Only 281 cals for an hour of spinning???!!?

Options
verbifyvenus
verbifyvenus Posts: 175 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
For the first time I was able to wear my bodybugg to my spin class to see exactly how many calories I really burned. It's supposed to be up to 90% accurate, but yet it says I burned only 281 calories from spinning my butt off, red face, and dripping sweat for an hour! How is that possible? Now I am only 5'0" and 125, but really? This website says I would burn well over 550 calories.

Any thoughts?

Replies

  • Rachaely
    Rachaely Posts: 113
    Options
    I'm as shocked as you are! That seems like nothing!
  • Tan43
    Tan43 Posts: 87 Member
    Options
    Hi,

    I wore my Polar ft4 during a RPM class (Aussie spin class) and it logged I had burned 325 claories for 45 Minutes. I was surprised as I work my butt off in that class and presumed I would of burned more. I can burn more doing 30 minutes of weight training and 30 minutes of interval training on the Treadmill which I did today with a calorie burn of 560. RPM is good to do though as it breaks up the exercise for the week and keeps the body guessing.

    Cheers
  • Lmh0906
    Lmh0906 Posts: 16 Member
    Options
    What are you averaging for watts and cadence on the bike? I am 6' 185lbs and have some pretty intense leg strength. I can usually push higher watts than the men in the class and average around 170 with my max being 300ish and I normally end up burning around 500kj's in an hour. The thing about spinning, unfortunately, is that it doesn't burn as much as say running, it does however build some serious leg strength and definition. I would keep at it and also throw a few mile run in before class to get the extra calories. Good luck!
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Options
    It says on their website that it is not accurate for cycling.

    Your arms are staying mostly still, making it inaccurate. They suggest wearing it around your ankle (will not be completely correct) or taking it off and switching out for a HRM during that time.
  • srp2011
    srp2011 Posts: 1,829 Member
    Options
    The sad reality is that those of us who are vertically challenged just don't burn a lot of calories, no matter what it feels like on the sweat-meter :grumble:
  • PetitePerfection
    PetitePerfection Posts: 199 Member
    Options
    It says on their website that it is not accurate for cycling.

    Your arms are staying mostly still, making it inaccurate. They suggest wearing it around your ankle (will not be completely correct) or taking it off and switching out for a HRM during that time.
    ^^yup. from my understanding bodybuggs are super accurate high tech pedometers. And if you were to wear a pedometer on your arm while your really only moving your legs it wouldnt catch most of the motion. I wear my HRM to spin classes and burn around 620 cals for 1 hour. I'm 5'6" and 127lbs
  • SergeantSunshine_reused
    SergeantSunshine_reused Posts: 5,382 Member
    Options
    Not completely true. I am 5ft2 or 5ft3 (depends on the day lol) and I burn 2250 calories total on a REST day
  • inatay7
    inatay7 Posts: 141
    Options
    I went through the same thing when I got my hrm........

    So often calories burnt were overestimated by mfp (I felt anyway).

    I'm not sure how body bug works exactly, but my hrm burns calories using heart rate, that is meant to be the most accurate way of determining calories burnt......
  • cdennis68
    cdennis68 Posts: 2
    Options
    I know... It's seems crazy. Are you dripping with sweat when you're done with your ride? I would let that be your gauge. And remember, not every workout is about calories. Spinning is really a cardiopulmonary conditioning workout. Monitor your heartrate and your endurance. Try to do longer rides. Challenge yourself when you feel like giving up. When you feel fatigued and out of breath take a rest, back off drink some water. If you need to, lift your arms over your head and take a deep breath and lower as you exhale. This really opens up your lungs. Take a few deep breaths this way, breath through you nose and out your mouth until you're breathing evens out. Once you get your breathing under control (on the bike) and then go all out for at least 20 secs. Try to "go all out" at least once every minute throughout your ride by increasing tension and/or speed.

    I've been spinning for approx. 15 years and have been an instructer as well. I love spinning. It's a great cardiovascular low impact workout and it's so much fun and challenging. Keep up the great work and don't let the numbers fool you. Stay in this for the long haul! and you're probably burning more than 281... :-)

Categories