Spinning

ellenrose750

So recently taken up spinning again according to my fitbit I'm only burning 350calories but my first burns 400+ does this sound right as I work my *kitten* off in the.class.

cwolfman13

Does you spin bike have a power meter that will show you watts? That's the most accurate...everything else is basically a shot in the dark estimate.

jjpptt2

Watts are the best measure of work, and watts convert pretty well to cals. So if the bike tracks watts, then it should also give you cals, and that number is as good as you're going to get. Otherwise, as the wolfman said... it's little more than an educated guess.

How long is the class? 350 cals for a 45minute class sounds pretty reasonable.

sijomial

Does your Fitbit "know" you are cycling?
Or is interpreting your movement as steps?

You haven't said how long your Spinning class is and duration is a huge part of calorie burns.

That it feels hard isn't a good indication of big calorie burns either unless you have good fitness and power levels.
For example my absolute maximum calorie burn for an hour of cycling is 767 but a smaller, lighter friend of mine who is a far better cyclist can hit 990 (FTP of 275 watts).
It would feel equally hard to both of us despite the big difference in calories.

Machka9

ellenrose750 wrote: »

So recently taken up spinning again according to my fitbit I'm only burning 350calories but my first burns 400+ does this sound right as I work my *kitten* off in the.class.

350 - 400 cal/hour sounds about right.

jlklem

Machka9 wrote: »

ellenrose750 wrote: »

So recently taken up spinning again according to my fitbit I'm only burning 350calories but my first burns 400+ does this sound right as I work my *kitten* off in the.class.

350 - 400 cal/hour sounds about right.

Yes, my wife is a good cyclist. One hour for her at moderate which would be hard for a new person is 500 calories. This is measured with a power meter which is the gold standard for accuracy.

John

ellenrose750

sijomial wrote: »

Does your Fitbit "know" you are cycling?
Or is interpreting your movement as steps?

You haven't said how long your Spinning class is and duration is a huge part of calorie burns.

That it feels hard isn't a good indication of big calorie burns either unless you have good fitness and power levels.
For example my absolute maximum calorie burn for an hour of cycling is 767 but a smaller, lighter friend of mine who is a far better cyclist can hit 990 (FTP of 275 watts).
It would feel equally hard to both of us despite the big difference in calories.

Yes I've set the spinning app on my fitbit, class is 40 to 45 minutes long.

sijomial

ellenrose750 wrote: »

sijomial wrote: »

Does your Fitbit "know" you are cycling?
Or is interpreting your movement as steps?

You haven't said how long your Spinning class is and duration is a huge part of calorie burns.

That it feels hard isn't a good indication of big calorie burns either unless you have good fitness and power levels.
For example my absolute maximum calorie burn for an hour of cycling is 767 but a smaller, lighter friend of mine who is a far better cyclist can hit 990 (FTP of 275 watts).
It would feel equally hard to both of us despite the big difference in calories.

Yes I've set the spinning app on my fitbit, class is 40 to 45 minutes long.

I think 350 would be fine as an estimate from your Fitbit then. It may well not be fantastically accurate but consistent and in the ballpark is fine.

(Reason I asked about Fitbit setting was that a friend doing a step challenge got to the afternoon before realising her device was off. So I caught up her missed 6000 steps in an hour of high cadence cycling with her Fitbit on my shoe....)