Clients often ask, how many calories are they burning during their exercise workout, or while training for competition. The truth is, it’s going to vary greatly from person to person. The number of calories burned depends on may variables including: height, weight, gender, intensity of exercise and environmental conditions. Clients sometimes become discouraged, when they discover many of their favorite pieces of equipment in the gym, overestimate calories burned while exercising. The treadmill and elliptical machines are two major culprits of this. While these numbers may be accurate for some people, they may be quite off, for others.
There are a number of ways to more accurately measure calories burned. Try using an online exercise calculator such as Calorie Lab, where you enter your personal statistics and it calculates your results. They generally use your weight, duration of exercise, and type of exercise to determine an estimate of calories burned.
Another way to calculate calories burned is by using a heart rate monitor. You can find these at athletic stores, online, or even at Target and Walmart. These are more accurate than the calorie counters, but can also have variations. You can look into an Exerspy or Bodybug (both made by Body Logic). Body Bug is actually used by the participants on “The Biggest Loser” TV show. These armbands hook up to your computer and show minute by minute calories burned.
Metabolic testing done by a physician or reputable testing center can provide athletes with the most scientific and accurate determination of calories burned from exercising. This method is used by many Olympic athletes and is helpful in creating training programs. Most recreational exercisers won’t need to go to this extreme to find out their calories burned.
Remember to make sure you do some research before purchasing or participating in any of these methods. Knowing how many calories you are burning during exercise is beneficial, whether you are trying to lose, maintain or gain weight. You can also improve your performance with the correct use of this information.
Julie DuBois, RD 
