HRM Watch and Zumba

daisiesinmay
daisiesinmay Posts: 17 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I bought a Gaiam Oregon HRM watch to try to get an idea on how many calories I am burning during my workouts and to see what my heart rate is. Lately I have been using it during my zumba. During a 45 minute workout, I will recheck my HR between every song (so every 3-5min). My question is how accurate do you think my overall calories are? Its been saying I've been hitting 700 calories, but I haven't been trusting it completely, so I only log half off that. But I don't want to undercut myself too much with the calories. Thoughts?

Replies

  • clarkeje1
    clarkeje1 Posts: 1,640 Member
    I have a Polar FT4 and I paid good $ for that watch. I trust it does what it was designed to do so I log all the calories that it says I burned.
  • ewegner
    ewegner Posts: 48 Member
    it will ultimately depend on your body(age, weight, height, etc) and how much you are exerting during the class..but when I put all effort into a 45 zumba class, my hrm usually reads anywhere from 400-550 calories burned... I am 29, 155 lbs, 5'6...
    Liz
  • Ploogy
    Ploogy Posts: 115 Member
    Does you HRM give you the option of inputting your weight and all those metrics? Is it the kind that requires you to wear a chest strap? If so, I think you shouldn't worry about accuracy. HRMs are most accurate between 90 and 150 bpm, which I'm sure is where you lie, even during those breaks between songs. If you are worried about being super accurate, shave 10% off.
  • Kattamer81
    Kattamer81 Posts: 90
    I can't find it now but I came across a Zumba calculator last week. You put in your weight, level of burn, and time. It said I burned 770 in an hour. My instructor said you can burn up to 1200 in an hour. I guess everyone is different, like most things. 700 doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
  • Kattamer81
    Kattamer81 Posts: 90
    Wait...here it is:

    http://caloriesburnedhq.com/zumba-calories-burned/
  • daisiesinmay
    daisiesinmay Posts: 17 Member
    Ah, I'm 28, 5'-10" and currently about 202 lbs. Which I entered into the watch when I got it. There is no strap, I just put my finger on the watch every 3-5 min...

    90-150bpm? Maybe I am pushing myself to hard, because my heart rate usually goes up to about 176. I feel like I am just warming up when its at 150.
  • Lovebears99
    Lovebears99 Posts: 19 Member
    I go to a zumba class that is very high intensity, no breaks between songs, and it lasts an hour. My hrm has a chest strap. I weigh about 210 5'4 my average class comes out between 8 and 900. My sister is also in the same class and same hrm, she weighs 140ish 5'6 she will burn between 5 and 600, and works at a higher intensity. So i assume ours are somewhat accurate. I would say that your numbers are somewhat close to what you are burning, if you put the work into, zumba is an awesome high calorie burn :happy:
  • TaylorNC32
    TaylorNC32 Posts: 1
    If you want a really accurate reading, you really need a HRM with a strap. When you touch a strapless HRM, it keeps using that heart rate reading to determine calories until you touch it again. You'd be surprised how much your HR can fluctuate in a 3-5 minute time period. The HRM with chest straps monitor your HR continuously. It will give you a more accurate reading and calorie estimate. =)

    Edited typo.
  • KirstenTheFamilyCoach
    KirstenTheFamilyCoach Posts: 327 Member
    So I bought a Gaiam Oregon HRM watch to try to get an idea on how many calories I am burning during my workouts and to see what my heart rate is. Lately I have been using it during my zumba. During a 45 minute workout, I will recheck my HR between every song (so every 3-5min). My question is how accurate do you think my overall calories are? It’s been saying I've been hitting 700 calories, but I haven't been trusting it completely, so I only log half off that. But I don't want to undercut myself too much with the calories. Thoughts?

    From my research I've learned that wrist heart rate monitors are very inaccurate. I wear an HRM around my chest (WaHoo) which continually monitors my zones. I dance for 1.25 hours at least while carrying 1-3# weights (depending on how I'm feeling that day) and my biggest burn was 650 calories for 1 hour and 25 minutes (however that included learning a new jump/leap move). If I were in your choose I'd knock a good 25% off that estimation if you are planning to eat back those calories. If you aren't then just use that as a guideline to compare how hard you are working each time.

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