HRM learning lesson

sagetracey

I have an old watch-style HRM that I wear when exercising instead of my nice gold watch. I also have a Body Media Fit armband to measure my calories burnt but because I didn't buy the display unit, I have to plug the BMF into my computer to get the results. So I sometimes just check my heart rate on the old HRM.

DH is about 20kg lighter than me, a few centimetres shorter and six years older, not to mention he is male and I am female, but he doesn't understand why MFP gives him a different calorie burn for doing the same exercise as me. I have tried explaining that it is based on age, gender, height and weight. He thinks that because I can do all the same exercise as him then we are burning the same number of calories.

This morning my DH and I were out for our morning walk and had just climbed a hill. My heart rate was 136. I got DH to take a reading and his was 87. Suddenly it became very clear to him just how differently our bodies are working and why I burn more calories than him for the same exercise.

It was a great learning lesson!