Using a HRM while doing very long exercise activities? (Skii

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SAC0O3
SAC0O3 Posts: 95
in Fitness and Exercise
I am curious to see how many calories I burn while skiing. I don't really trust the generator on MFP because about half of the time I ski I am sitting on a ski lift going up the mountain (Plus some days I ski I can tell I push harder and some days I see I am a little lazier). Do you think my HRM would work if I kept it keeping track of my "work out" for about 5 hours and then having it tell me my average heart rate? (I would of course subtract 300 from it since I burn about a calorie a minute naturally)

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  • lexgem
    lexgem Posts: 163
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    Yeah I think it would work as long as the battery doesn't die. :)
    Enjoy your ski trip!
    Usually the raclette, fondue, white wine and potatoes that go with skiing compensate for the burn though in my experience.
  • vypeters
    vypeters Posts: 475 Member
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    I used mine on a 4+ hour hike and it did fine, so I'd think so.
  • jfinnivan
    jfinnivan Posts: 360 Member
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    I've used mine for 6 hours of hiking. It was a lot of calories.
  • dipsl19
    dipsl19 Posts: 317 Member
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    Yeah I think it would work as long as the battery doesn't die. :)
    Enjoy your ski trip!
    Usually the raclette, fondue, white wine and potatoes that go with skiing compensate for the burn though in my experience.

    haha so true... but she isnt necessarily going on a trip, some people live near mountains. lucky *kitten*.

    i say log it! its a great exercise. dont trust MFP with any burns... theyre always off.
  • CardiacNP
    CardiacNP Posts: 554 Member
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    I use my garmin HRM for over 3 hours doing 1/2 marathons and stuff
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I am curious to see how many calories I burn while skiing. I don't really trust the generator on MFP because about half of the time I ski I am sitting on a ski lift going up the mountain (Plus some days I ski I can tell I push harder and some days I see I am a little lazier). Do you think my HRM would work if I kept it keeping track of my "work out" for about 5 hours and then having it tell me my average heart rate? (I would of course subtract 300 from it since I burn about a calorie a minute naturally)

    No it would not be accurate, if you are going to do that I would pause the HRM while on the chair lift as HRM's are not accurate at calculating calories burned during resting. HRMs have a built in calculation that uses HR to gauge intensity, but if your HR is elevate and you are sitting the intensity portion of the calculation will be way off as you are not exercising or pushing yourself to get your HR to that level. What I am talking about here is V02 Max and your HR is used to estimate effort but during rest there is no rest so the V02Max portion of the calc will be way over estimated.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    From what I've read, the formulas that most HRMs use to calculate cals burned assume a higher than normal O2 intake (i.e. as found during exercise). If your HR/breathing returns to normal while on the lift (or in the lodge, whatever), then the cals burned estimate will likely be off. If you keep your HR up, it should be fine.


    ah, there it is:
    I am curious to see how many calories I burn while skiing. I don't really trust the generator on MFP because about half of the time I ski I am sitting on a ski lift going up the mountain (Plus some days I ski I can tell I push harder and some days I see I am a little lazier). Do you think my HRM would work if I kept it keeping track of my "work out" for about 5 hours and then having it tell me my average heart rate? (I would of course subtract 300 from it since I burn about a calorie a minute naturally)

    No it would not be accurate, if you are going to do that I would pause the HRM while on the chair lift as HRM's are not accurate at calculating calories burned during resting. HRMs have a built in calculation that uses HR to gauge intensity, but if your HR is elevate and you are sitting the intensity portion of the calculation will be way off as you are not exercising or pushing yourself to get your HR to that level. What I am talking about here is V02 Max and your HR is used to estimate effort but during rest there is no rest so the V02Max portion of the calc will be way over estimated.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I've used mine for 6 hours of hiking. It was a lot of calories.

    did you back out the cals you would have burned had you not hiked (maintenance calories/6 hours) from the total on the HRM. If not and you average 1.5 cals/min you would have over estimated your 6 hour burn by 540 calories.
  • scott091501
    scott091501 Posts: 1,260 Member
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    I use my garmin HRM for over 3 hours doing 1/2 marathons and stuff

    Yep. I use mine during half/full Iroman races.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I use my garmin HRM for over 3 hours doing 1/2 marathons and stuff

    Yep. I use mine during half/full Iroman races.

