Need help logging exercise

heaverchell

Let me start with I know a HRM is the best way to figure your actual calories burned and I am in the process of getting one. I am reading reviews so that I can ensure I get a good one.

With that being said, until I get my HRM I have to use what MFP has. I know it's not totally accurate but it is better than nothing. I do a couple DVD's at home. One is the Jillian Michaels 30DS which I log under circuit training. I just started using the Leslie Sansone Walking DVD's and not sure how to log it. Do I log it under aerobics general because I do the one with bands so we work everything while walking or do I just log it under walking?

Thank you in advance for you help :flowerforyou:

dlongshot7

I'm right there with you. I do the LS waking DVD at home. When I log mine I'll log with some time in Low Impact Aerobics, and then some time in High Impact aerobics.

I'm still fairly new to this site... may I ask what is HRM?? lol....

Still trying to understand these acronyms

klthomas59

I log Leslie Sansone's under walking but am interested in what others think

twynzmom

I just ordered Leslie Sansone's 1-2 mile walking dvd... so I'm not positvie of how to log it yet...but athought just occured to me. Can you you log the walking part in the cardio section and the band work out under the strength work out? Just a thought

gatorflyer

Until I got my HRM, here is what I did. I did some googling and found several sites that I believe did some "rough estimates" of what the average person of my weight burned doing certain exercises for certain periods of time. I would use a couple of them for somewhat consistency to decide. Occasionally I might use numbers showing up on say a treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, as long as I put in my own info. Again these are based on an average person at my weight. I also compared it to what was showing up on the exercises in MFP and wouldn't you know, they were quite similar, which tells me that a lot of these are using the same basic algorithms. No real surprise there. The key (at least in my opinion) is this: Recognize that this is just a best guess, based on an average person of your approximate size, and the idea of "light, moderate, intense" can be quite subjective. On the other hand, the HRM (highly recommend Polar HRMS, BTW) is going to be specific to you. For me, I usually chose the next step down to pretty much feel confident that I burned *At least* a certain amount of calories. For example, If I think I had an intense workout, I might select the numbers for a moderate workout.

Here are a few of the sites I used to get a "general idea":

http://www.everydayhealth.com/calories-burned-swimming.htm (other links on the page lower down for other exercises)
http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/Calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities.htm
http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htm

The good news is, after I got my HRM, I really found that I wasn't that far off. Also, remember the more you lose, the less calories you will burn doing the same exercise for the same period of time, so remember to change things up. Hope this helps you.

gatorflyer

I'm right there with you. I do the LS waking DVD at home. When I log mine I'll log with some time in Low Impact Aerobics, and then some time in High Impact aerobics.

I'm still fairly new to this site... may I ask what is HRM?? lol....

Still trying to understand these acronyms

Heart Rate Monitor

dlongshot7

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Are all heart rate monitors the same?? Are some better/more accurate than others? Just curious..

gatorflyer

In my opinion, All HRMs are not created equally. From what I have read and seen, the Polar HRMs seem to be the most accurate and reliable overall. I highly recommend that whatever one you choose, that it is one with a chest strap and that you religiously change the settings to your new weight to get an accurate measurement. I also find that certain HRMs do certain things really well and other things not so well. I bought a polar RS100 which I love, and it was less than $100. It does the calculation of Calories burned very well, both for inside workouts and walking, and even swimming, and it accurately gives me a better burn when I increase the intensity of my workout by adding hand weight exercises while I am walking ro running. However, it does nothing for me when I want to know about distance traveled. I was given a Garmin 305S (I think that's the model) HRM for my Birthday, also with a chest strap, and it calculates distance very well and it calculates the calories burned based on distance I walk or run, very well, but I don't find it to be as accurate when I add the extra Arm weight exercises into my walks or runs, or when I do my weight loss yoga and other DVD exercises. Since it uses GPS for calculating distance, I would say that that is what it does really well. So, for me, I use the particular HRM based on what I type of exercise I happen to be doing.

heaverchell

I'm right there with you. I do the LS waking DVD at home. When I log mine I'll log with some time in Low Impact Aerobics, and then some time in High Impact aerobics.

I'm still fairly new to this site... may I ask what is HRM?? lol....

Still trying to understand these acronyms

HRM is a Heart Rate Monitor

iuangina

I have the Polar FT7 HRM. I love it. Until you get one, I would not eat back all the calories MFP gives you. I have found that it can be up to 20% too high for the number of calories I burn based on HRM. This caused my weight to be stuck for a long time. I would just be cautious about eating back all your calories until you get an HRM.

heaverchell

Well I just ordered mine. I got the Polar FT4. It seemed to have great reviews and wasn't too hard on the wallet. Can't wait to get it and start using it.