Weighing in on Exercise Machines
People do not burn the same number of calories on one exercise machine as on another. Calories burned by healthy men and women in their 20s while they exercised on six different machines at "Fairly Light", "Somewhat Hard", and "Hard" showed the following results:
Both men and women burned the most calories on the treadmill or the skiing simulator and the least on the stationary cycle or the Healthrider machine (a cross between a stationary bicycle and a seesaw).
The stair-stepper was in the middle, as was the rowing machine for men. For women, the rower was a top-notch calorie burner.
Whatever the equipment or intensity, men always burned more calories than women did. This is due to muscles burning more calories than fat. Pound for pound, men have more muscle -- just a physiological fact of life. In addition, it takes more calories to move a larger person and men are usually bigger than women are.
Here are some stats to get you started:
- To burn 200 calories, men could run on a treadmill for 14 minutes at a fairly light pace, while women would need 22 minutes.
- At a difficult pace, men would need 12 minutes and women 17.
- On a stationary bike, men would need to cycle 23 minutes and women, 32 minutes at a somewhat difficult exertion to burn the same 200 calories.
Not exactly fair, but the physiological facts.