Polar FT7 for Spinning

joradora
joradora Posts: 14 Member
edited November 8 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone, I just got an FT7 and intend to use it predominantly during my Spin class. Does it matter what activity I'm doing for an accurate calorie count or will it overestimate for spinning if it thinks I'm running? This might be an extremely dumb question but I'm not really sure how to use it yet (despite having read the manual). Are there different settings for different activities?

P.S. I used it for the first time, today, and the calories burned it displayed on the watch were almost 90 more than the calories burned displayed on the bike.

Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    edited November 2014
    jojofromkokomo wrote: »
    will it overestimate for spinning

    Yes

    Largely because in a spin clas you have periods of anaerobic activity, where the use of heart rate as a proxy fo calorie expenditure becomes even less meaningful than it was in the first place.

    fwiw I wouldn't rely on the bike either as it's measuring power throgh your legs and approximating based on that.
  • SusKatCas
    SusKatCas Posts: 5 Member
    I have had good results using Garmin heart rate monitor for my MFP inputs. It usually under predicts what the spin bike or elliptical trainer say. At times I use the Garmin number directly, other times I average between the two of them. I find that the Keiser spin bike matches the Garmin very closely for lower effort workouts.

    You do need to keep the HRM updated on your actual weight. I have read that most of the gym equipment assumes calorie burn based on a 150# male subject.
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