anyone use Endomondo for tracking exercise?

missigus

I just recently started using Endomondo for tracking my exercise on my droid phone. It's kinda cool how it tells you the distance, time and maps out the route you've taken, but i'm thinking the calorie count is still off. I'm wondering if anyone is using the zephyr heart rate monitor with it? I am thinking about getting one, but was wondering how people like it and if it makes the calories burnt more accurate? With out it it is telling me I only burned 255 calories hiking 55 min. I know my burn was way higher, I was hiking in the steep bluffs by our cabin. We are not talking a wimpy trail here. My heart was pounding! I guess I am just wanting to be more accurate in counting my calorie burn, so if any of you know how this app works with a HR monitor please let me know if it would be a worthwhile investment to buy one. Thanks for your help in advance.

missigus

bump- anyone?

Lorraine128

I use Endomondo but not the zephyr hrm, sorry

ajohnson5080

I'm wondering the same thing. I have Zephyr on the way. At least according to what I have read, they supposedly added the feature to the website and will have it on the android app soon (I'm guessing that when you upload your workout to the website it will adjust the calorie count based on the HR added to the equation). Let's hope so.

michaelthorsonjr

How accurate do you think MFP is with tracking exercise ... I always wonder that with my running.

Whatamilike

I used to use Endomondo but I much prefer SportyPal Pro. I haven't noticed any difference in the calorie burn estimate however....

Reinventing_Me

I use it! I love it! I use it primarily to track my walking and partiipate in the challenges that are accessible online. I think it's a great motivator. I love that you can map and save out your routes online and set time, calorie and distance goals. Yes, the phone app and the online version are great - especially when used together!

econut2000

Endomondo doesn't take effort into calculating calories - how can it? It just calculates based on a basic formula using your age, weight and how fast you were moving for how long. So that means you know you've burned more than those 255 calories so you can think of those as extra added calories burnt A heartrate monitor will certainly help you with a more accurate calorie count. I wish I could help you with that info but I don't own one. I would do my research before buying one - some are more accurate than others and they are all pretty pricey so you don't want to get stuck with one that doesn't work for you! Good luck :drinker:

mmapags

None of these are really accurate, not MFP nor Endomondo for calorie burn. You want accurate, get yourself an HRM. I use Endomondo to track distance, laps and splits when I run or bike. Love it for that!

kohmori

I use it but with the Polar HRM. I love the app and the web interface, but I couldn't tell you if it is accurate on the calorie burn or not. The numbers I get seem to vary. Last week my typical bike commute was 300+ calories. This week it is 500+. Also, the numbers are almost identical on the way in and back, but there is significantly more uphill on the way home....

I also have a Highgear wrist watch/chest strap HRM and a Garmin bike GPS w/o a HRM that both estimate caloric expenditures. They all show different calorie burns, so who knows what the "truth" is.

You can take a look if you would like. This day my phone died and I uploaded the data from my GPS to show the completed rout. Maybe next time I will upload two complete routs as a comparison.

http://www.endomondo.com/workouts/qPH0UbB4SRs

Maybe I will buy a Body Media device next, or I'll go see a shrink about my addiction to gadgets.

stphnstevey

Going to try SportTracker first - maps seem good and can look for other peoples routes you never would have known about

robert65ferguson

I suggest you have a look at Azdaks blog on here. He has an excellent article on choosing and setting up an HRM

Rynoman2k3

I've been using Endomondo for quite awhile now. I like it alot. The pro version shows a few more things than the free version. I got it on sale for .49 so i figured why not try it out. I've been wanting to try the HRM as well. I just put my time in that i do the workouts vs using endomondo's cal burn. MFP seems to always be lower, and it doesn't hurt to enter cals lower than you burned vs having shown too much cals burned in my opinion.

crimsontech

I have been using Endomondo for my distance-based exercises for a few months now. I just got a WahooFitness HRM (chest strap) and I can verify that Endomondo does use the heart rate to give a more accurate calorie burn. It also includes it on the graphs. Works very well!

mickyjd

I suggest you have a look at Azdaks blog on here. He has an excellent article on choosing and setting up an HRM

https://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak?month=201112

Frannybobs

I use Endomondo and I have a Polar FT4 HRM. I couldn't get the bluetooth transmitter from my HRM chest strap to communicate with my phone (I think it's my phone and not Endomondo), but when I read up on it, it only displays your heart rate on the screen for you to see whilst you are running / walking / cycling. It doesn't take it into account for calorie burns.

