Spent 60 minutes on elliptical trainer.

Data:

Weight: 201 (201.8)
Time: 1:00:07
In Zone: 05:26
Avg HR: 159
Peak HR: 178
Min HR: 90
Tot Cal: 1284 (360)
Recovery Rate: 33 (151-118)

Since this is the first posting with data, there are a few things to note.

First, the weight. You have to enter your weight into the watch for it to calculate your calorie burn. The first number is what the watch has entered. In parenthesis is what my scale actually read last time I got on it. For consistency sake, I weigh myself in the morning, immediately after getting up and going pee, and before getting dressed for the day.

My time “In Zone” represents how much time I spent with my heart rate in the desired exercise range. However, I don’t really know what my max heart rate is (the tests the booklet suggested said 180 or so, but I don’t buy it because when it’s at 175+ I feel taxed, but not 99% taxed). I had selected Zone 3, which is the primary zone for people not really trying to train for some sort of event. With my Max HR of 180, Zone 3 is supposed to be 126 to 144. But I’m so out of shape that I could probably go past that standing in line at McDonalds. Plus, I was obviously able to sustain a higher rate for a full hour, so I *really* don’t trust my current Max HR setting. If someone knows a reliable way to get your Max HR without actually inducing a heart attack, I’d love to hear it.

Also, the Total Calories number seems extremely high. However, it’s supposedly calculated based upon your weight and your heart rate. If that’s true, then it represents your entire metabolic calorie burn during the period of time you are measuring, not just the calorie burn related to the exercise. On the other hand, the number in parenthesis is what the elliptical trainer says I burned. However, it merely measures how much energy you put into its electrical generator. That excludes any energy you spent holding your body in the proper position to even make the thing move, and trust me, given that you can’t hardly ever straighten your legs fully and it feels like you are almost running in a minor squat, the energy required just to hold your body in that position is not trivial. I’m going to keep both numbers and just assume the truth is somewhere in between them.

I think I may try wearing the heart monitor for 12 hours or so during my normal daily work and see what it comes up with then. If it says somewhere around 1,000 to 1,500 for a 12 hour period sans exercise, then I might believe its calculated number is correct. Otherwise, I would say it’s calculation isn’t working properly for my body.