HRM, DDR, Cal Calculation, Confusion.

Faericn_Rising · October 2012

OK... So, i got a HRM today. $15, Bowflex Wristwatch style, with the panels on front to touch, and calculate your HR....

So i tested it.

Resting rate of 60/70.

I then did 18 dances on DDR, over about 25 minutes. The GAME said i burned 254 cals.

I also took my heart rate every time i finished a dance, and my average is 112. Apparently, that isnt enough to even calculate, according to this website,

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

The above website uses this formula:

"For females, derive the calories that you burned. This is given by the equation C = (0.4472 x H -- 0.05741 x W + 0.074 x A -- 20.4022) x T / 4.184. Assume that you're a 28-year-old female weighing 146 pounds. Your average heart rate during an exercise session that lasted 36 minutes was 138 bpm. You burned C = (0.4472 x 138 -- 0.05741 x 146 + 0.074 x 28 -- 20.4022) x 36 / 4.184 = 301 calories."

I tested the formula, and got the same answer, using the above site.

When i input my 18 dances, it told me my HR wasnt even high enough to calculate, at 112, because it had to be 120 or over. I also tried to do that equation manually, and also had my geek fiancee do it, but to no avail.

I changed the Hr in the site-generator to 120 just to see what i got, and it said, 118 cals.

That is HALF what the game told me. And this is the lowest calculating game i have. I have another one which is clearly not calculating right. Even with the weight variable added in, which all the games ask for. I half that ones output automatically.

Im doing it a lot, and im losing weight, watching what i eat, and feeling pretty great...

But thinking i might only be getting half as far as i could have been is pretty discouraging.... also, this really, really could have messed up my logs for the past few weeks.

Im going to keep dancing regardless. its working for me. But id really love to know how many cals im actually burning. : / especially in terms of logging....

heybales · October 2012

OK... So, i got a HRM today. $15, Bowflex Wristwatch style, with the panels on front to touch, and calculate your HR....

So i tested it.

Resting rate of 60/70.

I then did 18 dances on DDR, over about 25 minutes. The GAME said i burned 254 cals.

I also took my heart rate every time i finished a dance, and my average is 112. Apparently, that isnt enough to even calculate, according to this website,

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

Im going to keep dancing regardless. its working for me. But id really love to know how many cals im actually burning. : / especially in terms of logging....

First of all, forget using that type of HRM for any kind of calorie estimation.

That would first of all require knowing the avgHR during the whole session, not when you happened to touch the sensors.

So forget it for that.

Just use it for knowing if you are getting as high a HR as desired on hard days, and keeping it below a certain level on easy days.

Oh, and better site for that Polar funded study formula, that doesn't assume HRmax and therefore what range it can calc on.

http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm

Remember though, still won't be valid since you don't know your avgHR through the whole session.

For logging, use the game estimates if it knows your weight.

Faericn_Rising · October 2012

OK... So, i got a HRM today. $15, Bowflex Wristwatch style, with the panels on front to touch, and calculate your HR....

So i tested it.

Resting rate of 60/70.

I then did 18 dances on DDR, over about 25 minutes. The GAME said i burned 254 cals.

I also took my heart rate every time i finished a dance, and my average is 112. Apparently, that isnt enough to even calculate, according to this website,

http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

Im going to keep dancing regardless. its working for me. But id really love to know how many cals im actually burning. : / especially in terms of logging....

First of all, forget using that type of HRM for any kind of calorie estimation.

That would first of all require knowing the avgHR during the whole session, not when you happened to touch the sensors.

So forget it for that.

Just use it for knowing if you are getting as high a HR as desired on hard days, and keeping it below a certain level on easy days.

Oh, and better site for that Polar funded study formula, that doesn't assume HRmax and therefore what range it can calc on.

http://www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm

Remember though, still won't be valid since you don't know your avgHR through the whole session.

For logging, use the game estimates if it knows your weight.

OK... I did calculate an average HR, over the 18 dances. total/18 =112. Right? Does that change anything?

