Do fit people burn less calories???
waldronsix
Posts: 18 Member
I am curious as I get more fit do I burn less calories doing the same exercises? For example, I am a runner. As my body gets used to running and I become more fit and lose weight do I burn less calories while running? Anyone?
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Replies
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Well it will always take a certain amount of energy to move a certain weight a certain distance. That is indisputable fact. As you get smaller you will burn fewer calories running the same speed as you were when you were larger. However as you get more fit, you can run faster, which takes more energy, and you can run farther for the same amount of time. So in a sense you can end up burning more calories as you get more fit because your body is capable of it.
Example:
200lb person running at 10min miles for 10 miles will burn more calories than a 150lb person running 10min miles for 10 miles. Obviously there is more weight to move, so more energy is expended. However if that 150lb person is actually the same person as the 200lb person (meaning they worked to lose 50lbs) one can *assume* the 150 version of the person is more fit and can run much faster.
So now that person is actually running 7:30 miles for that same 100 minutes as before he or she will cover 13.3 miles in that time frame that it took previously to cover 10 miles. Which will be a greater calorie burn than the slower and shorter pace (despite the extra weight)
So in a sense the answer to your question is both yes and no. If you maintain the same paces and distances, you will burn fewer calories if you are smaller - but smaller fitter people can go faster and longer, so you end up burning more.0 -
waldronsix wrote: »...and lose weight do I burn less calories while running? Anyone?
As you lose mass and run the same distances then yes you'll burn fewer calories, however as your fitness increases you can run for longer distances so you burn a higher gross number of calories by time.
When I started running I burned c 200 cals per half hour, now I'll burn anything up to 400 per half hour, or I'll run for far longer, so burn perhaps 1400 in a couple of hours.
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waldronsix wrote: »I am curious as I get more fit do I burn less calories doing the same exercises? For example, I am a runner. As my body gets used to running and I become more fit and lose weight do I burn less calories while running? Anyone?
Adjusted for body weight - No. Running X miles @ Y pounds will always burn about the same number of calories.
Fitness is a measure of how *fast* you can burn calories - fit people will always be able to more calories than unfit people of similar body structure - if you're fit, you can run more miles in the same amount of time, and burn more per unit of time.0 -
waldronsix wrote: »I am curious as I get more fit do I burn less calories doing the same exercises? For example, I am a runner. As my body gets used to running and I become more fit and lose weight do I burn less calories while running? Anyone?
No...as you become smaller, you will burn fewer calories because you have less mass to move...but you'll be at a greater level of fitness, so you'll also be able to go harder. I burn more calories now than I did when I was bigger and out of shape for the simple fact that a few years ago I could go do some activity for 30 minutes or something...now I can go faster, harder, and further. It's not unusual for me to spend several hours on my bike on a Saturday or Sunday...or to basically sprint for an hour during my lunch break, etc...I could never have done these things a few years ago.0 -
No. Running X miles @ Y pounds will always burn about the same number of calories.
Not entirely true, actually. While weight and distance to play a major factor in the amount of energy expended, you actually also have the added expenditure of oxygen flow through your system. As your cardiovascular system improves, your body becomes more efficient in delivering the oxygen to your muscles (less calories burned). How much change is reflected in improvements of resting heart rate. A lower resting heart rate means you are actually burning less calories at rest, as well as during exercise. The body is a rather efficient machine when you get right down to it. But most people rarely notice this as we tend to do more as we get fit (run further, faster), and therefore still burn more calories overall.
Also note, that any calorie measurement tool is actually an "estimate" of calories burned anyway. Take two people who can run the same distance in the same amount of time, weight the exact same amount... they will not actually have identical calorie burns. Because the actual calorie burn is based on such a variety of variables that it's difficult to accurately track perfectly. Which is why most people find that they still have to adjust workouts and diets based on their individual results, regardless of what the calculators say.
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Actually the more fit you are the higher your V02 Max is, the higher V02Max the more cals you burn. But that would be at similar effort, meaning when fit you would go further or faster or both.wickedmaggie wrote: »No. Running X miles @ Y pounds will always burn about the same number of calories.
