Gym Workout w/ Precor 576i

I wanted to try another eSpinner workout today, but unfortunately, the one that recognized my heart rate monitor had a broken touch screen.  I ended up on a Precor 576i, which seems to be the one machine in the gym that does not work with my watch.  Today I ran errands before going to the gym, so there is no 5 minute jog to get my heart rate up before the workout.

Weight Training

• 5 minutes of stretching
• 3 sets of dumbbell chest press/flies @ 50lbs each hand
• 3 sets of one armed dumbbell rows @ 50lbs
• 3 sets dumbbell shoulder press @ 30 lbs
• 3 sets Icarian Leg Press @ 90lbs of plates on each side for a total of 180lbs added weight
• 3 sets rope pulldown on Icarian cable system @ 90lbs
• 3 sets of seated calf raises on Icarian machine @ 70lbs of plates
• 3 sets of preacher curls @ 75lbs

Time = 44 mins
Avg HR = 118 bpm
Peak HR = 148 bpm
K Burned = 438

Cardio - Precor 576i
 Since the my heart rate monitor is not picked up and the hand sensors are not on the moving arms due to some short-sighted designing, all I can compare is the calories burned, which may be inaccurate since it cannot read my heart rate.  However, my watch can never read resistance levels, so perhaps it evens out.  For this workout, I selected the "Weight Loss" workout.  It is a default 28 minute workout with 5 minute cool down for a total of 33 minutes.  You have to enter your age and weight after the workout starts by hitting the options button.  I gradually shifted the resistance up, ultimately to 17 of 20 to get my heart rate close to 150bpm.  I did okay at doing that.  In general, the weight loss workout shifts between a flat level and a slightly steep incline throughout. 

Time = 33 mins (including 5 min cool down)
Avg HR = 141 bpm
Peak HR = 159 bpm
K Burned = 357 (576i); 473 (watch)

My watch, as occurs 9 out of 10 times, was quite aggressive in the calorie count.  It's hard to say if the machine is low-balling, my watch is way too aggressive, or if the answer lies somewhere in between.

Precor 576i

Today I did 35 minutes of weight workouts (arms, chest, back and calves), and then hopped on a Precor 576i elliptical.  This is the elliptical that has the moving arms, stationary heart rate sensors for your hands, and a vertical ramp and moves up and down during certain workouts.  I selected the weight loss workout, which is 28 minutes long and it moves between two heights throughout the workout and has default resistance settings.  I left the height setting alone throughout the workout.  I did, however, change the resistance myself to keep me around a 150 average.  Unfortunately, this machine did not read my chest strap, and so I looked at my watch and changed the resistance accordingly. As you'll see, I did a pretty good job keeping myself at the 150 average.  This resulted in me using a resistance of 12 for most of the workout.  Finally, throughout the workout, I tested the hand heart rate monitors vs. my chest strap/watch monitor and at no point was there ever more than a 1-3 bpm difference.  The hand rate monitors are pretty accurate on the 576i.  Since I wanted to have my arms moving I went with my chest strap for a constant heart rate throughout the workout.

Avg HR = 152 bpm
Peak HR = 166 bpm
K Burned (watch) = 449
K burned (576i) = 315

Of course this machine did not have a constant heart rate, but the difference is consistent with my watch being way too aggressive in calories burned.  I am not sure if the chest strap is incompatible with all 576i's or if this one just wasn't working or had a dead battery for its sensor.  It's odd it would work with the 100i but not the 576i.  If I get a chance I will try another.