Calories (kcal?) burned Polar 4ft vs MyTrek

tmt2003
tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
edited October 6 in Fitness and Exercise
Are kcal burned the same as 'calories'? I have a polar ft that I have been using for about 6 months. From the get go I was convinced it was not right because it seemed to me that it always read my calories burned as too low compared to others who just post massive calories burned - especially taking into account that I am very overweight and out of shape. But I've just been going with it.

I got my DH the Scosche MyTrek for christmas and tried it out today. I wore both the polar HRM and MyTrek while on the treadmill. The interesting thing is that the heart rate reading matched on both the entire time, but the polar says i burned 379 caloies and the MyTrek says I burned 1067k cal. That can't be right...now I know I said I thought the polar was reading too low, but 1000+ definately does not seem right.

Are kcals the same as cal? Am I missing something here?

Teresa

Replies

  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
    they are pretty much the same....

    did you set the polar with the correct settings when you got it (age, weight, etc)....same ? on the Mytek.....I know its a silly question but have seen some that didn't and that was the issue

    How long of a workout did you do on the treadmill?

    In all honesty, i'd be inclined to trust the Polar that has the chest strap rather than an armband that has bluetooth.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
    Polar for sure.

    Sometimes we think that we are busting our butt when we really aren't and HRM's tend to reflect that.

    You also can't compare yourself to others.. They may be more fit then you, taller/shorter,different genders.. etc etc.. all of that plays a role.
  • tmt2003
    tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
    If they have the same heart rate reading, it doesn't really matter if the strap is on the chest vs arm - the readings were spot on the entire work out for heart rate...that's the confusing part...
  • tmt2003
    tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
    Duplicate post
  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
    If they have the same heart rate reading, it doesn't really matter if the strap is on the chest vs arm - the readings were spot on the entire work out for heart rate...that's the confusing part...

    how long of a workout was it and what was the heartrate?
  • tmt2003
    tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
    Both the polar and the MyTrek have an average of 141 bpm for 40 minutes.
  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
    i didn't know exact #'s so i took 30 yrs old, 180lbs ....if your hear rate was an average of 141, shows 328 cals burned in 40 minutes.. The polar is really close.
  • doornumber03
    doornumber03 Posts: 221 Member
    try going here and put in the numbers and you'll see:

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
  • watergirl626
    watergirl626 Posts: 249 Member
    My Polar would probably show ~400 for 40 minutes with HR in the 140s. If I avg mid-140s, then I tend to average around 10 cals/minute, which I consider a good burn.

    Do you know if the people you see posting huge burns have HRMs? They could be overestimating if they are just using the MFP estimates.
  • tmt2003
    tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
    Thanks, I'll look at that link when I get a chance. Why the heck would the MyTrek be calculating so high, if it was reading the same HR?? I'll have to look at the manual again - it was pretty pricey to be so inaccurate...
    (Pretty close number wise : 36yrs old 188)
  • alcakes1
    alcakes1 Posts: 2
    Im having the same issue with My Scothe too.
    The heart rate seems to be accurate... but it's calculations for Kcal seems way off.

    I go online to calculate now
    but we shouldnt have to do that
    MyTrek should just do a software update
  • tmt2003
    tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
    Im having the same issue with My Scothe too.
    The heart rate seems to be accurate... but it's calculations for Kcal seems way off.

    I go online to calculate now
    but we shouldnt have to do that
    MyTrek should just do a software update



    I agree! It's really cool because my DH can track his miles ran, rate, etc. but what is up,with the calories? He was using an app to estimate all this,stuff because he hates the chest strap of other HRMs so I bought him the MyTrek thinking it would be more,accurate than his free app...grr.


    I did discover that my resting HR was way off because I just went with the default. I wonder how much of a difference that will make...
  • tmt2003
    tmt2003 Posts: 176 Member
    So apparently this is a glitch in the app software and there is going to be an update in the next couple days. Hopefully that fixes it!

    Thanks for the links to all the calculators very helpful!
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