Workout calorie counter

Bridge_912
Bridge_912 Posts: 8 Member
edited March 2015 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey Yall,
Was wanting to see if you had any reccomendations for a calorie counter?
Fit Bit? Polar?
Id prefer one to wear all day but wouldnt mind one use just for workouts. I also prefer one without the waist/chest belt.

Replies

  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    edited March 2015
    The device you wear all day is an activity tracker. A FitBit measures steps and some also measure stairs. If your workout is step based this isn't too bad an overall estimate.

    Activity trackers are great for finding your activity level.

    A heart rate monitor is designed for steady state cardio workouts. Polars have a chest strap. There are also activity trackers that incorporate a separate chest strap (Polar Loop). Wrist only devices will be less accurate if you have any type of arm movements. Both types of devices are estimators. No reliable estimators for many (many) types of workouts.
  • Bridge_912
    Bridge_912 Posts: 8 Member
    I guess I should have elaborated.
    I had a fitbit, which calculated calories all day.. returned it wayyyy back due to the recall. I didnt have it long enough to really judge it.
    I want a calorie counter.. I dont care much about heart rate monitor but I know many are combined calorie/HR.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    That's just the thing though - a Fitbit type device is only guessing at calories based on how much movement you do in a day, given some parameters about you. Heart rate monitors are a bit more accurate but only when doing something active (the correlation between heart rate and calories consumed breaks down at rest).
  • Bridge_912
    Bridge_912 Posts: 8 Member
    My biggest concern is calories burned during workouts. I literally do everything from elliptical to boxing to cycling to weight lifting. I spend an effortless 20 min on the elliptical and it shows 300-400 burned. I would just prefer a more accurate count. What would be suggested for workouts only?
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    For something like an elliptihell or on a bike an HRM might give you a slightly less inaccurate approximation. It wouldn't be suitable for boxing or weightlifting.

    I think you might as well just use the MFP database to be honest.
  • glevinso
    glevinso Posts: 1,895 Member
    bankerswife912 wrote: »
    My biggest concern is calories burned during workouts. I literally do everything from elliptical to boxing to cycling to weight lifting. I spend an effortless 20 min on the elliptical and it shows 300-400 burned. I would just prefer a more accurate count. What would be suggested for workouts only?


    There really is no such thing. You can get a reasonable approximation for the steady-state stuff using a heart rate monitor. For cycling, a power meter is the most accurate, but I am guessing that is not really what you want.

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