And you say to just use what the game says as far as logging?

Example, i did over 1000 cals yesterday, by the games calculations. but did i rly only do 500?

I guess that all that really matters, is that i make progress. Which i am. Slowly. And therefore, i could just go on as i have been, and still do well. But if i could do everything more efficiently, id like to.... but again... i do have a working system currently... maybe i should let well enough alone...

Mokey41 · October 2012

Those HRM's that have you touching them are about as much use as wearing your regular wrist watch. They never read correctly and if you're putting any effort at all into your game your HR should be much more than 112. I wouldn't trust the game either though because it doesn't know what effort you're putting in either.

For example: My son and I play a tennis game. It knows he's 200 lbs and it knows I'm 115 lbs. I actually stand up and play the game like I was playing tennis. He sits on the couch and barely moves yet it calculates calories for him the same way it does for me.

The only reliable way to get any accuracy is with a HRM that has a chest strap. My recommendation is a Polar because they seem to be the most accurate for general activities.

Faericn_Rising · October 2012

Well, i have developed a definite sens of what 10 cals feels like, and what 25 cals in the same time feels like. My dances are usually a minute or so.

What ill probably do, is take what the game tells me for 15 cals and under, as is. But i rarely play that level of easiness at this point... and anything 15 to19 ill set as 15 cals, and 20+ will get marked as 20. If im getting higher than 20 per dance though, im usually dripping sweat and hopping around like a crazy person with ants in their pants by that point and 20 seems more than fair. everything after that can be a bonus.

DDR, set to difficult, is really really hard. 2 turns of difficult and i am well on my way to being in the 80-90 MHR zone. I dont need a monitor to tell me that. It is a disctinctly different experience than the rest of my ddr time.

DDR set to basic, i can do for hours on end. 2 weeks ago, basic for an hour was intense, but now its easier for me, so i dont know where i call that level at. 30 or 40 maybe?

Up to this point i have basically just checked my heartbeat from time to time to make sure it was elevated, and that i was breathing in a taxed manner. And i love it so i just keep going n going n going.....

It really bugs me that i cant seem to find out exactly how many cals im actually burning, but i also know im doing well, so im just going to keep doing what im doing. I honestly dont see how any monitor could ever tell the exactly right amount, because every person is different physiologically. why is the chest band so different from the wristband type? And whats so bad about the wristband? i could see the symbol on the watch blinking in precise time with my heartbeats, so it was visually counting properly, how hard can it be, test for 10 secs, times by 6, right? Couldnt i just test myself that way? then get my average with basic division?

But then the equation you have to do to get the caloric value is insanity..... and i dont trust the generatorsonline because they all give different answers from the same data....

Could i take the max of 182.2, as a 27yr old female mhr, and then use the average i got to place which percentage i was working in? and altetr my exercising based on where it puts me in there, even though i dont have an actualcaloric number?

Mokey41 · October 2012

A monitor with a chest strap is monitoring your HR constantly. It already knows your age, weight, gender and height and does all the calculations itself so when you finish whatever you're doing it gives your the calorie burn.

If your HR is only averaging 112 while you exercise then you won't be burning a huge amount of calories. Sweat isn't an indicator of exertion, some people sweat a lot doing nothing and others can run 5 K and barely be damp. Same with breathing heavily, it just means your cardio fitness isn't very good. To be really getting a good burn you should be exercising at 80% of your Max Hr.

heybales · October 2012

Well, i have developed a definite sens of what 10 cals feels like, and what 25 cals in the same time feels like. My dances are usually a minute or so.

What ill probably do, is take what the game tells me for 15 cals and under, as is. But i rarely play that level of easiness at this point... and anything 15 to19 ill set as 15 cals, and 20+ will get marked as 20. If im getting higher than 20 per dance though, im usually dripping sweat and hopping around like a crazy person with ants in their pants by that point and 20 seems more than fair. everything after that can be a bonus.

DDR, set to difficult, is really really hard. 2 turns of difficult and i am well on my way to being in the 80-90 MHR zone. I dont need a monitor to tell me that. It is a disctinctly different experience than the rest of my ddr time.

