GF discouraged by HRM calorie burns. Any advice?

Muldactus

Sounds like you've got a good plan in place. I'd do it for 4 weeks at LEAST before adjusting anything so you can have some reasonable data to go by. Your calorie intake sounds good at a glance too so I think you will be fine. I too wear my HRM when lifting just for giggles more than anything. I can keep track of my time spent easily and it's interesting to check my level of exertion as you mentioned. For example, if I'm not hitting 190 on my squats then I'm slackin (don't follow that advice as a beginner btw).

Keep up the good work, not many people start with good research if I'm honest. It will help you out a lot in the long run.

Thank you.

Yeah, I was thinking 4 weeks at a minimum if for no other reason than building habits. Won't do me any good to take 2 weeks of newbie-motivated exercise/activity levels, use that to figure calorie intake, then slack off 'cause I'm bored/injured/too busy/whatever.

190 on your squats --- LOL! I just graduated from pink dumbbells.

And, thank you for the earlier tidbit about you burning twice as much as your wife. Helps to know this isn't necessarily an anomaly but a fact I need to accept. S'okay. I can still kick the BFs @ss in some things.

Horseback riding, logic puzzles, cooking, photography....

viajera99

HRMs measure exactly ONE thing: HEART RATE.

HRMs really aren't intended to be good at estimating calories burned during anaerobic exercise (lifting). The elevated heart rate during lifting doesn't correlate with calories burned in the same way elevated heart rate does during aerobic exercise (cardio). I don't understand it very well but here is a link that might help.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472

Read this link, especially this part:

For greatest calorie count accuracy, an HRM must have the following features:

1. Chest strap sensor for continuous monitoring

2. Ability to manually input HR max, VO2 max, gender, age weight and HR rest.

3. Sophisticated analysis technology and software which has been validated on large numbers of test subjects.

For those features, your choices are going to be limited and you cannot go super-cheap. If you cannot enter VO2 max, then the HRM is using a more general format to determine your fitness level, which means greater inaccuracy.

Note: The only HRMs I know that meet the above criteria are the Sunnto T-series HRMs, the older Polar F6 and F11 models, and the newer Polar FT40 and FT60 models. FT4 and FT7 do not. Suunto does not use VO2 max, but they have a detailed series of "activity levels" that accomplish the same thing. They may not be the only ones, but they are the only ones I can say with certainty. I have looked at the owner manuals of other brands (Timex, Sportsline, Mio) and they do not allow manual VO2 input. Don't know about Reebok or Nike products.

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Any HRM that doesn't allow you to enter VO2max and HRmax will only be able to estimate your calories burned, and even then it will only be valid during steady state aerobic exercise, otherwise it's basically just a random number generator.

Don't get hung up on the numbers-- they're probably not accurate anyway.

bostonwolf

I'm the GF. I was 188lbs as of this morning.

I know I'm going to burn less than he does. I'm shorter, fatter, less fit, etc. Just guessing, but, I think his inability to regulate his body temp at high levels of exertion is the key factor in the burn difference. My body temp drops to normal within 15mins of stopping exercise. His continues at a high level for a lot longer. I have felt excessive heat radiate from his skin an hour after a workout.

Example burn for me: 60mins of lifting (avg HR 60%) + 20mins of walk/jog with (HR ranging 75-90%) equaled 453kcals.

Chancey, my wife does not do heavy workouts like I do but she has noted that even an hour or sometimes two after I get back from the gym she cannot cuddle up to me because I am still radiating off heat from the workout. On the flip side I've worked my *kitten* off to improve my CV conditioning and she barely does any exercise at all. We did a 5k together in March and she beat me by 5 minutes. Very frustrating.

The only thing I can offer is to try to mentally turn off that comparison switch. There are clearly too many difference in size, body comp, metabolism etc. that using your BF as your reference point is only going to continue to be frustrating.

Focus on yourself and continue to do what's working and change it up when it stops working.

Good luck!

sijomial

One thing to remember is that HRMs don't/can't measure calories.

They are just using your age/gender/weight as a comparison against a selection of data points gathered under lab conditions (controlled heat, oxygen etc..).

Even for people with very similar stats there are huge differences - my brother will hit 200bpm and always has, I can't get above 170bpm. A super fit mate of mine has a relatively high heart rate as he has a minor heart defect which means it doesn't pump as efficiently.

So really the only valid comparison is with YOURSELF as your fitness improves.
I track and eat back my exercise calories but really don't know how accurate my HRM estimates are as I've adjusted my calorie intake over time according to results.

So HRMs are very useful for fitness training (cardio anyway) and probably better than anything else available for making an educated and personal estimate of burns.

ChanceyRose

Any HRM that doesn't allow you to enter VO2max and HRmax will only be able to estimate your calories burned, and even then it will only be valid during steady state aerobic exercise, otherwise it's basically just a random number generator.

Don't get hung up on the numbers-- they're probably not accurate anyway.

We use the Polar FT40 or 60 - can't remember which and I don't have it with me ATM. We have not entered the VO2max because we have not had that measured.

Still, if you use the same tool and method for creating measurements, any changes noted should be valid. And, it's the change that's important. The HRM calories expended is as good a starting point as MFP's or an online calculator or a dart board. Results may vary. I get that. As with anything else in life -- measure, compare, adapt, repeat ad nauseum until goal is reached.

On the flip side I've worked my *kitten* off to improve my CV conditioning and she barely does any exercise at all. We did a 5k together in March and she beat me by 5 minutes. Very frustrating.

The only thing I can offer is to try to mentally turn off that comparison switch.

I'd probably not speak to her for a day or two.. okay, couple of hours.. maybe. I'm secretly very competitive and hate being the loser.

Okay, I'll stop comparing myself to my BF. But I'm still going to console myself with the knowledge that I can lift twice as much as another (apparently fit, based on appearances) woman who started lifting the same time I did.

Fullsterkur_woman

I'd probably not speak to her for a day or two.. okay, couple of hours.. maybe. I'm secretly very competitive and hate being the loser.

Okay, I'll stop comparing myself to my BF. But I'm still going to console myself with the knowledge that I can lift twice as much as another (apparently fit, based on appearances) woman who started lifting the same time I did.

I love my old Polar F11 and I hope it lives forever. :happy:

However, I think you're doing yourself a real disservice by continuing to compare yourself to anyone but yourself. Please know that I speak from experience. I am so ridiculously competitive and want to be better than everyone at everything SO much that I have, in fact, become very uncompetitive as a survival mechanism.

I could go on about all the ways it's unfair that I started something and my husband idly picked it up and then blew past me by miles, but that would only feed this problem.

I try to be better than I was last week. And I have setbacks and can't do what I used to do, don't weigh what I used to weigh, and that's OK. I just pick up where I am and do what I can today with what I have right now. Worrying about anything else is a waste. Life is too precious and short!

Pretty avatar, by the way!

DaniH826

And, thank you for the earlier tidbit about you burning twice as much as your wife. Helps to know this isn't necessarily an anomaly but a fact I need to accept. S'okay. I can still kick the BFs @ss in some things.

That, and we have ( . ) ( . ) which means we auto-win everything, every time. :flowerforyou:

All joking aside, men do tend to lose weight faster than women, because as potential child bearers nature likes to keep us soft around the edges, so we have to work harder on losing the same amount (generally speaking).

So you really have no basis on which to compare yourselves to. Enjoy the journey, hmm? Get fit, lift weights, kick butt, get strong. Don't worry so much about what he's doing

Sarauk2sf

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