How are people burning such high calories

I just got a heart rate monitor a couple of weeks ago.

the charts say my 80% should be 140, and my target range 140-156, max (100%) 175.

when I run I have been having to do intervals to keep it below 165, and still in 35 min I only burn 350 calories. swimming is much the same.

So my question is how are people burning 1,000 calories in an hour, without going over heart rate recommendations, an I missing something?
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Replies

  • sbjmorgan
    sbjmorgan Posts: 158 Member
    I'm guessing they could weigh more? I've been wondering this too and still haven't figured it out. Maybe it's just different exercises?
  • Bookaholic88
    Bookaholic88 Posts: 106 Member
    Bump..
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    They're not staying within heart rate recommendations if they are actually burning that. Hell, my heart rate generally sits around 190+ when I am going hard.
  • Wandering the exact same thing!
  • htimsm87
    htimsm87 Posts: 104 Member
    I suspect they are using the inflated numbers given by MFP.
  • moniquedeanne
    moniquedeanne Posts: 249 Member
    Higher intensity workouts might be the answer. I know I burn a ridiculously higher number of calories doing an hour of kickboxing. I don't burn nearly that running for the same amount of time.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    I suspect the are using the inflated numbers given by MFP.

    That too. ;)
  • c2111
    c2111 Posts: 693 Member
    agreed with op I have allways kinda halved the cals on mfp as they are over to me, enjoy your hrm :)
  • vtmoon
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    They probably weigh more, or get their heart rate very high, or the common one they are overestimating.
  • sarahc001
    sarahc001 Posts: 477 Member
    They likely either weigh more or are overestimating. Even while running the best I can do is about 450-475 calories per hour, according to my heart rate monitor.
  • chelovik
    chelovik Posts: 200 Member
    Trust me they are not. Use your HRM or body media device and adjust your calls according to that. That is a flaw with the MFP app. If they were truly burning that much on a daily basis they would be very thin which in most cases is not the case.
  • TodayYesterday
    TodayYesterday Posts: 42 Member
    I've never come close. In my spin class, the instructor said you could burn 750 calories/hour. I think I was more like 400 - when I checked my HRM.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    MFP tends to overestimate things. I have to run 11 miles to burn 1,000.
  • They're not staying within heart rate recommendations if they are actually burning that. Hell, my heart rate generally sits around 190+ when I am going hard.

    Me too!
  • Yeah, when you weigh more you burn more per hour.
  • Goal_Line
    Goal_Line Posts: 474 Member
    The either weight more OR their estimates are not accurate.

    There are some crazy high estimates out there that I bet are wrong.

    I'm 190 male I can to intense interval training for 30 mins, be dripping in sweat and top out at 400 cals.

    Use multiple sources (HRM, websites, etc) to estimate your burn, and be conservative.
  • umer76
    umer76 Posts: 1,272 Member
    One thing is MFP is giving high estimates for some of the exercises and secondly people who weigh more will burn more calories to move the big weight. Like if i jog for 40 min I will burn much more cals than someone who weighs 200 lbs. Bigger the engine more diesel it needs!
  • underwater77
    underwater77 Posts: 331 Member
    I burn a lot of calories in a one-hour spin class, but my heart rate usually goes a little over the high end of my target - it will touch to the mid 170s then come back down. But I have never burned 1000/hour. 800 tops.

    this all per my HRM

    i fluctuate 135-140 lbs. 5'4.
  • I do Low intense cardio on the tread mill for 30 mins before I work out to get me going keeping my heart rate at 127-130bpm
    then I lift (strenght training for about 40-90mins.
    Then I do slow cardio again for another 30 mins.

    I do a mix of HIIT( High Intense cardio) and Low Intense cardio. It helps burn fat quicker.
    end up burning 800-1200 calories a day. if that makes any since to you all. I mean I could go more indepth but I dont want to bore you. I can refer you to articles and what nots that can better explain this as well.

