Confused about calories on stationary bike

heartofplastic

Hey all,

I just got back from spin class where we cycled for 1 hour and it was a pretty good workout, I sweated buckets. It was my first time using that specific machine and I was confused about what it said on the display screen. There was a number that indicated "Kcal" and at the end of the workout it read 224. (FYI the machine does not know my weight.) So what does this 224 Kcal mean? Is Kcal the same as Calories in this case (which wouldn't make sense because I think I burned much more than 224)? Or does it mean something completely different. Someone please enlighten me! And sorry if it's a stupid question.

pinggolfer96

Yes kcal is the same. It just means kilocalories. It's the more specific word in terms of calories, heat, and raising of water temp. As for accuracy of the burn, it's most likely off. Calorie burn varies from person to person. Machines are never usually good at estimating

MeanderingMammal

200 to 300 isn't unreasonable for a spin class.

Accuracy depends on the bike. If it had a power meter, like a WattBike it would be accurate, if not, who knows. Power meter is the only reliable method for a spn class. HR would givee you a meaningless figure.

sijomial

What is the make and model of your Spinning bike?
Does it give a power output (watts typically)?

Yes kcal is calories but 224 seems very, very low to me.

NorthCascades

Interestingly, your weight doesn't factor into how many calories you burned. On a spin bike, you're not moving your weight. But I think 224/hr sounds low.

rainbowbow

Important information to know:

Calories are a unit of energy.

1. calories (with a lowercase "c") is the approximate amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius at a pressure of one atmosphere.
2. Calories (with an uppercase "c") also known as the "food calorie" or "kcal" and similar names, is defined in terms of the kilogram rather than the gram. 1 kilocalorie is equal to 1000 (lowercase) calories.

That being said, considering the bike did not have your height, weight, and assuming heart rate I do not believe the Calorie burn to be accurate. Especially for an hour of vigorous exercise.

janettles

From what I have read, calories can be accurately calculated only when oxygen consumption is known, and no current fitness tracker can do that.
So, for what it is worth, I will share what I have...
-- for 30 minutes on my inexpensive (about $150) indoor cycle (which does not know my weight), the calorie reading is 272 calories (which you could double for your 60 minutes).
-- when I do what MyFitnessPal calls "Stationary bike, light effort", which was about a 10 mph effort for 5.1 miles, MyFitnessPal gave calories at 267 for 31 minutes (which you could double for your 60 minutes).
-- I have attended a spin class, and the intensity nearly did me in. I put in a LOT more effort in a spin class than I do on my stationary bike at home. So yes, I believe your 224 for an hour is quite low.

BrianSharpe

Did the bike give you an estimate of average speed or distance traveled?

Perspiration is not necessarily a good indicator of effort (I sweat heavily when exercising, I can make anything look like hard work) Intuitively I suspect that 224 cal for a 1 hr class is probably low but it is a function of the intensity.

Have you considered investing in a heart rate monitor? While many of them tend to overestimate calories expended it would give you a pretty objective measure of the intensity of the ride (ie how high your hr was getting)

try2again

I've read that stationary bikes where you can adjust the resistance actually provide a pretty reliable calorie burn estimate, because it's entirely a measure of how much energy you're putting into it and doesn't rely on outside factors like your weight. The numbers on my bike, from what I consider a moderate effort workout, usually correspond to the MFP database listing for "light effort", which makes sense since the MFP numbers are typically inflated. A spin class does seem like it would be more intense, though.

CincyNeid

You're talking Calories of Energy = 1 Kcal = roughly 486 Kilo-joules of energy = 1,000 calories. If my memory serves me correctly. I might stand corrected on that part. If so correct me.

While you are correct. KCal, Cal, cal are typically used interchangeably in the food & exercise word.

There is no way that she burned 242,000 calories sitting a bike in a day. The Tour de France Riders typical burn about 185,000 over the 21 day tour.