How do you count your derby calories?

aurorabdcrg

Hi, ladies -

I started putting in my exercise counts and derby is kinda hard to quantify...

Rollerskating is coming up as 530 calories burned per hour. I feel like I'm "cheating" if I put in that I rollerskated for a full 3 hours even though our practice may have lasted that long.[ We're definitely not skating the whole time.

What "formula" is everyone using to calculate the calorie burn from practice? I've been cutting the time in half, so if I practiced for three hours, I'm only putting in 1.5 hours on the calorie counter.

Any other thoughts/suggestions?

- Aurora Borey-ALL-*kitten*
DC Rollergirls

thegreengoth

Have you tried wearing a heart rate monitor? That's probably the most accurate way to measure how many calories you've burned. You can find some adequate ones for about $30

grendella

bump

aurorabdcrg

Thanks for the reply, Goth!
I've thought about buying a Fitbit but haven't taken the plunge yet. Is there a particular heart monitor that you would recommend?
AA

all4derby

Hey AA... I assume that MFPs calculations are based on constant performance of whatever activity you select. As we all know, derby practice is seldom constant skating. I typically put in about 20 minutes on MFP for every hour of practice (way less if I am leading) and so far it seems to be working. I sometimes adjust depending on whether I felt a practice was really tough. It's definitely not a perfect science.

grendella

i also subtract major time from our practices

IrateBeth

We get a copy of "what we are doing" so we minimize in between time for drill explanation. I still subtract (on average) 20-40 minutes from each practice.

So for a two hour practice, I will put that I skated 1.5 hours, or 1.25 hours.
If I know there is an endurance drill (which we always have one) I count that separate as "Skating, ice, speed, competitive" for the duration of the drill. Example is Monday we had to sprint for 10 minutes and do a minimum of 60 laps. I have that as 10 minutes "Skating, ice, speed, competitive" and 40 minutes of "Skating, roller (rollerblading, roller blading)" for the rest of the time (I was late)

Does that make sense?

aurorabdcrg

Yep, that's super helpful. Thanks!

thegreengoth

No particular HRM that I've in mind. My guy uses a regular wrist-watch style though I'm told that using one that also incorporates a chest strap will likely give more heart rate accuracy

bobslackdobbs

I have a Polar FT4 that seems to work well because I can input age/gender/weight and those sort of things that are factors in your calorie burning rate in addition to heart rate. That being said, I usually burn between 1000-1300 calories during a practice that involves about 20-30 minutes of plyo followed by 2-2.5 hours on skates. I generally pause it during long gaps in the practice (like stretching or when a new drill is getting explained) when my HR drops out of its target zone.

IrateBeth

So, here is a silly question (because I am debating an HRM purchase).

Do you use one with a chest strap?
I cannot imagine that you use a wrist watch version... as your wrist guards may (should) get in the way.

thegreengoth

Hmm I'm curious if there are ways to modify the wrist watch design....
If not, perhaps we should put our heads together to corner the market on derby-friendly (and resistant) HRMs

bobslackdobbs

Mine has a wristwatch that must be close enough to receive the transmissions from the HRM which is a chest strap. I got the men's model so it would have a bigger wristband (and the color was better imho) and I wear it on the largest hole right above my wristguard and below my elbow pad. I've also seen people connect it to their bra strap. The amount of pads and contact make it hard to know where to put it for sure.

geckofli

I use a heart rate monitor with a chest strap, becasue of my wrist guards i usually have my watch on the arm/shoulder of my singlet, that keeps it out of the way and close enough to recieve the signal

kgirlknits

i use the Polar FT7, on recommendation of one of my teammates - has chest strap and wristwatch (that collects the data). I've gotten used to the watch under my wristguards, bit uncomfortable at first, but fine now. I did find turning the watch face to the underside of my wrist helped with the comfort levels.

as a guide, a 2hr training session I'm burning anywhere between 750-1100cals. Sessions including scrimmage of course are the higher end of that scale; drills based the lower.

Because of the nature of some of the drills and scrimmage, you get some great cardio spikes even though you are not constantly "skating". Bouting is even more intense. Last bout I churned through 1700 calories (with a line up of 12 skaters)