how to record a fitness class

RedSydney

I see there are many specific choices when recording daily exercise. How does one record a general fitness class which includes cardio, weights, and stretching intermingled during a 1 hour period?

springlering62

Are you entering it manually or using a fitness tracker?

I use Apple Watch. I select the type of exercise, start the timer, and once I complete and stop the timer, it calculates and records it to MFP for me. I’m pretty sure Garmin and Fitbit do similarly.

The few times I’ve manually tended workouts into MFP, I haven’t felt the numbers were reliable.

pridesabtch

One option is a fitness tracker, I use a Garmin, then I use my average burn over 2-3 classes to create an exercise in MFP. Example: "Gym Day" for me is 10 minutes intense cardio & 40 minutes lifting and 10 minute cardio cooldown, I burn ~ 390 calories in that hour according to my Garmin
(I am short and currently heavy so your burn rates will probably differ). I set up an exercise in MFP called "Gym Day". My workouts/effort are pretty consistent so after I've set up the exercise, I just enter the actual time and the calculations are pretty spot on. And my weight responds as expected. Fitness trackers aren't great for lifting as they are based on HR, so if you're not losing at the anticipated rate you may need to adjust the calorie burn up or down a bit to zero in on the correct number.

I didn't link my Garmin because it double counted some things. The glitch may have been fixed by now.

If you don't have a fitness tracker, you'll need to do a little more work to determine your calorie burns. Maybe 4-6 weeks of logging with a generic amount (say 350 calories for 60 minute class) and see how your weigh responds. Once you hone in on the proper calorie burn for a given class, set up an exercise and you'll be set.

Good Luck!