The exercise diary on the site is kind of funny

petecastelli5
petecastelli5 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 13 in Fitness and Exercise
I ride my mountain bike usually a little over 2 hours, climb around 2600 feet, average around 10-11 mph. blasting downhills, slow technical climbs. A solid, non beginner workout. If I track that in the exercise diary it claims this is "light cycling activity". I guess it's not sophisticated enough to sort out calories burned vs actual pedaingl speed and effort. If you ride a bike steady 12-14 mph anywhere, hills, flat for several hours it is more than a "moderate" workout. I have my own Garmin device on my bike that tracks everything with accuracy, so I guess I don't need it. Just wondered if people consider the exercise diary as useful or even use it on fitness pal. Especially runners or cyclists. Cheers..

Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    It's a rough estimate, too many variables to be precise. If you are not losing, maintaining your weight or going up, then adjust the calories burned up or down.
  • hollyfay31
    hollyfay31 Posts: 3 Member
    I use the excercise journal only when noting big workouts, not really for calories burned since this calculator doesn't think "murph" burns any calories except when I'm running. 300 air squats, 200 push ups & 100 pull ups is burning more than air!
  • michael_hatten
    michael_hatten Posts: 34 Member
    If I think I know more than the diary about how many calories I've burned, I just change the value. The default number can't possibly know your actual load so I use other calculators to figure out a more accurate number.
  • thunder1982
    thunder1982 Posts: 280 Member
    I dont use it, I track runs through my running app so I can look at speed etc. My fitbit will pick up an adjustment for cals burnt.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,699 Member
    petecastelli5 wrote: »
    I ride my mountain bike usually a little over 2 hours, climb around 2600 feet, average around 10-11 mph. blasting downhills, slow technical climbs. A solid, non beginner workout. If I track that in the exercise diary it claims this is "light cycling activity". I guess it's not sophisticated enough to sort out calories burned vs actual pedaingl speed and effort. If you ride a bike steady 12-14 mph anywhere, hills, flat for several hours it is more than a "moderate" workout. I have my own Garmin device on my bike that tracks everything with accuracy, so I guess I don't need it. Just wondered if people consider the exercise diary as useful or even use it on fitness pal. Especially runners or cyclists. Cheers..

    If you are trying to lose weight, go with the "light cycling activity" choice. Most of these calculators over-estimate the number of calories burned.

    Personally, I use the calculation 100 calories burnt for every 5 km cycled ... and it matches fairly well with the Bicycling 16-19 km/h choice ... and also with my husband's Strava.

    Nothing is going to be 100% accurate ... you've just got to go with something, and adjust based on your weight goals.

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    I get the same thing. A couple hours riding up hill, and the pace is slow because it's up hill, so MFP thinks it's a leisurely ride. I've complained about this before, too.
  • tri_bob
    tri_bob Posts: 121 Member
    My response is similar to yours: I find it amusing. For me, track workouts create the most disconnect. Several intervals of sub-5K effort, with appropriate recovery, ends up looking like a leisurely jog. Not worth getting worked up about, but always interesting to see.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    hollyfay31 wrote: »
    I use the excercise journal only when noting big workouts, not really for calories burned since this calculator doesn't think "murph" burns any calories except when I'm running. 300 air squats, 200 push ups & 100 pull ups is burning more than air!

    You're logging it in the wrong bit, that's why....
  • CyberTone
    CyberTone Posts: 7,337 Member
    As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. There is nothing strange or funny about it.

    MFP, and other free online activity estimators, use free, publicly-available linear equations based on population averages. The equations are derived from published research values for metabolic equivalent of tasks (METs), compiled in the Compendium of Physical Activities.

    The discrete equations for individual activities use a single multiplication factor to create a basic linear equation based on an estimated resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is close to your estimated basal metabolic rate (BMR). All of these values are estimates for general populations of similar gender, age, height, and weight. Individual results will vary depending on any number of variables, including the intensity of effort.

    Most activity trackers, which are not free and in most cases are quite expensive, use more complex algorithms and are generally tailored to specific exercise activities.

    By the way, MFP does not offer enhanced cardiovascular exercise activity estimates for Premium members.

    References:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_equivalent

    https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/
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