Not entirely true, actually. While weight and distance to play a major factor in the amount of energy expended, you actually also have the added expenditure of oxygen flow through your system. As your cardiovascular system improves, your body becomes more efficient in delivering the oxygen to your muscles (less calories burned). How much change is reflected in improvements of resting heart rate. A lower resting heart rate means you are actually burning less calories at rest, as well as during exercise. The body is a rather efficient machine when you get right down to it. But most people rarely notice this as we tend to do more as we get fit (run further, faster), and therefore still burn more calories overall.
Also note, that any calorie measurement tool is actually an "estimate" of calories burned anyway. Take two people who can run the same distance in the same amount of time, weight the exact same amount... they will not actually have identical calorie burns. Because the actual calorie burn is based on such a variety of variables that it's difficult to accurately track perfectly. Which is why most people find that they still have to adjust workouts and diets based on their individual results, regardless of what the calculators say.
A HRM that does not let you adjust the V02Max will make it look like you burn less as you get more fit, which you may be, but you may burn similar amount or even more.
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wickedmaggie wrote: »A lower resting heart rate means you are actually burning less calories at rest
No, it doesn't.
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Two things happen as you become "fitter". First, as you lose weight, you're probably going to burn fewer calories expending the same effort as you did at the heavier weight. This is explained in several comments above. As I have told my boot campers, I will be happier when my weight drops and the calories burned drops along with it....even though I will still give all I got. Second, as you become "fitter", you recover faster....so you're not going to burn calories at the same weight during the time between exercises. Where I go for boot camp, there is a screen that picks up our HRM and displays the % of max heart rate we are at throughout the workout. I've noticed as I've gotten fitter, this % drops faster than it did in the past. This will also affect calories burned. However, I'm super happy I'm getting fitter...even though I'm burning fewer calories while putting in similar work effort from workout to workout.0
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Where I go for boot camp, there is a screen that picks up our HRM and displays the % of max heart rate we are at throughout the workout. I've noticed as I've gotten fitter, this % drops faster than it did in the past. This will also affect calories burned.
Using heart rate for a "boot camp" type will result in significant burn over-estimates. This is an incorrect usage of an HRM.
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I don't know is my answer....
I use Endomondo to track my runs. As I adjust my 'stats' in the program to reflect my weight loss, my calorie burn, as determined by Endomondo, has gone down for the same distance runs, even though I may be doing them in a faster time.
Example:
Run on Boxing Day (26th December)
weight: 121 lbs
distance: 5.12 miles
time: 57m 17s
avg. pace: 11.11 min/mile
calories burned: 520
Run yesterday (23rd April) - same route
weight: 110 lbs
distance: 5.16 miles
time: 53m 22s
avg. pace: 10.21 min/mile
calories burned: 456
So - the same run burned 64 less calories when I was lighter. Despite the fact that I ran quicker. I can only assume that Endomondo said I burned more calories in December, because I happened to be running for longer (albeit slower).
Edited to add: I would appreciate any feedback on my figures - do these calorie burns seem reasonably 'in the ballpark' for the exercise I'm doing?0 -
Two things happen as you become "fitter". First, as you lose weight, you're probably going to burn fewer calories expending the same effort as you did at the heavier weight. This is explained in several comments above. As I have told my boot campers, I will be happier when my weight drops and the calories burned drops along with it....even though I will still give all I got. Second, as you become "fitter", you recover faster....so you're not going to burn calories at the same weight during the time between exercises. Where I go for boot camp, there is a screen that picks up our HRM and displays the % of max heart rate we are at throughout the workout. I've noticed as I've gotten fitter, this % drops faster than it did in the past. This will also affect calories burned. However, I'm super happy I'm getting fitter...even though I'm burning fewer calories while putting in similar work effort from workout to workout.
sorry but even when HR is elevated during recovery you are not burning calories as if you are still exercising, due to Oxygen uptake not being needed. HR = calories burned, it is used as an estimator of effort, it is oxygen uptake that dictates cals burned (among other factors)0 -
^ this. HR is only a good indicator of cals burned if the max HR, V02Max portion of the calculation are correct, and only during steady state cardioWhere I go for boot camp, there is a screen that picks up our HRM and displays the % of max heart rate we are at throughout the workout. I've noticed as I've gotten fitter, this % drops faster than it did in the past. This will also affect calories burned.