    As long as you back out maintenance for the total the burn should be very accurate as you are not taking breaks like a skier on a chair lift.
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    I wore my Polar FT7 last year for the susan G Komen 3 - Day 60 miles over a weekend!
    I wore for 8-9 hours each day...and I actually tracked it on here.. .it was hilarious.

    Of course I couldn't track all the gatorade, bananas, crackers and crap you shovel down to stay hydrated and healthy but it was sure fun and very interesting to see.

    Day 1: 3877 calories burned (20 miles)
    Day 2: 4482 cals (22 miles)
    Day 3: 3244 cals (18 miles)
  • dcmat
    dcmat Posts: 1,723 Member
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    I use a polar FT7 and is fine on 100+ mile rides (7+ hours)
  • Janiece65
    Janiece65 Posts: 15 Member
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    I am curious to see how many calories I burn while skiing. I don't really trust the generator on MFP because about half of the time I ski I am sitting on a ski lift going up the mountain (Plus some days I ski I can tell I push harder and some days I see I am a little lazier). Do you think my HRM would work if I kept it keeping track of my "work out" for about 5 hours and then having it tell me my average heart rate? (I would of course subtract 300 from it since I burn about a calorie a minute naturally)

    No it would not be accurate, if you are going to do that I would pause the HRM while on the chair lift as HRM's are not accurate at calculating calories burned during resting. HRMs have a built in calculation that uses HR to gauge intensity, but if your HR is elevate and you are sitting the intensity portion of the calculation will be way off as you are not exercising or pushing yourself to get your HR to that level. What I am talking about here is V02 Max and your HR is used to estimate effort but during rest there is no rest so the V02Max portion of the calc will be way over estimated.

    Most HRM's have a "pause" function that could be used when you're on the lift or take a break. That should do it.
  • SheehyCFC
    SheehyCFC Posts: 529 Member
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    what erickirb said - turn it off during ski-lift and you'll be fine... also for long durations (though i do it for any durations) - you should be backing out your resting calories (usually ~100/hr) before inputting the number in MFP for exercise
  • AEC50
    AEC50 Posts: 124 Member
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    I've used mine for 6 hours of hiking. It was a lot of calories.

    did you back out the cals you would have burned had you not hiked (maintenance calories/6 hours) from the total on the HRM. If not and you average 1.5 cals/min you would have over estimated your 6 hour burn by 540 calories.

    Not sure I understand this one. Do you always subtract 1cal/minute? I get doing it for rest times, but why not just pause the HRM and then take the number as it is?
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,326 Member
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    i've worn mine for as many as 24 hours since i was curious to see how many calories a burned on a day that i wasnt working out, but a normal day included sedentary job and sleep.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I've used mine for 6 hours of hiking. It was a lot of calories.

    did you back out the cals you would have burned had you not hiked (maintenance calories/6 hours) from the total on the HRM. If not and you average 1.5 cals/min you would have over estimated your 6 hour burn by 540 calories.

    Not sure I understand this one. Do you always subtract 1cal/minute? I get doing it for rest times, but why not just pause the HRM and then take the number as it is?
    You should be vacking out maintainance cals as hrms give you total cals burned some of which you would have burned any way and that mfp already accounted for. If my maintenance is 2400 cals i wold burn 100 cals per hour when not exercising. So if in an hour your hrm shows 600 cals 100 is already accounted for in your caloric intake, and for that hour you bured 500 cals more than mfp alloted, not the full
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    i've worn mine for as many as 24 hours since i was curious to see how many calories a burned on a day that i wasnt working out, but a normal day included sedentary job and sleep.
    What cal burn did it give you? Most likely it would have over estimated your b
    urn by at least10--20%

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