calories burned while working out...help! i'm confused!

kdub67

I'm new to MFP this week and am looking for some advice about how to accurately count calories while working out. For the past year I've been going to a studio that holds 55 minute classes where you alternate between a treadmill and weights. Five minutes on each, switching back and forth four times, then the final switch is a 3 minute interval. The treadmill components are usually a warmup, incline, sprints, endurance, and a mixup of everything. The trainer calls out speed levels for walkers, runners and sprinters but you can go at your own pace. I'm a walker, but I bump up their suggested speeds by .5 mph. I can sustain a 7mph sprint for 45 seconds, climb a 12% incline at 5.7 mph, etc...So, I'm walking, but fast. The weight portion of the class is standard lunges, squats, crunches, chest press/fly, biceps, triceps, etc...

The bottom line is since this is such a specialized workout and it changes every day, I can't figure out how to count the calories, because obviously it doesn't exist on a website anywhere. I wear a FitBit Ultra and it says I'm burning only 250, which seems low. I'm seriously sweating my a** off, working like mad, and am relatively fit and not overweight. So what gives? The trainers say most people say they burn between 4-600, which makes much more sense.

Would a heart rate monitor give a more accurate reading of calories than the FitBit, since it's counting steps? I want to accurately record my workout calories (and hence have more to eat back, haha!) but I'm at a loss...

Plates559

Heart rate monitors can't give an accurate ready for weight lifting since it can't tell how heavy of weight you are using and at what intensity you are moving that weight.

You don't have to eat back every single calorie you burn so i would say

If it isn't broke don't fix it. If you are dropping weight appropriately let it be.

jacksonpt

There is no 100% accurate way. The calorie counter on treadmills are probably the most accurate, but from there, it's largely a crap shoot. You do the best you can and call it a day.

IveLanded

I take classes like that and log them under "circuit training". Based on my HRM, it's pretty much the closest thing they have on MFP to log it. And that's basically what it is.

I weigh about 144 and I currently burn nearly 500 calories in a class like that. When I weighed more, I burned a little more....close to 600.

kdub67

I also weigh 144 so maybe 500 is roughly accurate. I need to not be so anal about the whole thing...Do my workout, enjoy it, eat well, and get healthy! Thanks for the input:)

crazyvermont

heart rate monitors how hard the heart is working ie weight and intensity would impact