Spinning?

kmccann357
kmccann357 Posts: 91 Member
edited November 14 in Fitness and Exercise
I was shocked the last few times i've recorded Spinning that 45mins only burn 350ish calories, I was told that a heavy spin session can burn nearly 700 in that amount of time... is this just a fallacy and wishful thinking?
I've always found it the one thing that crushes me, I love it because I am exhausted after but i'm quite sad to think all my effort only burns that little :(

Replies

  • helcart01
    helcart01 Posts: 46 Member
    I burn that number of calories in a 45 minute spin class. I wear a hrm.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    kmccann357 wrote: »
    I was shocked the last few times i've recorded Spinning that 45mins only burn 350ish calories, I was told that a heavy spin session can burn nearly 700 in that amount of time... is this just a fallacy and wishful thinking?
    I've always found it the one thing that crushes me, I love it because I am exhausted after but i'm quite sad to think all my effort only burns that little :(

    Pretty much. 700 calories is an extreme amount of calories for 45 minutes.

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    kmccann357 wrote: »
    I was shocked the last few times i've recorded Spinning that 45mins only burn 350ish calories, I was told that a heavy spin session can burn nearly 700 in that amount of time... is this just a fallacy and wishful thinking?
    I've always found it the one thing that crushes me, I love it because I am exhausted after but i'm quite sad to think all my effort only burns that little :(

    Pretty much. 700 calories is an extreme amount of calories for 45 minutes.

    Yeah, my spin class is 50 minutes and I always assume about 350.
  • SBRRepeat
    SBRRepeat Posts: 384 Member
    I just got home from a spin class and that silly bike told me I burned 650. Unfortunately, that is highly, highly unlikely. I typically only credit myself with about 250-300 calories.
    651. A decent number of people wear their hrms in my class and the machines still grossly exaggerate their burn.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    SBRRepeat wrote: »
    I just got home from a spin class and that silly bike told me I burned 650. Unfortunately, that is highly, highly unlikely. I typically only credit myself with about 250-300 calories.
    651. A decent number of people wear their hrms in my class and the machines still grossly exaggerate their burn.

    The bikes at my gym have a power meter and give calorie estimates. They do not track HR (well, they do but my HRM does not connect) so it is based on power/distance/time. I also wear my Garmin with HRM. It is unable to tell distance so bases my calories on HR.

    Surprisingly both are usually very close. (usually within the 300 range for 45 minutes).
  • Turtle003
    Turtle003 Posts: 133 Member
    I just took a 53 minute spin class and wearing my HRM I burned 520 cals.
  • DangerJim71
    DangerJim71 Posts: 361 Member
    It depends on your size and intensity. I've burned as many as 750 in an hour but I'm a big guy and it was pretty intense. It's usually in the 600 range.

    A HRM is a pretty good indicator but can vary.
  • davis978
    davis978 Posts: 103 Member
    350 is a lot of calories! I understand it's not as many as you had hoped, but it's almost a whole meal. If you love spinning keep doing it. If you don't think it's worth if, find another activity. But, for most activities you are not likely going to get more than 350 calories in 45 minutes (unless you are a large man).
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    I always take about half of what the calculator gives me. That's a lot of calories to eat back, and it helps me avoid accidentally over-eating exercise calories. Some days I don't even eat them all back.
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
    I could probably burn 700 in an hour of intense spinning, but I'm a 6'4" man.
  • kmccann357
    kmccann357 Posts: 91 Member
    edited March 2015
    As this app over estimates over all I keep seeing people logging 1000 calories for Zumba, so that makes my burn look minute. I doubt Zumba can burn 1000 unless you are pretty big.
    I have no idea why i'd think spin burnt so much, when running only burns about 100 more for the same sort of time period and bikes are not as strenuous, ah well.. I still love it and it is always my second work out of the day so hopefully it'll continue to accumulate.
    I never eat back exercise calories, I don't see the point.
  • athena61
    athena61 Posts: 54 Member
    Mine is about the same. Nice to see most everyone else's is similar. Typically, riding outdoors with variable road, wind, etc, conditions will show higher numbers, at least has been my experience.
  • becam01
    becam01 Posts: 18 Member
    I wear my HRM in every spin class. I burn between 500 - 560 calories on a 45 min class. but I do push it hard. when taking it easy, the number stays between 430 and 480.
    - I'm 5'9 and not sure about my weight, but somewhere around 160. :)
  • Esterhase
    Esterhase Posts: 11 Member
    64 y.o. male here, 6', 183lbs, I can average just over 11 calories a minute for a sixty minute spin, but that does take some concentration. Never been able to break 12. (Polar FT-4)
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I'm curious to know how much weight plays a role in spinning. Cycling outside you are require to move the bike, but not so much in spin.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    I'm curious to know how much weight plays a role in spinning. Cycling outside you are require to move the bike, but not so much in spin.

