BS Calories Burned - Biking

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thatjeffsmith
thatjeffsmith Posts: 110 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I did 90 minutes, 20 miles of greenway and dirt road biking on my mountain bike. RunKeeper and MyFitnessPal thought that equated to about 1100 calories. My BS alarm went off. I'm 36, 6'4", and 212 lbs or so...thoughts?

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  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
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    HRM or estimate. No way to tell really.
  • thatjeffsmith
    thatjeffsmith Posts: 110 Member
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    No HRM.

    Realize it's an estimate. I get a pretty good fuzzy feeling on the running estimates. But on the bike, it doesn't FEEL like I'm expending as much energy as when I'm running. Just wondering if I'm the only one with that suspicion.
  • jessicae1aine
    jessicae1aine Posts: 885
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    My calorie burn is always significantly higher on the bike than running for the same duration - and I do use a HRM. I can't tell you that yes, that's the right number of calories for you, but I can tell you that it makes sense to me that it would be higher.
  • brentbarrie
    brentbarrie Posts: 532 Member
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    You'll never truely know without using a HRM. Don't trust Run Keeper or MFP to tell me how many calories I'm burning, or equipment at the gym. There are too many factors. HRM is the only way to go.
  • mountaingirl2207
    mountaingirl2207 Posts: 181
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    I mountain bike twice a week. I ride on dirt trails through the woods, so it might be a little different, but mfp is generally about 20% too high.
  • tvcjosh
    tvcjosh Posts: 23 Member
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    I recently asked the same question! I was told that a general calculation is that you burn 500cal per hour if your speed is around 12-14 mph. hope that helps?
  • bronnyd
    bronnyd Posts: 278 Member
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    It's possible...I use a HRM and I burn about 400-500 calories an hour when biking and I'm 5'5 female, 138 pounds. I am sure in 90 minutes a 200+ pound 6'4 man could burn around 1100.
  • thatjeffsmith
    thatjeffsmith Posts: 110 Member
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    I mountain bike twice a week. I ride on dirt trails through the woods, so it might be a little different, but mfp is generally about 20% too high.

    I'm fine with a 20% +/- variance. I take all the #'s here with a grain of salt, including the food #'s. I'm interested in relative numbers. If I burn a relatively higher number of calories than I take in, that's cool.

    But before I indulge at the Mexican restaurant, I want to make sure I don't go overboard :)
  • tvcjosh
    tvcjosh Posts: 23 Member
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    I mountain bike twice a week. I ride on dirt trails through the woods, so it might be a little different, but mfp is generally about 20% too high.

    I'm fine with a 20% +/- variance. I take all the #'s here with a grain of salt, including the food #'s. I'm interested in relative numbers. If I burn a relatively higher number of calories than I take in, that's cool.

    But before I indulge at the Mexican restaurant, I want to make sure I don't go overboard :)

    haha, you've earned those nachos, amigo!
  • froeschli
    froeschli Posts: 1,292 Member
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    I've only just started cycling along with my running, so i can't tell for sure. gotta wear my hrm next time. however, i find it really depends on the bike and trail your doing - seriously, my husband doing 20k on his roadbike vs me doing the same speed on my hybrid. way different energy requirements.
    i did notice that 30 mins of cycling hard don't leave me feeling nearly as tired as 30 mins of running. but i end up just as sweaty.
    a friend says the same about biking vs running - he doesn't feel nearly as tired after cycling as opposed to running.
    with your height/weight, i think 1100 calories for 90 mins of exercise seem conservative. i usually aim for 100 cals/10mins (5'7" 165lbs), for me, that's just past the point of being able to have a conversation while running/cycling.
    just my opinion.
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    D'oh, I'm editing because for some reason I read 90 minutes as 20 minutes. :P

    Ninety minutes of good, brisk riding at a pace that you can only just hold a conversation...? That might be about right.
  • thatjeffsmith
    thatjeffsmith Posts: 110 Member
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    Thanks @catatomi99, that's about how it was...not counting downhills - which I paid for in the form of uphills :)
  • dortilolma
    dortilolma Posts: 103 Member
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    I cycle to work some days, it's 15km each way and takes about an hour. The office is in an industrial estate at the base of a small mountain range so I'm cycling uphill going in and downhill coming home. I use the Strava cycle app and according to it I'm burning about 280 cal going in and around 180 going home. I'm 5,9 female and 163 pounds.

    So yes, 1100 sounds like BS

    Maybe Strava is estimating low - I'd have to get a HRM to be sure

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