    In the end cardio + strenght training = more calories lost. Unless you do cardio twice a day for 30-60 mins depending on if its low or high intense.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    irrelevant. who cares?

    questions you should be asking yourself are things like "what sort of exercise regimen can I commit to doing regularly?", "how should i structure my diet in a way that will keep me satiated?", "what are my fitness goals?"
  • I use my HRM and for 45 mins of spin class I burn between 600 - 700 calories.

    I don't stick to the whole "fat burning" zone - in my opinion it's pish. I'm just out to burn as many calories as I can, so I'm working at 80-90% max heart rate most of the time.

    :)
  • glitteredgrave
    glitteredgrave Posts: 194 Member
    I suspect they are using the inflated numbers given by MFP.

    I agree with this. I don't trust a lot of what I see on MFP or online. For example, using a gazelle for 20 minutes supposedly burns 170ish cals. I seriously don't even sweat so I highly doubt that. The days that I use the gazelle instead of running or doing anything else, I usually don't eat back those calories just in case.

    I need to get a heart rate monitor. OOOOh valentines day present!
  • Simone_King
    Simone_King Posts: 467 Member
    The only way I burn a 1000 cals in a sitting is if I work out over two hours. So, no clue but I don't use a heart rate thing. (Maybe I should?)

    I know I can burn a lot of calories when I do one machine at the gym. Or it says I am.
  • letjog
    letjog Posts: 260 Member
    it's very unlikely they are burning 1000 calories per hour.
  • kennethmgreen
    kennethmgreen Posts: 1,759 Member
    irrelevant. who cares?

    questions you should be asking yourself are things like "what sort of exercise regimen can I commit to doing regularly?", "how should i structure my diet in a way that will keep me satiated?", "what are my fitness goals?"
    Good advice there.

    Even with a HRM, you are still only getting estimates of a calorie burn. The estimates are better than some one-size-fits-many calculation from a website, but it's all just estimates. Speaking very generally, burning too much over a calorie per minute is often inflated figures.

    Also, someone who weighs 250 lbs will burn more calories than someone who weighs 125, doing the same activity for the same length of time.

    But ultimately, what Taso posted is better info. A HRM is good for getting calorie burn estimates when calculating target calorie goals and such. But really, for long term fitness goals, consistency, gradual improvement, more strength/flexibility/heart health are way more important than the numbers.
  • Per hour of course not. unless your doing an hour of total body work with no rest then I can see that happening
  • jsd_135
    jsd_135 Posts: 291 Member
    I was wondering this today, as my HRM registered 357 cals. for 35 minutes on the treadmill (before subtracting my BMR). My previous 35 minute workout was 295 cals. I checked my heartrate stats: today, the average heartrate was a lot higher 155 versus 138. I had intended to increase the intensity. I guess it worked. Anyway, the HRM seems pretty accurate to me.
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,803 Member
    as someone who has lost over 100 pounds i will say this, I used to be able to burn a whole lot more calories per hour than i can now. When I was 350+ I could have burned 1000 per hour but I could never do an hour of exercise solid. now that i have lost some weight I can burn 1000 calories and do on a regular basis and NO I DONT USE MFP NUMBERS, I use my Ft7 HRM. it takes me roughly 90 min on the elliptical to burn 1000 calories or about 2 hours on a treadmill. But I suggest you worry about your burn, if people are overestimating their burns it is only hurting themselves.
  • People only cheat themselves when they rely on the excessively high calorie burns - I use the opposite approach. My treadmill has a generic calorie counter and I believe that it is well below what I have actually burnt due to the fact that I am well above average weight but I use those figures to post on mfp anyway. The way I see it is if you've actually burnt more but don't know it then that can only benefit you in the long run.
  • ambervaldez79
    ambervaldez79 Posts: 210 Member
    I agree with you, Taso! Does it matter? Some of my friends will have high numbers and usually these are the ppl that are 200+ with a reliable Hrm. Good for them! They are pushing themselves harder for longer periods of time!
    :glasses: