Is my bike calorie reading wrong? - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

Malik Ishtar · 11-15-2003, 07:04 PM

I tried HIIT for 20 minutes yesterday for the first time, there has been recent schedule changes in my life and I no longer have that 40 min to do my cardio...

HOWEVER, every minute and 20 seconds I would rise from my intensity level on the bike from 6 to 8 and go all out, then I'd rest for approx 30 to 40 seconds by slowing down a little, going back down to six.

When I was done with my session the calorie marked read 101 calories...now I know this thing was broken to begin with, but a 40 min session would yield me 176 at the least..what gives? I felt like I've never worked my heart so hard in my life! o_O

rita · 11-15-2003, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malik Ishtar

I tried HIIT for 20 minutes yesterday for the first time, there has been recent schedule changes in my life and I no longer have that 40 min to do my cardio...

HOWEVER, every minute and 20 seconds I would rise from my intensity level on the bike from 6 to 8 and go all out, then I'd rest for approx 30 to 40 seconds by slowing down a little, going back down to six.

When I was done with my session the calorie marked read 101 calories...now I know this thing was broken to begin with, but a 40 min session would yield me 176 at the least..what gives? I felt like I've never worked my heart so hard in my life! o_O

Couple things to remember. First of all, the calorie readouts on any of the cardio machines are grossly inaccurate, some more than others. Secondly, as far as HIIT, the calories you burn during the session will be less than during a longer session of regular cardio BUT what is important about HIIT is that afterward you will be burning more calories as a result of HIIT ( I think the effect lasts for a few hours) whereas with ordinary cardio, once you are done with it there is no "aftereffect" in terms of extra calories burned.