rate, manage to sweat throughout the workout and need to breathe faster and harder, you can feel good about burning a significant number of calories during your workout. But, the number on the machine is just an estimate and according to experts in the field of fitness, that estimate can vary from machine to machine.

Experts agree that consumers should recognize the difference between the realities of fitness and the expectations. Many people expect they can depend on the calories burned readout as a means of planning their menu for the next day. This is especially true of people who are trying to shed a few pounds. No fitness machine, whether it is an elliptical, treadmill or a stepper can predict how many calories the body truly burned.

How to Make the Estimate More Accurate Whether using an elliptical trainer at home or in the gym, it is important to choose a model that asks for your age and weight before starting a program. If the calories are figured without these two factors, there is sure to be a huge variance between the actual calories burned and those appearing on the readout. How can a machine predict the number of calories burned if it has no idea what type of body the user is working with. Advanced calorie burn readouts will also take heart rate into consideration and adjust the calories burned total based upon the heart rate throughout the workout.

Using the Calories Burned Readout as a Benchmark

The best way to use the calories burned readout on your elliptical machine is as a benchmark for improvement. If you managed to burn off 150 calories without stopping the first time you used the elliptical, write down that number somewhere close to the machine. Over the course of the weeks ahead, notice how the number of calories burned increases while the effort you are putting forth seems to remain the same.

As the body adjusts to working out, you will be able to work longer and harder on the elliptical machine managing to burn more calories with time.

Using an off machine calorie burn calculator can also help gauge performance. If, for some reason, you replace your elliptical machine one day, the readout for the same workout you had been completing on your old elliptical may register as burning fewer calories. If an off machine calculator is used, no matter what machine changes take place, the same formula for calculating calories burned will be used.

No fitness machine will definitely monitor the inner workings of the body precisely. The elliptical machine is no different. Using a generalized math formula for the amount of energy needed to complete a certain exercise, the elliptical calories burned readout will estimate how much energy you used during your time on the machine. This is only a guess, not an absolute.

Are you truly burning the calories that your elliptical
trainer is telling you? We discuss ways to actually get more
accurate information from your workout in this thought
provoking article.

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