Stationary Bike

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mychellelynne
mychellelynne Posts: 122 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I have a stationary bike that I have been trying to use regularly. Today I went for 32 minutes at about 15-19 mph. The bike says I burnt 500 calories and MFP says 460 if I choose moderate biking. Would you consider 15-19 mph vigorous or moderate? I am a big gal so I have to work to do it this long. The bike doesn't take my weight into account either. I am just trying to get a round about number to what I might really be burning in 32 minutes.

Replies

  • jst1986
    jst1986 Posts: 204 Member
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    Are you riding with an incline or resistance setting? I've always taken that to be the differential between 'moderate' and 'vigorous'!
  • mychellelynne
    mychellelynne Posts: 122 Member
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    Hmm no I am not yet. We have it on the bike but I have not yet changed any settings from the easiest.
  • jcoco
    jcoco Posts: 143 Member
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    Purchase a heart rate monitor. It is the best way to gauge how hard you are working & number of calories you burn. I have a Polar F4 monitor & love it!
  • foraubs
    foraubs Posts: 263 Member
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    Before I had an HRM I used this site to calculate:
    http://fatburn.com/free_tool_activity_burn.asp

    I find it the most accurate of all the ones I've tried now compared to my HRM. Plus, it calculates by weight.

    I considered most of my biking activity moderate/aerobic because although I sweat, I wasn't anywhere near close to dying. I'm 163lbs and I burn about 525 calories in 50 minutes (per my HRM.)

    Hope that helps!

    ETA: I usually go anywhere from 10-12mph, so perhaps if you're doing 20 mins @ 15, that could be considered more than moderate for you!
  • Pandorian
    Pandorian Posts: 2,055 MFP Moderator
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    Since it's a stationary bike it doesn't have to account for weight as you're only pumping your legs, maybe the arms if you're not hanging on for dear life.

    But the 2 numbers agreeing 'within 40 calories" that's 10 grams of carbs / protein in the difference. Well within a reasonable margin of error.
  • glonigan
    glonigan Posts: 82
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    I would say the difference would be based on your heart rate. A stationary bike is an excellent way to burn calories without killing your joints. When i put my bike on the trainer I go for about 30 -45 minutes and try to work up a sweat . Keep up the great work and go at a pace that challenges you for that time. Best of luck to you
  • dough21
    dough21 Posts: 216 Member
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    I'm 6'4 230 lbs and I go around 16-19 mph. I usually burn around 515 calories for 30 min. Hope this helps?

    I use a HRM. I also put it as vigorous effort and most of the time it's within 15 - 20 calories of MFP.
  • wwmorrow
    wwmorrow Posts: 118 Member
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    I ride a stationary bike quite often for my exercise. My bike says anywhere between 150-200 calories for 30 minutes. (I do think I burn more than that though) It has different routes with different resistance. MFP calculates much more for that length of ride, but I'm afraid it's too much, so I usually put in about 150 calories. I would go with the lower number if I were you...just to be safe if you are eating back calories.
  • Keiko385
    Keiko385 Posts: 514 Member
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    less than
    10 is pleasure riding
    <12 mph is considered light,
    <14 moderate
    >14 vigorous
  • tleeiiiii
    tleeiiiii Posts: 44 Member
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    wow you guys burn a lot. i do 30 minutes at 20mpr and burn about 275, resistance from 4-7.
  • Rockytop_relic
    Rockytop_relic Posts: 208 Member
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    I'm 6ft and 283 and my bike says I burn 100 calories per 10 min. at avg. 16mph and I set it at 5 difficulty with a scale of 1thru 10.

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