calories burned ... fit vs not

8888m8888
8888m8888 Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have always had this idea:
when a person is terribly out of shape and is much overweight, that she would burn more calories doing the exact same workout as a fit/trim person.

For one thing, there is more body mass to move around and since she has little muscle tone, her body would find it much more taxing and use more resources for the same workout (higher heart rate, more oxygen required, etc.).

And so, when I am just getting started, like I am now, I feel like these workouts surely must "count" more in some way. Or maybe it is just a mental strategy so I won't give up.

Anyone else feel this way?

Replies

  • LesliePierceRN
    LesliePierceRN Posts: 860 Member
    No, they don't count more now, they count less later. That's why the best exercise to do is the one you haven't done yet. You have to switch it up regularly to avoid efficiency.
  • carolemorden9
    carolemorden9 Posts: 284 Member
    I agree with you. The bigger the person is, the more calories they will burn, even if they are doing the same workout as a fit person.
  • dfonte
    dfonte Posts: 263 Member
    taco
  • conniemaxwell5
    conniemaxwell5 Posts: 943 Member
    The cardio machines ask for your weight in order to calculate accurate calories so I'd say you're right to a point. Having said that, a fit person can probably move faster and might possibly get more into a half hour than the severely overweight person so the per minute burn might be closer than you think. That is a totally uneducated opinion!

    If telling yourself that helps motivate you, keep telling your self that! Whatever it takes!
  • jenniferarnold1960
    jenniferarnold1960 Posts: 3
    I also believe this, my daughter and i go walking together we both wear polar heart rate monitors. We walk the same distance same speed, she weighs 104 and is 27 and I weigh 88 and I'm 52 yet she always burns nearly twice the amount as me. So this tells me that this is true!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    You will burn more calories if you weigh more, are not very fit or are young. As you weigh less, gain fitness or age your calorie burn goes down.
  • mmddwechanged
    mmddwechanged Posts: 1,687 Member
    Yep.
  • 8888m8888
    8888m8888 Posts: 5 Member
    Thanks. It does help get me out of a rut, so I think I will stick with the concept. Now ... to keep MOVING!
  • phjorg
    phjorg Posts: 252 Member
    On the flipside, the more you train, the more you're able to train yourself to workout harder and thus have an even greater calorie burn compared to unfit people.

    A tour de france rider or anyone else at that level going full out will burn more in an hour than an unfit person can hope to compare to.
  • phjorg
    phjorg Posts: 252 Member
    I also believe this, my daughter and i go walking together we both wear polar heart rate monitors. We walk the same distance same speed, she weighs 104 and is 27 and I weigh 88 and I'm 52 yet she always burns nearly twice the amount as me. So this tells me that this is true!
    this tells me you have improperly set up HRM's

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