how in the hell are these people getting 900 calorie burns

Fullsterkur_woman

Hour and a half usually nets me around 1200, cycling and walking. I wear a BodyMedia so its a pretty accurate estimate.

What's the accuracy on your BM? Mine's only about 93-95%, based on weight lost vs. calories eaten. Still, well over 900 calories any way you slice it! Good workout!

An hour of Zumba would get me 800+ if I pushed myself...and I'm not carrying a whole lot of extra weight, so it can be done.

My Polar F11 has clocked me at over 1000 calories from an hour of Zumba. And of course I'm red-faced and dripping, so I believe it.

lucylousmummy

according to mfp, i burned 1222 calories today, doing 138 mins of walking, i don't own a heart rate monitor so no idea how far off it really is, it was done over 3 sessions (3 school runs) i walked uphill pushing a heavy pushchair (daughter weighs approx 35lbs) with my son dragging it back half of the way, i walked at about 3-3.5 mph for half of that, and 3.5-4 mph for the other half, i also used endomondo to track this, thats how i know how fast i was walking on average
endomondo gives me about 2/3 of these calories
i personally think both are way off, any thoughts?

970Mikaela1

I hope for three fifty in an hour....

PRMinx

It takes me an hour of CrossFit (including warm up and strength) and an hour of heavy bag kickboxing to get close to 900...but I like these exercises, so I do them. It's about so much more than the burn for me...

Running is probably the easiest way to get there, but it takes a lot of stamina (and, thus, a lot of hard work) to get to a point where you can run for 60 minutes. The people who can do that are in really good shape!

Focus on finding an exercise you love, rather then the calories. If you love it, you'll keep going and it's sustainable practice that gets results.

_Resolve_

Hour and a half usually nets me around 1200, cycling and walking. I wear a BodyMedia so its a pretty accurate estimate.

What's the accuracy on your BM? Mine's only about 93-95%, based on weight lost vs. calories eaten. Still, well over 900 calories any way you slice it! Good workout!

An hour of Zumba would get me 800+ if I pushed myself...and I'm not carrying a whole lot of extra weight, so it can be done.

My Polar F11 has clocked me at over 1000 calories from an hour of Zumba. And of course I'm red-faced and dripping, so I believe it.

Id say its high 90's, just as a matter of knowing I'll export all the data from the past year and do the math out.

Fullsterkur_woman

according to mfp, i burned 1222 calories today, doing 138 mins of walking, i don't own a heart rate monitor so no idea how far off it really is, it was done over 3 sessions (3 school runs) i walked uphill pushing a heavy pushchair (daughter weighs approx 35lbs) with my son dragging it back half of the way, i walked at about 3-3.5 mph for half of that, and 3.5-4 mph for the other half, i also used endomondo to track this, thats how i know how fast i was walking on average
endomondo gives me about 2/3 of these calories
i personally think both are way off, any thoughts?

I think you might want to double-check their work.
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

No_Finish_Line

idk, HRMs are funny.

I can get more calories burned jumping rope then the same amount of time in an insanity work out. I'm defeintly breathing faster and far more tired during the insanity workout, but i can get my about the same amount of calorie burn out of both.

Insanity definetly seems like i'm burning more calories based on effort, but who the hell knows.

I just wear the HRM to record the highest my HR gets and how long i can stay in a particular range. thats like my point of measure to bring some objectivity to evaluating how good my workout was

No_Finish_Line

It takes me an hour of CrossFit (including warm up and strength) and an hour of heavy bag kickboxing to get close to 900...but I like these exercises, so I do them. It's about so much more than the burn for me...

Running is probably the easiest way to get there, but it takes a lot of stamina (and, thus, a lot of hard work) to get to a point where you can run for 60 minutes. The people who can do that are in really good shape!

Focus on finding an exercise you love, rather then the calories. If you love it, you'll keep going and it's sustainable practice that gets results.

id say running will give you a more accurate reading on HRM, not sure if it produces the biggest burn in reality. I would think that swiming, rowing, or even circuit training at a similair intensity might burn more.

chivalryder

When I used to mountain bike, back when I weighed 185 lbs, wearing an HRM, and rode a single speed bike, I would burn 1600+ calories in 2+ hours of cycling.

Keep in mind, I never took it easy, and riding a SS bike, you need to SPRINT up hill (which is almost all the time). If you have the time and the fitness, mountain biking is one of the most intense full-body workouts you can get.

sillyvalentine

If you weigh more, you burn more calories faster. Try wearing a 100lb sac on your shoulders and see how much more you burn

lucylousmummy

according to mfp, i burned 1222 calories today, doing 138 mins of walking, i don't own a heart rate monitor so no idea how far off it really is, it was done over 3 sessions (3 school runs) i walked uphill pushing a heavy pushchair (daughter weighs approx 35lbs) with my son dragging it back half of the way, i walked at about 3-3.5 mph for half of that, and 3.5-4 mph for the other half, i also used endomondo to track this, thats how i know how fast i was walking on average
endomondo gives me about 2/3 of these calories
i personally think both are way off, any thoughts?

