HRM usage question...

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Guamybear
Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Okay, I have a polar ft7 and use it regularly for working out and love it but one of my jobs is a house cleaner for vacation rentals..Well today I had a 4 hour house to clean and wanted to see how many calories I burned doing that. I wasn't expecting anything major but that is what I got.. after 3 hours and 45 min I burned about 1249 calories.

Now, I am wondering how accurate that is? My HR never really went to high, I wasn't busting my butt (at least, I didn't think I was). I do a lot of bending and squatting when I am cleaning. I am on feet the entire time.. According to my HRM I spent 2 hours and 18min in fat burning zone and and the rest in fitness so my HR was up and down just depending on what I cleaning.

Does this sound right??

Replies

  • stplatt
    stplatt Posts: 44 Member
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    Doesn't sound right to me. It would take a 175 lb person 90 minutes to burn that running 10 min miles. I don't think it is right...but who knows?

    For God and Country,
    Steven
  • meganuhl1
    meganuhl1 Posts: 26 Member
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    I wore my HRM a few wks ago when I did a cleaning spree while kids where at daycare. Five hours straight of dishes, laundry, vaccuming, mopping & waxing kitchen & bathroom floors, and moving living room furniture around. I came up with a little over 1500 calories burned. I took 2 ten minute breaks at which I stopped my HRM.
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
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    I wore my HRM a few wks ago when I did a cleaning spree while kids where at daycare. Five hours straight of dishes, laundry, vaccuming, mopping & waxing kitchen & bathroom floors, and moving living room furniture around. I came up with a little over 1500 calories burned. I took 2 ten minute breaks at which I stopped my HRM.


    I thought it was high but you pretty much did the same thing and the burns are similar so maybe it was dead on.. Would like to see if any others have any similar experience. I will probably wear it a couple more times to see if does the same thing.

    I know my body feels like it burned that much..
  • hollybear1016
    hollybear1016 Posts: 33 Member
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    I have a Polar ft4 and mine seems crazy inaccurate too with counting cals.... i did wii dancing ("just dance 2014") for 37 mins the other day and it said i burned 444 calories! but i'm also pretty overweight and out of shape, so maybe it's pretty accurate, and I didn't stop moving through the 37 minutes either. really though, I have no idea.
  • chezjuan
    chezjuan Posts: 747 Member
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    HRMs are designed to measure calories based on heart rates during steady state cardio. This would be something like riding a bike, running, elliptical, etc. The calculations they use are based on correlations of steady state exercise to calorie burn and are definitely not accurate for everyday activities, nor are they good for HIIT or lifting. Basically, when doing everyday activities, lifting, or HIIT, your heart rate changes a lot, and the rate may not correlate with exertion.

    I would take those numbers with a (large) grain of salt.

    ETA: If cleaning is one of your jobs, you are better off setting your activity level higher than sedentary (if you haven't done so already) and just eating the higher number of calories.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    The numbers are not accurate for those types of activities. Unless you are doing steady-state cardio at even a lower intensity, changes in heart rate can be affected by factors other than oxygen uptake/metabolic demand. Since the HRM can't tell the difference, it just spits out a number, but the number isn't accurate.
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
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    During my cardio workout,where I seriously busted butt..I could burn 500 cals in about an hour.. so I was hoping this wasn't too far off..

    Even if i cut in half.. I am happy with 600 cals burned.
    It is a job but right now since it is winter, it isn't a daily thing..in the summer I will adjust it.
  • stplatt
    stplatt Posts: 44 Member
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    HRMs are designed to measure calories based on heart rates during steady state cardio. This would be something like riding a bike, running, elliptical, etc. The calculations they use are based on correlations of steady state exercise to calorie burn and are definitely not accurate for everyday activities, nor are they good for HIIT or lifting. Basically, when doing everyday activities, lifting, or HIIT, your heart rate changes a lot, and the rate may not correlate with exertion.

    I would take those numbers with a (large) grain of salt.

    Good info. I didn't know the reasoning behind it, but I figured they were not accurate.
    ETA: If cleaning is one of your jobs, you are better off setting your activity level higher than sedentary (if you haven't done so already) and just eating the higher number of calories.

    Ditto. I definitely agree.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Not all that accurate.

    Something like a fitbit or a Bodyfit Media would be what you want for daily activities.
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
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    Not all that accurate.

    Something like a fitbit or a Bodyfit Media would be what you want for daily activities.

    I am looking up bodymedia now..think I might go that route..very curious to know what I burn on days like this.

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