Calorie burn at altitude

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fitbethlin
fitbethlin Posts: 162 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I use a heart rate monitor to evaluate my workouts and get a reasonable estimate of my calorie burn.* When I'm doing snowsports, I'm at altitude, which means my resting HR and activity HR are higher. Does anyone know if that means I'm actually burning more calories even at rest? Or is there an adjustment I should make?


*Please don't lecture me about this. I like numbers and this is the best way to routinely capture numbers.

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  • fitbethlin
    fitbethlin Posts: 162 Member
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    Bump - Just in case anyone has an answer on this...
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,196 Member
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    Um...I spent many years living at 10,000 feet, so I should really know the answer.

    However, I do not. My guess is that you are burning slightly more. It's definitely good for your lung capacity.

    Altitude effects different people in such different ways that I wonder if there are predictable formulas for this. Some people have a racing heart and all of the symptoms of altitude sickness at 10,000 feet. I don't even notice a difference until I hit 16-17,000 feet.

    How acclimatized you are probably makes a difference too.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    HR is not directly related to calories burned. There is a relationship between VO2 max and HR during steady state moderate intensity cardio that allows for an estimation to be made. The elevated HR at altitude would likely not fall under this.
    HRMs also assume that your HR falls with the "averages" unless you are able to adjust your VO2 max setting, so if you HR is higher than average there will be an issue with estimation.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/773451/is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn/p1

    While you may burn slightly more at altitude (I am not sure), I doubt the numbers from your HRM accurately reflect it.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    No. Even at rest, you're getting less oxygen per breath, so your heart's having to beat faster to deliver the same amount of oxygen. Don't know if your HR has a way to automatically compensate, but if you know your resting HR at home and at altitude, you could derate by that factor and get within spittin' distance.

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