I think you might want to double-check their work.
http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

thanks it's interesting, gave me 868 cals, and that was without factoring in my faster pace for some of it, or pushing the pushchair, definitely a lot more than what i was expecting

BeckiCharlotte13x

Some people may also be miscalculating. Myfitnesspal massively over exaggerates calories burnt.

jos05

Everyone is going to burn calories at different rates... it just makes since that a 300lb person is going to burn more than a 120lb person. It's weight vs intensity = calories burned...
Plus what are you doing... walking for an hour isn't going to burn the same as someone playing basketball...

The debate can rage on... but I have decided that after having a workout routine in place for over a year and using a hrm for a little over a week now.
I take my BMR 1360 a day....
and I divide it by 24hours in a day... 57 cals... per hour(ish)...
Take my HRM reading for one hour and subtract 57 from it... that's my cals that I track.

Out of those calories leftover I have decided to eat back all of them except 30% ...

There's just way to many ways around trying to figure out each persons strengths and weaknesses. The number one goal that I think 80% on this website miss is this: ITS A LIFESTYLE CHANGE! It's a life style... it's your life! You're going to have good days, great days, horrible days, and it's ok... because honest if you're making the right changes... it will all balance out.

Sure we all want to be skinny or fit or muscled up overnight... that's the way that society is these days; but the fact remains... it takes time...

So have some patience and figure out what works for you; because what works for others isn't always the best fit for your life.

Best of Luck!! :flowerforyou:

skyfall91

I usually burn about 4-6calories a minute depending on the workout. Im 5"5 and 152lbs. If I do treadmill running intervals I can burn 210 cals in 30mins. Obviously if you are heavy then doing certain things will be a higher burn then if a smaller person did them

ThriceBlessed

Depends on your weight, the intensity of the workout, and the time involved.

A workout that mixes cardio with strength may have periods where you really aren't burning much because you're focussing on strength right then rather than cardio.

A workout that is solid cardio from start to finish will burn more, but then you really should add in strength later anyway.

As for the weight issue. Think about it this way. If woman is 35 years old, 5 foot 6 inches tall, and weighs 140 pounds, and another woman is 35 years old, 5 foot 6 inches tall, and weighs 240 pounds, and they both do the same workout, at the same speed, for the same duration, the 240 pound woman is going to burn a lot more because, compared to the 140 pound woman, its as if she is doing the entire workout wearing a 100 backpack! That automatically increases the calorie burn and effort required to complete the workout.

PRMinx

It takes me an hour of CrossFit (including warm up and strength) and an hour of heavy bag kickboxing to get close to 900...but I like these exercises, so I do them. It's about so much more than the burn for me...

Running is probably the easiest way to get there, but it takes a lot of stamina (and, thus, a lot of hard work) to get to a point where you can run for 60 minutes. The people who can do that are in really good shape!

Focus on finding an exercise you love, rather then the calories. If you love it, you'll keep going and it's sustainable practice that gets results.

id say running will give you a more accurate reading on HRM, not sure if it produces the biggest burn in reality. I would think that swiming, rowing, or even circuit training at a similair intensity might burn more.

Quite possibly right, especially with swimming and rowing. Rowing is great. I've clocked it at about 100 calories/10 minutes, give or take.

I take my burns with a grain of salt, which is why I usually leave 100-300 calories from exercise on the table.

jofjltncb6

*Most* of the time, it's completely bogus.

Hornsby

How are people getting 900 calries burned in a workout. I do insanity etc and still burn no where close to that.

Incorrect use of HRM.

Outright delusion.

Etc.

A 200-pounder has to run over 7miles to net a 900 calorie burn - but people are going to believe what they want to believe. And then they'll stall on weight loss and call the advice-givers rude meanies...

And so it goes, this thing of ours....

EDIT: There is the 5% or so of MFP who is fit enough and active enough to do it, but the vast majority here are completely out to lunch on their burns.

Quoting for emphasis.

Also, you have to realize that an HRM is Heart Rate Monitor. It is to measure heart rate. The calories burned is just a mathematical estimate not much different than anything else that "estimates" calories burned. Heart rate does not directly correlate to calories burned.

jjdivin

I mechanic as a hobby. When doing so I walk around my shop (2500 sq. ft.) and turn wrenches pretty much non stop for 12+ hours at a time. While I'm not winded I can tell by the end of the day that I've done work. Since there's no exercise entry for turning wrenches I just use walking, 2mph, for the number of hours I spend at the shop since its the least physically exerting option. It always results in massive calories burnt, 1000-1700 depending on how long I work. I always wonder if it could possibly be accurate. It might be overestimating since I'm not winded when I do it, but I could possibly be burning more since I feel like the work I do is definitely more exerting than walking.

I work in a restaurant for a living. Often I spend 8+ hours at a time standing, jogging from station to station, making food rapidly, etc. I use walking for this also. In all honesty, this works me harder than the shop does but I wonder if I am using the best exercise entry for this, too. I will work up a sweat when I do it but again, according to the app, walking slowly for 8+ hours at a time is worth 1000+ calories.

In both these cases I get home late at night, sometimes eat dinner, and go to bed. I don't consume nearly the calories the app says I've burned. Sometimes it results in zero calorie intake for that day since I've burned more than I ate. My brother doubts I am burning as many as the app says I am. He may be right, but I do know I'm burning way more than the average person does throughout a day. Who knows?

Mother_Superior

I get mine by running the vacuum for 15 minutes. That's 900 minimum! i broke my metabolisms in the other direction!