Is the calorie readout on a treadmill influenced by whether or not you hold onto the machine?
What inspired me to write this article was when I was at a small women’s gym that I wanted to check out.
I purchased a punch card and one day was using the weight equipment when I became aware of two women walking on treadmills.
And of course, they were holding on — which is what most walkers do on these machines.
One of the women had the machine up at an incline and was talking during her “walking.”
Then she got off after a while and said to her buddy, “I burned 420 calories.”
I thought, no way, nothing could be further from the truth; you held on the entire time.
Holding onto a treadmill does not change the calorie display, but it DOES change how many calories you actually burned.
The general rule is that at any given setting (speed and incline), you will burn 15 to 20 percent fewer calories if you’re holding on throughout the session.
So say you’re “walking” at eight percent incline and three mph, holding on for 30 minutes.
The calorie display will continuously update as the motor runs. So whether it’s 400, 250 or 800, this readout will be the same whether you had been holding on or pumping your arms.
However, the calories that you truly burned (which will not be displayed because the treadmill’s computer is based on a template algorithm that responds ONLY to speed and incline settings) will be much higher with an arm pump or even a lazy arm swing, compared to if you’d been holding on.
If you were to stand beside a treadmill and from that position, turn the machine on, set the incline at 15 percent and speed at 10 mph…and just let the belt run—without you on it…the calorie display would start counting!
That woman who’d been firmly holding on believed that the very inflated calorie readout was accurate.
Stop Minding the Calorie Readout
People pay too much attention to the calorie display on a treadmill. Instead, use correct form (hands off!) and pay mind to how your body feels.
I strongly endorse interval training, particularly of an intense nature (“HIIT”), even if your fitness goals have nothing to do with weight loss.
No matter what shape you’re in — be it buff with a six-pack, skinny, medium, thick, flabby, obese, young or old — holding onto a treadmill is wrong because it creates a false sense of achievement since it’s fake walking and will NOT promote better balance.
Sure, hold on for heart rate check or to drink water, but then release and move your arms naturally.
And forget that calorie readout. It’s generated by a computer and based on a generic formula!
