MFP's assumptions about sports proficiency?

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Trish1c
Trish1c Posts: 549 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I "played" tennis this afternoon. Well I wouldn't really call it playing. I missed more shots then I made, often hit the ball out of bounds & spent more time chasing it then actually volleying. That said when I put 30 minutes of tennis into MFPs exercise thing it said I burned 247 calories. Where did the system get that number? How was it calculated? Would a better player have burned more calories (due to consistency) or less due to being more efficient in play?

I suppose it doesn't really matter 50 calories one way or the other probably won't mean much. I still got off the couch which is the most important thing, right?

Replies

  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I adjust my calorie entry according to perceived effort. Sometimes I play a good strong game and come off the courts drenched in sweat. I'd probably leave the default calorie burn in place then. Sometimes I play doubles with a weak partner and never see a ball, or partner with an aggressive poacher and also don't get to hit. In those cases I drop the calorie count down. Often the other player(s) take long breaks or the pace of the game is slow and I have to drop the time played. I have also dropped the calories burned down when I have played long matches because I know that at a certain point I go into energy conservation mode. I saunter to get stray balls for instance. Might I be off by 50 calories or more? Yup. But you're right, getting off the couch is definitely what counts and personally I do fine with guesstimates.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I'm sure it assumes at least an average proficiency level, not mine! ha ha
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    Trish1c wrote: »
    Where did the system get that number? How was it calculated?

    It's based on the time you played, your weight and what's termed a Metabolic Equivalent, which gives a factoring agent to lead to the calorie expenditure. With something like running that MET is reasonably reliable, for other activities less so.


  • Erik8484
    Erik8484 Posts: 458 Member
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    It's worth remembering that pretty much everything mfp tells you about your calorie burns, including bmr, maintenance calories, exercise burns are all just estimates. Use your judgement to adjust them, and use your weight trends as guidance.

    If after a month you're not losing/gaining/maintaining at the rate you think you should be, the estimate is probably wrong. Adjust accordingly :)

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