November 6th, 2009
Your Cardio Machine Is Lying To You11 Comments
Did you know your cardio machine has been lying to you all these years? Yep it has. You know when your cardio machine tells you how many calories you’ve burned? Turns out it is way, way off. The video below will prove it. 
Please don’t forget to share your thoughts by leaving a Comment. And have a great weekend!
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11 Responses to “Your Cardio Machine Is Lying To You”
3:49 pm
this is a ridiculous point Scott !
cardio machines obviously don't measure the calories you burn, they calculate them based on your weight, speed, incline and duration.
Granted, some are more accurate than others, but this was one of your less enlightening posts.
I generally learn from your posts, so keep up the good work.
Everyone says something dumb now and then, so you are forgiven
4:04 pm
Hi Scott,
My training partner and I do not even use a treadmill. Basically we use free weights with some supersets using cable machines (mainly for stretch), minimal rest between sets, routine finished in about one hour. We end the routine with a set of Tabata interval swings for the four minutes, which really gets the heart and breathing rate way up. What I have found is on the treadmill, if one does a set of Tabata intervals for the four minutes, the machine shows that you burn more calories than a 20 minute slog on the machine. How accurate it is one does not know, but those four minutes leave you exhausted (if done properly with maximum effort, incline and speed). So in four minutes one can get off the treadmill and rather spend the next 16 minuites doing some free weights!!
4:45 pm
Scott, we are pretty much aware that the machines are "generically" programmed. For a truer indication of caloric burn, I use a Polar HR monitor that is personally set up to best indicate "my" calorie burn. Most machines have a HR monitor, but the Polar works so much better. I don't focus on calories but if I am on the machine at least I know what I am looking at on my wrist is somewhat accurate!
5:15 pm
Nice experiment Scott. I knew you could mess with pedometers, but didn't realize the cardio machines did the same thing.
8:58 pm
Yep, same is true for spin bikes. But for me the opposite direction – my Polar F11 HRM which is calibrated with my true (independently tested) VO2 max score, height, weight, etc, will always show that my REAL calorie burn after an intense interval training session was at least 40% higher than the one shown on the machine. To me, if you want to know what's going on inside and maximise your fitness, get some sort of quality HRM, calibrate properly, and also get a base metabolic rate test. Can be very motivating, and help point out areas of potential efficiency gain in your workout.
9:24 pm
Hi Mark,
I'm sorry that you construed my message in my video as being "dumb." I was merely emphasizing the point that the number of calories burned as displayed by a cardio machine during a workout is not accurate. Not everyone realizes this.
My second point was to remind people that most of their day is not spent exercising, so they should do everything possible to set their body up as a fat burning machine to burn calories at a higher rate when they're not exercising. And to not worry so much about the # of calories they are burning during the actual workout. A lot of people don't think this way.
Believe it or not, not everyone knows this information.
Thank you for your comments.
Scott
9:26 pm
Great comments Enrico. I love doing Tabata intervals myself and I'm glad to see you training this way. Are you and your training partner getting good results?
Scott
9:27 pm
Hi Sandra, thanks for the comment. I was going to mention the HR monitor in my video but I forgot to. The good thing about the HR monitor is that you can wear it all day long and get a good idea of how many calories you are burning the entire day.
Thanks for sharing!
Scott
9:29 pm
Thanks Donna. Yeah for my interval training I usually stick to sprinting on a track, or jump rope, or some bodyweight circuits. The only time I'll mess with the treadmill is if it's not great weather outside, then I'll do some incline sprints on the treadmill.
Thanks!
Scott
9:31 pm
Hi Melinda – great points. I've never been on a spin bike, but figured they would work much the same way. I have had my base metabolic rate tested when I worked in a hospital which is always fun to see.
Thanks for sharing!
Scott
2:26 am
Hey,
Chris from Polar USA here – Great video. And nice to see a few people above counting on their Polar for reliable readings.
I'm also a strong believer in also focusing on "non exercise" calorie expenditure.
Chris @ Polar USA
Twitter.com/chrispolarusa
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