Training & Nutrition - Is the ellipitical trainer accurate?

I don't see how it's possible for me to burn 800 calories in an hour without feeling it. The only difference between the elliptical trainer and the treadmill should be that there's no impact on bones and joints, but there's no way that I could burn that many calories on a treadmill or stairmaster. Can someone please explain how the ellipitical trainer works? And I know that this isn't a case of one inaccurate ellipitical, because all of the ones I have used are like that.

You have good feelings. It isn't possible to burn 800 calories in an hour without feeling it. The values presented are a lot higher than reality.

People like to see high numbers.

Does it factor in your age, gender, and weight? If not then most definetly it is just spitting out a generic number for cals burnt. Most of the time they produce nice high numbers so you feel good about your workout and keep coming back and keep paying you monthly dues. Later.

I have run, done the elliptical and biked, and the eliptical always feels like more of a workout than just about anything else. Since you have resistance on both the up and downward strokes, I can see why it would be more of a workout than a bike and even the treadmill. But one thing to consider is that not using your hands is even more of a workout since you have to use your legs to balance as well. Who knows what those calories burned values correspond to(hands or no hands). I guess you could always call the manufacturer.

I can do 800 cal in an hour on the elliptical (verified by HRM) but I have to go HARD which is what I think you mean by feeling it. I think the readout on the machine averages about 20% high even after putting in age and weight. That would make a 800 calorie workout about 640 calories which, for me is a pretty leisurely pace.

I can do 800 cal in an hour on the elliptical (verified by HRM) but I have to go HARD which is what I think you mean by feeling it. I think the readout on the machine averages about 20% high even after putting in age and weight. That would make a 800 calorie workout about 640 calories which, for me is a pretty leisurely pace.

thanks, that's really good to know. Too bad most of the people I see at the gym don't know that...

I only use it to gauge my workout for that machine. I usually hit between 800-900 calories, so I just use it as motivation for the next time, not as something to brag about or put into any calorie counter diet.

As part of my gym routine, I do 32 minutes on the elliptical and always try and hit 700 calories burnt. Now, I'm going pretty hard (70-80 rpm), I'm in my 30s and I have it on the 16 (out of 20) difficulty setting. I don't think I'm *really* burning 700 calories, but it's my milestone/goal. And when I'm done, I'm totally bathed in sweat and ready to hit the stair master.