Accuracy of HRM Calorie calculations

riparian

I went whitewater kayaking this past weekend and wore my Polar HRM just to get an idea
of how my heart rate responded to my activities. This was my first time boating on this particular
river, and the guidebooks rate its rapids up to class IV+, so fairly exciting stuff... The question I
had was whether the calories expended, according to my HRM, were inflated due to my heart
rate being influenced by stress / anticipation of the rapids to come? To put this another way, as
I paddled along, I didn't actually feel like I was working as hard to get my rate up to ~140 BPM,
as I would have to train on a treadmill for a similar rate, so was I in fact not expending as many
calories as what the HRM said I was?

I hope this all makes sense!

-Andy

viajera99

Yes, you are correct, your HRM did not accurately estimate your caloric burn. They are only valid for steady state aerobic exercise where your HR is a reflection of your VO2.