30 day shred question.

katcod1522

So...in the past when doing the 30 day shred, I would log my exercise calories as circuit training general..and it would say about 215 calories burned for 20 minutes. Doing this a second time...with my new HRM last night..only tells me I burned 31 calories?? WTH!!!! Help? Seems low..but maybe not?

navyw1fe

Thats really low..if you have a chest strap make sure its wet when you put it on and tight so it doesnt slip down. also make sure all the info you logged into your watch is up to date!

CMmrsfloyd

I think you have a problem with your heartrate monitor. Does it have a chest strap? Did you wet the strap with water before starting your workout? (helps it get a good signal) Did you program in your height/age/weight? Did you check during your workout to be sure it was still reading your heartrate? Sometimes they can slip out of place or lose signal and register '00' on the heartrate. If you don't notice it and correct the problem, it really messes up your stats for your workout.

I tend to burn a little over 200 during level 1 of the shred. I'm 5'4" and just under 140 lbs for comparison's sake. But no matter how small you are, 31 is ridiculously low if you are actually trying to keep up with the workout.

skingszoo

Something is wrong with your HRM. I have a Polar FT4 and burn around 200 cals.

KCarpenter83

Calorie counts from HRMs will vary in their accuracy for several reasons. First question- does your HRM know your height, weight, and gender? Some ask for this info and some do not. If there is no way to enter this, the count cant be accurate. Second question- can you choose your "activity" on your HRM? For instance, can you tell it you are walking, running, doing calesthenics, etc? If not, it won't be accurate.

Heart rate alone does not indicate calories burned. What if you were really really nervous about something and had your heart rate at 110 for an hour, sitting in a chair? Would you burn the same amount of calories if you were walking for an hour with your heart rate at 110? No, of course you burn more walking even though the heart rate is the same. Heart Rate is simply an indicator of how hard you MAY be working therefore it can estimate calories but heart rate itself is not what actually burns the calories- your muscles doing work burn calories.

So, long story short- your 200ish amount is more accurate than your 31. You DO need to make sure though that you are keeping your HR up - around 140-160 - to recieve the most cardiovascular benefit. Sometimes when i do that video I have to run in place or do jumping jacks between exercises to keep my HR up.

katcod1522

Its a MIO, no chest strap. Tends to be a little low for my runs too....but this is insane. And yes..i was working hard...level 1...sweaty.

CricketKate

Do you by any chance have an inexpensive HRM/pedometer that goes on your wrist. I bought one from Wal-Mart and had the same problem. Someone told me that it bases the calories burned on how many steps you take, not on your actual heart rate. It only tracks the heart rate when you push on it to check. I think that the purpose of it is so you can see if you're in your zone. If you want an accurate reading, you need to get an HRM that tracks all the time.

katcod1522

Yeah..this one only checks my heart rate when I place my fingers on the silver buttons. I will check on the height and weight option. Its a pretty expensive device from the mio site....maybe I need to dig a little deeper and make sure Im operating it correctly!

CMmrsfloyd

Its a MIO, no chest strap. Tends to be a little low for my runs too....but this is insane. And yes..i was working hard...level 1...sweaty.

Unfortunately the ones without a chest strap are not nearly as accurate. For those I believe you have to 'touch' them every so often to take your heartrate, it is not getting that number continuously as it changes throughout your workout like the ones with the chest strap. How often did you take your heartrate during your workout? I'd think the more often you do it, the more accurate it would be, but your heartrate changes a lot during the Shred due to the variety of exercises....

KCarpenter83

No chest strap means hiiiiighly inaccurate.

katcod1522

how accurately do you all think MFP is with the calories burned? Just wondering

katcod1522

I ask because I am always scared of this being wrong! and off!

KCarpenter83

I ask because I am always scared of this being wrong! and off!

Nothing is every going to be exact, but these estimates are probably the best you will be able to find. Plus just in general, remember that moderate intensity cardio exercise of any kind is going to burn about 100 cals every 10 minutes- more or less somewhat depending on the activity, your weight, etc. So use that as a guide and if any count is way off from that, its probably inaccurate.