    If you are standing cycling quite a big difference - not if you are sitting with your weight going through your bum.

    OP - 700 in 45 minutes (933/hour) I very much doubt, that would take an exceptional rider. And as Spinning is variable intensity anyway.... Nope sorry.

    My maximum recently in an hour on a power meter equiped trainer is 867cals but I'm a century rider with a very high VO2 max and that was a maximal effort (induced a touch of exercise induced asthma and felt rough for a couple of days afterwards - that kind of intensity, not a normal training session!).
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    I'm curious to know how much weight plays a role in spinning. Cycling outside you are require to move the bike, but not so much in spin.

    If you are standing cycling quite a big difference - not if you are sitting with your weight going through your bum.

    OP - 700 in 45 minutes (933/hour) I very much doubt, that would take an exceptional rider. And as Spinning is variable intensity anyway.... Nope sorry.

    My maximum recently in an hour on a power meter equiped trainer is 867cals but I'm a century rider with a very high VO2 max and that was a maximal effort (induced a touch of exercise induced asthma and felt rough for a couple of days afterwards - that kind of intensity, not a normal training session!).

    That what I figured.
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
    It has nothing to do with propelling your weight.

    Bigger muscles burn more energy doing anything. So being a big man, I burn more sleeping than a small woman does.

    Look at it this way... A small woman's quads contain x number of fibers that are y long. A big man probably has more fibers and they are longer. So every pedal therefore requires more energy.
  • graydawnm
    graydawnm Posts: 3 Member
    Also, if you search "cycling" in the cardio exercise and scroll down to "stationary bike" you can chose a level of effort ranging from "light" to "very vigorous". But even at "very vigorous" the estimate for me for 45 minutes is 531 calories burned.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    3dogsrunning wrote: »
    I'm curious to know how much weight plays a role in spinning. Cycling outside you are require to move the bike, but not so much in spin.

    If you are standing cycling quite a big difference - not if you are sitting with your weight going through your bum.

    OP - 700 in 45 minutes (933/hour) I very much doubt, that would take an exceptional rider. And as Spinning is variable intensity anyway.... Nope sorry.

    My maximum recently in an hour on a power meter equiped trainer is 867cals but I'm a century rider with a very high VO2 max and that was a maximal effort (induced a touch of exercise induced asthma and felt rough for a couple of days afterwards - that kind of intensity, not a normal training session!).

    Similarly for me - I am a small guy with a fairly large VO2 Max (5'7" 147lbs, 62ml/kg*min, threshold power at 280w) . I blew through 715 calories, as measured by my power meter, in 1hr earlier this week, but the workout was intense. 10 minutes of over/under threshold followed by 3x8:00 at LT building into Super LT.

    I am not sure how hard people actually work in a spin class (perceived effort is kinda useless for measuring anything), but I am fairly certain most cannot handle that type of effort such as what got me a 715 cal burn out of that workout.
  • lmlilly
    lmlilly Posts: 22 Member
    I wear a heart rate monitor to my spin class. I'm 5'4", 145. I do 80 minutes, high intensity with some warm up and cool down. My HRM logs me at 900 calories which is around an average of 11 calories per minute. I would think that your calories for a 45 minute class would be 300-400 calories.

    And yes, there is NO WAY that Zumba 1000 calories in a 45 minute class. I've taken Zumba and my heart rate never peaks past 150.
  • kmccann357
    kmccann357 Posts: 91 Member
    Intensity wise, I make sure i'm the last one standing... so don't think that I slack off due to a generic measurement on an app. I don't have a heart rate monitor so I can't be precise...
    How can you take breaks in spin anyway? Must not have a very good trainer if that's the case.
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