Mapmyride - love it or hate it?

vatblack

I have started using this app again today and wanted LOL when it claimed that I have burned 350 calories doing 2.8 miles at 8 m/h. ( Just a test ride for the app)

I am still very big (over 300lbs) but I doubt I burned that much. According to MFP it is just over 200. Yet both apps are run by UA.

Your thoughts, experiences and advice please.

I am 6 weeks away from doing a metric centuary and will ride around 8 hours a week to train. I really want to keep good records with GPS.

vatblack

Anyone?

htwoopup

Without a HRM, it is hard to say. Just as a point of reference, Bodybuilder.com says cycling at less than 10 mph burns 572 calories per hour. BUT, remember it will changed based on the weight being peddled around. So a heavier person will burn more calories per minute at the same speed as a lighter one. I use Ride with GPS (doesn't sync with this app) and a Garmin cycling computer. They both have my age, heart rates, and weight and come out slightly differently on calories. I would look at trends recognizing that exact counts are a bit more than science can do. For instance, I have always found I lost weight well if I was about 700 calories burned on Ride with GPS...which was maybe 500 on the Garmin...which was an hour and a half to an hour forty five on my watch. So that acronym for Internet advice of YMMV is not only figurative but literal in this case.

htwoopup

Truth be told...all of the apps report high. The only way to be more accurate is to have a power meter on your cranks (that's best but they make them for hubs too) but they are ridiculously expensive and not necessary....as I said above, look at trends/ set a minimum but think in amount of time and effort (which will change every ride based not just on how you are feeling, how many hills, wind direction, temperature, and lots of other things that just can't be measured by any app)

vatblack

Thanks. I guess it always comes down to how you feel. How tired you sre after a ride and hiw hungry the next day. I think I might just use the scooby calculator and eat a consistent amount a day and not eat exercise calories.

I don't like doing it that way as it takes away motivation to ride. Haha.

ironhajee

Would it be prudent to run at least three of those apps at the same time and then see which are given similar data?

vatblack

Maybe. That's an idea

guslandrum

I road 4000 miles last year and lost 70 lbs while using MMR. Not sure if it's accurate, but using it and MFP is what kept me on track.

vatblack

Wow 4000 miles are great. Did you eat back all the calories or how dit you manage it?

I have trouble knowing when to stop eating at times and use the calorie count as a guide. But I am also afraid of eating more than I need just because the numbers fit. How fid you do it?

seahorsepenguin

I agree that a heart rate monitor could make a big difference in your exercise tracking. I used to use a polar chest strap and I found i really had to push myself harder to get the calorie burn results that you see as estimates online.

tcaley4

I use MMR for a long time now. I think that it gives you exercise calories plus the calories you burn just existing. Eat about 1/3 to 1/2 of those calories back and you will be fine.

robertw486

I've found that the MapMy(anything) app always shows calorie burn towards the high side of all apps. For cycling, Strava seems to be close to realistic based on known science based and more in depth cycling calculators.

Many apps will report gross calorie burn including your BMR or RMR, and often they calculate that on the high side. Strava reports net calorie burn and so does not include RMR for cycling.


I actually tested a number of apps against one another by taking two phones on a number of rides and walks. For quite a while I had used Endomondo but knew the calorie burns were excessive and not realistic. I found that some of the apps were actually very close if you removed the addition of the RMR being calculated. For some apps you can see how high this is by starting an activity and setting your phone down. With Endomondo, the calories start clicking away with my phone sitting on the desk. With Strava, it counts nothing until you get on the bike and move.

I also found that RunKeeper is reasonably close. IIRC when I used the "Mountain biking" setting my calorie burn showed slightly higher than Strava, when I used the "Road biking" (might be a different term) setting it was actually slightly lower. Strava allows you to input the actual weight of the bike along with the rider, and that may be an advantage as well.

vatblack

Wow, what a great answer. Thanks. I will look into Strava.

vatblack

Seahorsepenguin I also find the longer I ride, the more effort has to go in to get to the same heart rate intensity. I can only measure this on a stationary bike at the gym for now during interval sets. I know I work harder on my actual bike because of my size, but even two hour rides don't tire me as much any more.

robertw486

vatblack wrote: »

Wow, what a great answer. Thanks. I will look into Strava.

No problem. Keep in mind that if you like the interface of any given app, you could compare it and find out approximately how much it overestimates calories (if it does). From there you could either manually log it and not connect the app to MFP, or just make the appropriate adjustment after it logs here.

vatblack

Thanks