Hiking

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Crazeemaz
Crazeemaz Posts: 15
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi when entering hiking as my excercise, when it says "how long?"is this in miles, kilometres or minutes?
If I did 7 miles how do i enter it?

Cheers
Maz

Replies

  • mahanaibu
    mahanaibu Posts: 505 Member
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    This is a good question. MFP only lets you do this in minutes, but the more accurate way to gauge hiking is by mile. Hiking burns about twice as many calories as regular flat walking, assuming you're carrying a pack and walking some uneven and hilly terrain--about 200 calories per mile. For a 150-pound person, this would be 200 calories per mile. You calculate for ay given weight by ratio. So, for example a 225-pound person weighs 50% more than a 150-pound person. He or she burns 50% more calories, or 300 calories per mile. I always figure out what I've burned my the mile; then I adjust the "time" element in MFP to reflect the number of calories I know that I burned.
  • Crazeemaz
    Crazeemaz Posts: 15
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    Thanks! Well I did about 7or 8 miles along the Pembrokeshire Coast Path which is up and down a bit but not too much. We went at a fair pace and I weigh approx 190lbs, in the end I entered it as walking - leisurely pace, but wanted to know for the future how best to enter it as we do a lot of hiking which is a lot more uphill suck as the Brecon Beacons etc

    I will try to work out the calories I think i have used and amend the times accordingly. Thanks for your help
  • mahanaibu
    mahanaibu Posts: 505 Member
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    About 200-220 calories sounds about right. No major hill climbing, no major terrain problems. If a trail is so groomed and even that it's just like walking on a sidewalk, I count it as walking (though I also count my walking by the mile, not the minute). But trails usually involve more core work, picking up the feet more to walk Even negotiating a steep downhill burns more calories than going even because, unless you just run down with the gravity, you're fighting the gravity and using core to move down in a stable, safe way. Oveall, though I'm 186 pounds, I count it as 200 calories a mile, figuring I've got some mixed terrain on any given hike.

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