DDR set to basic, i can do for hours on end. 2 weeks ago, basic for an hour was intense, but now its easier for me, so i dont know where i call that level at. 30 or 40 maybe?

Up to this point i have basically just checked my heartbeat from time to time to make sure it was elevated, and that i was breathing in a taxed manner. And i love it so i just keep going n going n going.....

It really bugs me that i cant seem to find out exactly how many cals im actually burning, but i also know im doing well, so im just going to keep doing what im doing. I honestly dont see how any monitor could ever tell the exactly right amount, because every person is different physiologically. why is the chest band so different from the wristband type? And whats so bad about the wristband? i could see the symbol on the watch blinking in precise time with my heartbeats, so it was visually counting properly, how hard can it be, test for 10 secs, times by 6, right? Couldnt i just test myself that way? then get my average with basic division?

But then the equation you have to do to get the caloric value is insanity..... and i dont trust the generatorsonline because they all give different answers from the same data....

Could i take the max of 182.2, as a 27yr old female mhr, and then use the average i got to place which percentage i was working in? and altetr my exercising based on where it puts me in there, even though i dont have an actualcaloric number?

If this could be likened to basically jumping up and down moving the legs in fast rhythm, then I'd suggest that is like jump roping, and that calculated value is pretty good, because the energy to push so much mass up in the air so frequently is pretty set.

Look up jump roping in the tables.

marphoria · October 2012

Hey there.

I also play dancing games as my source of cardio. I play ITG [In the Groove] instead of DDR. Don't trust what the game tells you; it can't measure your heart rate, and most of the time it severely over estimates how many calories you really burn.

I currently use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor [with a chest strap] to determine how many calories I burn with each session of ITG, and my roommate and I have found this to be the most effective way to measure dance game activity. It displays my current heart rate throughout my whole session, and at the end of the session it tells me my max and average heart rate, as well as how many calories I've burned thanks to the age, height and weight information I plugged in when I first used it.

I was skeptical at first to see if my heart rate monitor was over estimating my calories burned, but I double checked with this online calculator just to be sure: http://www.triathlontrainingblog.com/calculators/calories-burned-calculator-based-on-average-heart-rate/

For my first two sessions, the calculator actually over estimated my calories, not my heart rate monitor, so I've basically been sold on solely using my heart rate monitor since. I would highly suggest getting a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. I was really reluctant to at first because of how expensive mine was, but it was definitely worth the price given the accurate information it continues to give me.

heybales · October 2012

I also play dancing games as my source of cardio. I play ITG [In the Groove] instead of DDR. Don't trust what the game tells you; it can't measure your heart rate, and most of the time it severely over estimates how many calories you really burn.

I currently use a Polar FT4 heart rate monitor [with a chest strap] to determine how many calories I burn with each session of ITG, and my roommate and I have found this to be the most effective way to measure dance game activity. It displays my current heart rate throughout my whole session, and at the end of the session it tells me my max and average heart rate, as well as how many calories I've burned thanks to the age, height and weight information I plugged in when I first used it.

I was skeptical at first to see if my heart rate monitor was over estimating my calories burned, but I double checked with this online calculator just to be sure: http://www.triathlontrainingblog.com/calculators/calories-burned-calculator-based-on-average-heart-rate/

For my first two sessions, the calculator actually over estimated my calories, not my heart rate monitor, so I've basically been sold on solely using my heart rate monitor since. I would highly suggest getting a heart rate monitor with a chest strap. I was really reluctant to at first because of how expensive mine was, but it was definitely worth the price given the accurate information it continues to give me.

Keep a sense of it's limitations though.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn

Test your own to see if it warrants that level of trust.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

Because frankly, on that Polar, you can't even tweak a very needed stat, VO2max, and you probably haven't tweaked the HRmax which may or may not be either.
You may be the very lucky gal that falls into the total avg package - but doubtful.

HRM, DDR, Cal Calculation, Confusion.

Replies

Categories