penalized for speeding up

chuckycheez

Grrr....It's aggravating!! Do a four mile walk in an hour and 10 minutes, my heart rate monitor/ gps credits me with 550 calories used. Shave 5 minutes off the same distance, calories used is reduced to 510. No credit for intensity of the session!!! Bummer!!

lil_pulp

Sometimes you just have to remind yourself that your BODY knows how hard you're working and its benefitting even when your HRM doesn't give you the exercise calories you think you "deserve"! After all, the end goal is health, right.....? (But I know it is frustrating!)

NKF92879

You've also lost weight. When we lose weight, our bodies don't have to work as hard to do the same amount of work. Therefore, we burn fewer calories. It's totally frustrating, but thus is life. Focus on the weight you've lost! Congrats! You're doing great. But, at the same time, we must know that as we progress we have to work exponentially harder to get off the ol' lbs. :happy:

MrBrown72

It's all about your heart rate. If shaving 5 minutes off didn't credit you with bonus calories chances are your heart rate didn't rise as high. Perhaps you're getting in better shape. Of course duration does have a lot to do with calories burned. Check into "heart rate zones" for more information. elevating your heart rate into a fat burning zone and keeping it there is the whole idea. The longer it is in the "zone" the more calories burned.

Perhaps instead of stopping getting faster, go further.

assuming 70 beats a minute resting here are some example zones: These will be different for different people.

Resting Heart Rate(RHR): 70 Calculate MHR
Maximum Heart Rate(MHR): 180
Heart Rate Reserve(HRR): 110
Fat Burning: From 125 to 136 beats per minute
Aerobic: From 136 to 147 beats per minute
Steady State: From 147 to 158 beats per minute
Anaerobic: From 158 to 169 beats per minute
Maximal: From 169 to 180 beats per minute

Zone 1 - Low Intensity zone: 50% - 60% of max
Zone 2 - Weight Control zone: 60% - 70% of max
Zone 3 - Aerobic zone: 70% - 80% of max
Zone 4 - Anaerobic zone: 80% - 90% of max
Zone 5 - Maximal zone: 90% - 100% of max
130-140 140-150 150-160 160-170 170-180

chrisuy

That's one of the reasons that I prefer to workout by time instead of distance. As you get in better shape, you'll likely do that same distance in less and less time. But if you always commit to working out for your normal 70 minutes, it shouldn't really matter!