Endomondo exagerrates with calories spent?

agasfer
agasfer Posts: 3 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello, I'm using Endomondo for my activities (fitness walking and weight training mostly). I'm using a Polar HRM strap with it. I have a feeling that Endomondo greatly exaggerates the amount of calories I spend during an activity. I'm 61 years old, weighting 110 kg (243 lbs). For a 9 km (5.6 miles) brisk walk with the average speed of 6.8 km/hr (4.3 miles/hr), Endomondo counts 1210 kCal, which looks highly improbable to me. For a 1 hr 10 mins weight training with avg HR 125 it gives 950 kCal which is also too high. Does anybody have the same experience? Had somebody tried to contact Endomondo on the subject? Thank you.

Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Endomondo includes BMR in the calculation, but I do find it a bit higher than other sources of calorie expenditure based on the same input data.

    Notwithstanding that your use of HR data doesn't help. HR from walking or weight training will lead to an overestimation as the algorithms aren't appropriate for that usage.
  • agasfer
    agasfer Posts: 3 Member
    Well, I used to use it without HRM. It didn't make much difference. Do you know what algorithms they are actually using?
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
    edited January 2016
    Endomondo (and similar apps) are great for running and biking. Not so much for lifting and walking. I suggest counting steps for your walking and using standard entry for weight training (enter it under cardio on MFP).

    The best way to get a handle on this is to experiment. Track your calories for a couple weeks and if you are not meeting your goals adjust. I lost 50 pounds using Endomondo but I honestly couldn't tell you how accurate it is for me. I just ate back 1/2 to 1/3 of the calories and it worked (I also ran long distances and never used it to count steps).
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    agasfer wrote: »
    Do you know what algorithms they are actually using?

    The last time I looked at Endomondo they were using a proprietary algorithm, although that wasn't long after their acquisition by UA so they might be on a different one now. I haven't seen any mention of a change though. It certainly wasn't FirstBeat.

    It's not all that important anyway, the research that calorie estimation algorithms are based on related to steady state aerobic range CV work. The relationships between calorie expenditure and HR breaks does in the lower range and where HR isn't consistent.

    As above, I've always found Endomondo a bit more ambitious than other tools because it accounts for BMR as well as work done. That said it's not excessive, at least for running and cycling.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,399 Member
    Endomondo grossly overestimated my calories. Here's an easy test. Pick an exercise that will GPS track, turn it on, and set your phone down for an hour doing nothing. Endomondo was giving me something like 160 calories per hour with the phone stationary. That would put my RMR at way higher than a 190 pound person was really burning.

    I haven't used it in a while now. And probably won't.

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