Map My Run vs. Map My Hike calorie difference?

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hapa11
hapa11 Posts: 182 Member
edited June 2017 in Fitness and Exercise
Yesterday I ran 3.5 miles in about 33 minutes. Map My Run gave me a calorie burn of about 300, which is pretty much what My Fitness Pal would give me. Today I did the same run using Map My Hike, thinking I might get a few more calories because I do climb quite a large hill. I did it in nearly the exact amount of time as yesterday, but this app only counted 250 calories for the workout. All my stats (height, weight, etc) are the same. Any idea why I would get such a large discrepancy?

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  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    It's all an estimate...I wouldn't exactly call 50 calories a large discrepancy.
  • hapa11
    hapa11 Posts: 182 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Sorry, actually the calorie burn was 324 so about 75 calories difference. Does that still seem like it'd be within the parameters? Same app really, right?

  • hjg0989
    hjg0989 Posts: 17 Member
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    75/324 = 21.5% I don't know anything about the app, but that seems pretty inaccurate to me.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    If the difference is only 21 %, that's better than an HRM will get you.

    The difference probably comes down to one calculator being programmed for running where you jump off the ground with one leg with every step, and the other being programmed for hiking where you maintain your balance over rough and uneven ground, and take lots of photo stops.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Walking is about twice as energy efficient a way of covering distance as running.
    Hiking on rough ground is going to be in the middle somewhere depending on terrain.

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