Recommended Reading:
Calculating caloric expenditure with ACSM equations
How the Peloton bike calculates power output (watts)
Lesson plan on bike ergonometry
The accuracy of the ACSM cycle ergonometry equation
Watts calculator for Concept 2 rower
Making sense of calorie-burning claims
Exercise Physiology for Health, Fitness, and Performance
After discussing this in class yesterday, I went to the gym today and put in my age and weight for the elliptical. It was very interesting because in addition to burning less calories, the resistance actually changed as well. The resistance was still set to the level I had it at, but the resistance definitely decreased a little after I put in my age and weight.
I have never really paid too much attention to the calories reported on workout machines since I had been told they were inaccurate. When I was running today though I decided to compare the treadmill’s number to the number of calories my FitBit reported I burned. While the number was pretty inaccurate initially, they were surprisingly close once I entered my weight and age. This makes sense knowing now that many work out devices use relatively similar algorithms and assumptions in their calculations.