burns more calories

[scorpio17]

me and my friend go to a gym together we are about the same level of fitness go on the same equipment at the same level and speed and do the exact same time on each machine but what we dont understand is how after doing the same thing she burns more calories than me can anyone explain why?

[Ward-Minter]

2 things.

1) Is she larger than you. The bigger you are the more you will burn.

2) Are you wired up with heart monitors? If it is a good system it may be calculated on aerobic fat burning zone. a number of factors including genetics will play a part.

If not it shows that the machines are unreliable. Overall I wouldn't worry about calories anyway. They are a pointless way of measuring health.

[Loosehead]

What equipment is it? if it's a cross trainer or a treadmill then it asks for your weight, if she is heavier she will expell more calories doing the same level/speed/time. This is only true on weight bearing machines though, and they are the ones that ask for your weight.

[Loosehead]

we crossed ward!

[Ward-Minter]

Not the first time Mr Loosehead. And hopefully not the last.

[veritymoon]

ive just had my induction at the gym and the instructor told me to ignore the readers that tell you how many kcals you are burning as they are unreliable.

[snook]

Not just vague and unreliable but, as previously pointed out, pointless. If gym users actually concentrated on what they were doing, they'd get more out of it. Exercise isn't magic that will produce wonderful results just because you go through the motions - if it was, we'd all look like supermodels and super heros. The gyms are full, but hardly anyone achieves any worthwhile results. I suspect the few who do are the ones who train in a dedicated manner, combining hard physical work with a clear mental image of what's physically happening as a result, and what will eventually develop through all the training (and combined with healthy eating).

On the other hand, most gym users simply plod along mindlessly, while thinking about other things - the TV monitors on their machines, their i-Pods, using their mobile phones (!), eyeing up other girls/guys in the gym, socialising, etc. I'm not saying any of these is a bad thing - you just need to do one thing at a time, that's all.

Is it really any wonder the body doesn't respond particularly well to exercise in these conditions? It's like trying to do a painting blindfold - not impossible, but hardly the recommended method. You're trying to create something out of your body, but your mind is elsewhere.

But the fitness industry and the magazine proprietors just want you to join a gym and go on a diet and keep buying the magazines, regardless of what's good for you. So we get endless new fad diets (if any of them worked, why would we need new ones?), and endless new exercise routines (how many can you possibly need?).

Stick to a sensible training routine, Scorpio, and focus on it while you're doing it, and the same goes for diet - just eat sensibly, and eat consciously, appreciating and enjoying your food. As they say, it's not rocket science.