NordicTrack, known for years for its indoor cross-country ski trainer, branched out in the 1990s to treadmills, elliptical trainers, exercise bikes and other home exercise equipment. All of its products with electronic displays calculate the calories burned in a workout, using a specific formula based on the user's input.
Best Estimate
You may have noticed in your gym that one brand of treadmill might provide a different calorie total than another brand for the same type of workout. That's because the manufacturers use estimates based on formulas devised in testing. They're a good measure, according to Conrad Earnest, the Cooper Institute's chief exercise physiologist. "It will never be 100 percent accurate," Earnest told the Washington Post. "But the equations ... have been validated."
More Input, Greater Accuracy
NordicTrack equipment that allows you to plug in data about yourself will count calories burned more accurately. The same tables used to approximate caloric output by calculating distance and speed on a treadmill can naturally be closer to spot-on if you enter your weight and age.
Treadmills and Incline Trainers
NordicTrack's original equipment, its indoor ski trainer, was marketed as a more efficient workout than using treadmills. That's because the machine works the arms as well as the legs, the same reason elliptical manufacturers added movable hand grips to their machines. According to HealthStatus.com, the typical ski-machine workout burns 438 calories over 30 minutes, or 14.6 calories per minute. Elliptical machines burn 516 calories over 30 minutes, or 17.2 calories per minute, and treadmills going at 6 mph typically burn 456 calories, or 15.2 per minute.
Other Factors
Machines can also fail to track calories accurately because of a loss of calibration over long periods of use or a calculation table that is programmed to be more favorable to keep you motivated. On an elliptical or treadmill, using the handles to support your weight means you're working far less than what the machine estimates.
The Best Indicator
Over time, your body will let you know if you're burning more calories than you take in. Food labels provide a more accurate measurement of calories than exercise equipment, so perhaps the better approach is to watch the amount of food you ingest, and measure your exercise by time and the effort you know you're putting into it. If you can't help but stare at the calorie count, stick with one machine so you won't be confounded trying to measure your progress.
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