Using heart rate for a "boot camp" type will result in significant burn over-estimates. This is an incorrect usage of an HRM.
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snoringcat wrote: »I don't know is my answer....
I use Endomondo to track my runs. As I adjust my 'stats' in the program to reflect my weight loss, my calorie burn, as determined by Endomondo, has gone down for the same distance runs, even though I may be doing them in a faster time.
Example:
Run on Boxing Day (26th December)
weight: 121 lbs
distance: 5.12 miles
time: 57m 17s
avg. pace: 11.11 min/mile
calories burned: 520
Run yesterday (23rd April) - same route
weight: 110 lbs
distance: 5.16 miles
time: 53m 22s
avg. pace: 10.21 min/mile
calories burned: 456
So - the same run burned 64 less calories when I was lighter. Despite the fact that I ran quicker. I can only assume that Endomondo said I burned more calories in December, because I happened to be running for longer (albeit slower).
Edited to add: I would appreciate any feedback on my figures - do these calorie burns seem reasonably 'in the ballpark' for the exercise I'm doing?
Have you updated the V02Max in the Endomondo? They def. seem reasonable but if you did/cannot update V02 Max you may actually be burning more now as your oxygen uptake should be higher now that you are more fit.0 -
If you throw strength training into the equation, and you equate level of fitness with adding more muscle, then for that piece of the equation, the answer is yes. The more muscle mass you carry, the more calories your body burns supporting the additional muscle.
That's the catch with pure cardio...as you get fitter, you have to work harder to achieve the same level of effort (i.e. calorie burn). If you can put on additional muscle, you'll raise your daily calorie burn incrementally.0 -
snoringcat wrote: »I don't know is my answer....
I use Endomondo to track my runs. As I adjust my 'stats' in the program to reflect my weight loss, my calorie burn, as determined by Endomondo, has gone down for the same distance runs, even though I may be doing them in a faster time.
Example:
Run on Boxing Day (26th December)
weight: 121 lbs
distance: 5.12 miles
time: 57m 17s
avg. pace: 11.11 min/mile
calories burned: 520
Run yesterday (23rd April) - same route
weight: 110 lbs
distance: 5.16 miles
time: 53m 22s
avg. pace: 10.21 min/mile
calories burned: 456
So - the same run burned 64 less calories when I was lighter. Despite the fact that I ran quicker. I can only assume that Endomondo said I burned more calories in December, because I happened to be running for longer (albeit slower).
Edited to add: I would appreciate any feedback on my figures - do these calorie burns seem reasonably 'in the ballpark' for the exercise I'm doing?
Have you updated the V02Max in the Endomondo? They def. seem reasonable but if you did/cannot update V02 Max you may actually be burning more now as your oxygen uptake should be higher now that you are more fit.
Thanks for replying! There isn't any way to add VO2 max into Endomondo - it's just age, height & weight. Tbh, I'm not even sure how it calculates calories, as there is no HRM....which is why I was wondering if the calorie burns are 'realistic' or not.
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wickedmaggie wrote: »
If this were true then my beta blocker would have put my metabolism in the toilette. There is no direct correlation between your HR and burning calories.0 -
^ this. HR is only a good indicator of cals burned if the max HR, V02Max portion of the calculation are correct, and only during steady state cardioWhere I go for boot camp, there is a screen that picks up our HRM and displays the % of max heart rate we are at throughout the workout. I've noticed as I've gotten fitter, this % drops faster than it did in the past. This will also affect calories burned.
Using heart rate for a "boot camp" type will result in significant burn over-estimates. This is an incorrect usage of an HRM.
This again. A heart rate monitor... is a heart rate monitor. Don't treat it as a calorie counter.0
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