Cardio.. What actually am I burning?

[birdlegs]

First off, how accurate are those calorie readers on a treadmill? I am doing 3.5 MPH on an 8% grade and it says I'm burning 100 cals per 10 mins. Does this seem accurate?

Next, am I actually burning calories? I have read stuff like you are only burning off glycogen, especially if you have food in your stomach.

Somebody, please clear the tape on this.

TIA

[Serpentarius]

No they are not accurate, figure about 80 calories per mile traveled. Dont worry about glycogen, dont worry about calories used, just calories eaten, and adjust based on results.
Dont listen to the bro fasting myths on using fat or glycogen, its all useless information, and overcomplicated broscience that trainers THRIVE on helpless people. You constantly use both. If you want to burn pure fat, sitting on the couch will do that, the less active you are the more fat you use, less glycogen. The harder you exercise, more glycogen.

[birdlegs]

No they are not accurate, figure about 80 calories per mile traveled. Dont worry about glycogen, dont worry about calories used, just calories eaten, and adjust based on results.
Dont listen to the bro fasting myths on using fat or glycogen, its all useless information, and overcomplicated broscience that trainers THRIVE on helpless people. You constantly use both. If you want to burn pure fat, sitting on the couch will do that, the less active you are the more fat you use, less glycogen. The harder you exercise, more glycogen.

Thanks. I don't look at the miles, just the time. Are you basing the 80 cals on an incline treadmill, or just flat? At 8%, I really feel like I'm working pretty hard. Normal walking almost seems useless.

[DarkSideHome]

What is your heart rate while working out? Take your average heart rate, duration and your weight and plug them into any online heart rate calories calculator.

If you want an accurate measure then invest in a heart/calorie monitor with a chest strap that takes your weight into consideration. Although still not accurate, it is much more accurate than any reading from gym machines, and you can see how much u r burning when lifting, etc

[birdlegs]

What is your heart rate while working out? Take your average heart rate, duration and your weight and plug them into any online heart rate calories calculator.

If you want an accurate measure then invest in a heart/calorie monitor with a chest strap that takes your weight into consideration. Although still not accurate, it is much more accurate than any reading from gym machines, and you can see how much u r burning when lifting, etc

Probably a good idea. Thanks

[Serpentarius]

Thanks. I don't look at the miles, just the time. Are you basing the 80 cals on an incline treadmill, or just flat? At 8%, I really feel like I'm working pretty hard. Normal walking almost seems useless.

Incline is overrated, useless and not needed and worrying about little things like incline is overthinkign, just use a normal surface, about 1.5 degrees to simulate real world flat road, or 2.0 for wind. There is never a need to work hard in the gym to burn calories, if you are doing cardio, steady state is the only thing that needs to be done since if someone wanted to get better at actual running, they should go running.
Cardio machines = use calories only

You are right though, walking is pretty useless for time spent to use calories, best off just not eating a few calories.
I always get a crack out of the fatties at the gym cranking the incline up to max and holding on for dear life.

[birdlegs]

Do you agree with this calculator?

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/...p?exercise=193

[birdlegs]

Incline is overrated, useless and not needed and worrying about little things like incline is overthinkign, just use a normal surface, about 1.5 degrees to simulate real world flat road, or 2.0 for wind. There is never a need to work hard in the gym to burn calories, if you are doing cardio, steady state is the only thing that needs to be done since if someone wanted to get better at actual running, they should go running.
Cardio machines = use calories only

You are right though, walking is pretty useless for time spent to use calories, best off just not eating a few calories.
I always get a crack out of the fatties at the gym cranking the incline up to max and holding on for dear life.

I have read you burn as much as 60% more calories on an incline. I want more bang for my buck. If my calcs are right, I have been burning 300 calories per day by doing incline treadmill (30 mins at 3.5 mph on 8% grade, and really enjoying it. Being 46 yrs old, hopefully my heart is liking it too

[cmrock207]

Kind of like what Serp said - If you're looking to burn calories, I would start w/ the food you're eating. Reduce calories that way. It's a lot easier to eat 80 less calories than it is to travel a mile.

That's not to say "Don't do cardio." If you want to do cardio, that's fine, but do it for the cardiovascular benefit or because you enjoy it, rather than the calorie burning benefit. Look at whatever calories are burned during as a bonus.

[birdlegs]

Kind of like what Serp said - If you're looking to burn calories, I would start w/ the food you're eating. Reduce calories that way. It's a lot easier to eat 80 less calories than it is to travel a mile.

That's not to say "Don't do cardio." If you want to do cardio, that's fine, but do it for the cardiovascular benefit or because you enjoy it, rather than the calorie burning benefit. Look at whatever calories are burned during as a bonus.

I'm doing as a bonus, but I would still like to know how many I am burning. A couple times when I at at maintenance, I did extra cardio to make up for it. Made me feel better too. Guess a HR monitor is the only way, like somebody said.

[Serpentarius]

I have read you burn as much as 60% more calories on an incline. I want more bang for my buck. If my calcs are right, I have been burning 300 calories per day by doing incline treadmill (30 mins at 3.5 mph on 8% grade, and really enjoying it. Being 46 yrs old, hopefully my heart is liking it too

maybe another 5% max, do you know how calories are used?

[birdlegs]

maybe another 5% max, do you know how calories are used?

Nope. Don't know anything about them. All I know is how to count to 2,000 calories, lift weights and do cardio.

[Serpentarius]

Nope. Don't know anything about them. All I know is how to count to 2,000 calories, lift weights and do cardio.

calorie usage is more or less based on total oxygen consumption, there are many many things that happen on the molecular scale which arent too relevant to worry about. But the bigger oxygen deficit you can create by exercising, the body needs to make up for, which is why sprinting 300m uses more calories than walking 300m. There is still an old argument of people that believe walking 1 mile equals running 1 mile in terms of energy expenditure but there is a increase in oxygen consumption, like a car going faster and faster it requires more energy to push it at faster speeds.

[Shayded]

calorie usage is more or less based on total oxygen consumption, there are many many things that happen on the molecular scale which arent too relevant to worry about. But the bigger oxygen deficit you can create by exercising, the body needs to make up for, which is why sprinting 300m uses more calories than walking 300m. There is still an old argument of people that believe walking 1 mile equals running 1 mile in terms of energy expenditure but there is a increase in oxygen consumption, like a car going faster and faster it requires more energy to push it at faster speeds.

The reason for this actually comes down to physics. Travelling the same distance uses the same amount of "work" regardless of speed, but because running takes FAR more complicated muscle groups coordinating with each other, there is FAR more movement within the body than just moving forward. This is the primary reason you burn more running than walking. If people could walk exactly the same motions at sprinting speeds, it wouldn't matter how fast you went. But the human body gets less efficient the faster we move.

[sourmash1973]

calorie usage is more or less based on total oxygen consumption, there are many many things that happen on the molecular scale which arent too relevant to worry about. But the bigger oxygen deficit you can create by exercising, the body needs to make up for, which is why sprinting 300m uses more calories than walking 300m. There is still an old argument of people that believe walking 1 mile equals running 1 mile in terms of energy expenditure but there is a increase in oxygen consumption, like a car going faster and faster it requires more energy to push it at faster speeds.

OP, here is a good article explaining what Serpentarius is saying. http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article...aloricexp.html

Scroll down to the part "How is caloric expenditure measured?". The whole article is a good read though.

[AncientYouth]

The best compromise for me is fast power walking, I have been doing 9 mile walks at 4.5 mph lately, what's good is that it doesn't impact on recovery much, but burns significant calories and really works the legs and glutes