My biggest beef with Endomondo is the conflict on the calories burned it gives if you choose "Cycling, transport" instead of "Cycling, sport". I pick the transport option when I commute to and from work and the calories burnt are almost half that if you choose the sport option. And that's even with the same speed etc, I'm not quite sure why, it's crazy. In any case I use Endomondo to track my routes and speeds and HRM for calories burned

Hope that helps

Fit_Forever25

I use Endomondo but only to identify my walking speed

EoinMag

I use Endomondo with a Polar Wearlink HRM, the difference with a HRM vs without are not substantial, over a larger workout it does come to a bit though. If I use Endomondo to track my daily cycle commute without a HRM , just with GPS, then it tracks 100kcal, if I do it with a HRM it tracks 111kcal, so it's out by 11% in this case.

The issue I have with Endomondo is that it does not know all of my excercises and the calory count changes substantially depending on what you choose.

mstaser

If you are just using Endo for jogging and basic stuff, you don't need a HRM. The estimate on there is real close as long as you keep your stats updated. Like mentioned before, the long multitasking workouts do need a HRM for a more accurate cal burn. I wore a HRM and used Endo several times and they were always real close. MFP's calculators and just as close also.

michaelthorsonjr

Is MFP estimate high or low do you think?

EoinMag

Is MFP estimate high or low do you think?

According to my HRM, it's high.

SanyamKaushik

What I have read, formulas for calculating walking and running calories are fairly accurate (these are based on weight and distance travelled) I have tried heart rate monitor but they give me very high calorie burnt figures and I really cant believe it. I use Endomondo and my belief is that the reading of Endomondo or MFP are fairly accurate. Endomondo is helpful in calculating total distance walked and you have reasonable good figures to enter into MFP.

michaelthorsonjr

Is MFP estimate high or low do you think?

According to my HRM, it's high.

By how much?

EoinMag

Is MFP estimate high or low do you think?

According to my HRM, it's high.

By how much?

I'll qualify this for you after this evenings workout if I remember.

EoinMag

Ok I've done my first thirty minutes on the X-trainer

HRM says 30mins = 347 kcal
MFP says 30mins =408kcal

Interestingly the Elliptical display is showing 402, so effectively the same as MFP.

It's a Reebok Z9 machine so an alright home machine.

cherbapp

I've been using endomondo for a while now and just came on here looking for an answer to my question...if endomondo is more accurate than MFP? Endomondo tracks elevation, which can make a huge difference in burn..

Anyway when I biked today in hilly terrain, endomondo said I burned 20% more calories than MfP.

Walking is slightly higher as well....so I was just curious if endomondo is indeed calculating the effort it takes to go up and down a few hundred feet.

From reading the responses earlier about MFP estimating a higher burn, I'm going with yes....endomondo can calculate terrain into the mix.

mmapags

Endopmondo for biking is ridiculously inaccurate. It gives me a burn about 70% higher than my HRM and I think that is about 20 to 30% high.

chubba10000

I've been using it for a while, and endomondo consistently gives me higher calorie burn numbers, too. At this point I basically use it for the time/distance calculation but go with what MFP says for the calories. Since I'm trying to lose weight rather than replace those calories for training purposes, I think it's preferable to stick with the more conservative numbers.

Regarding the altitude, I seriously doubt that's what's making the difference. I live in Chicago, which is mostly glacier-scraped prairie except for a few ridges and bluffs and railroad viaducts here and there, rarely more than a hundred or so feet of elevation change in the course of anything I do. Walking or biking, I usually get a 30-60% higher calorie number with endomondo.

jonchew

Is MFP estimate high or low do you think?

According to my HRM, it's high.

By how much?

Interesting - I have Endomondo Pro/Zephyr HRM, and it tends to read much higher than MFP. I just got back from a walk, Endomondo calculated 357kcal, whereas MFP calculates it to be 285kcal. Accoeding to Endomondo, I walked an average of 4.16 mph, so I used MFP calculations for walking at 4.0 mph - but the difference shouldn't be that much.

I think what's happening is, Endomondo is taking the terrain (and my heartrate) into account (I live in a hilly area).

I also found out that the GPS in my phone is quite terrible, I use a Holux Bluetooth GPS receiver that I've had knocking-about, and get great results now. Anyone else have real problems with their phone GPS?

rsan

Maybe "transport" is for flat roads and "sport" is for mountain biking or trail riding, not sure.