Hot weather and calories burnt

bluemax65
bluemax65 Posts: 4 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I live in the Caribbean and had a question to which I'm getting conflicting answered.

I have just moved back to the Caribbean after 3 years, so I am mindful of the heat here. My workout at the moment is just walking. I walk for just over an hour, before getting ready for work (yes we do work here, not just lie on the beach drinking froo-froo cocktails). Back in Germany I would also walk and managed 7km in 64 min. (Hey, I'm a 52 year old business owner, not a25 year old he-man). The thing is, here I am only managing 6km in 65 min. The biggest change is of course the weather. In Germany, at 6am, it was 15°C (59F), whereas here in the Caribbean, at 6am it is 30°C (86F).

It is obvious to me that the heat is slowing me down. It is also obvious that with the elevated ambient temperature, that my body has to work harder to keep cool.

With my body having to work harder, I was wondering if it were possible to work out how many calories I burn up here, compared to Germany?

Thanks for your help.

Replies

  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    The same or less. While the warmer weather increases your perceived exertion and heart rate, it does not increase calorie burn. In fact, if you are walking at a lower speed, the calorie count might even be lower.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    My power meter (which has a maximum error of about 5% for calories) says I burn fewer calories in hot weather. The heat stresses my body and I put out less effort as a result. It feels like more effort, but when I'm lifting weights, the last rep always feels like more effort than the first, too, with the same weight.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,439 Member
    bluemax65 wrote: »
    I would also walk and managed 7km in 64 min. (Hey, I'm a 52 year old business owner, not a25 year old he-man). The thing is, here I am only managing 6km in 65 min.

    From my experience, walking at a pace between 6 and 7 km/h is really difficult because it is a half-run for me ... too fast to walk, too slow to get into a run. At 7 km/h I've broken into a run.

    Just curious what you're using to measure distance. :)

  • TilKingdomCome
    TilKingdomCome Posts: 89 Member
    I have moved to a similar climate from a cold climate and my calories for running haven’t changed.
    My times are so much worse in the heat and humidity by about 1 min per km, but calories have stayed the same.
  • bluemax65
    bluemax65 Posts: 4 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    bluemax65 wrote: »
    I would also walk and managed 7km in 64 min. (Hey, I'm a 52 year old business owner, not a25 year old he-man). The thing is, here I am only managing 6km in 65 min.

    From my experience, walking at a pace between 6 and 7 km/h is really difficult because it is a half-run for me ... too fast to walk, too slow to get into a run. At 7 km/h I've broken into a run.

    Just curious what you're using to measure distance. :)

    I actually drove the distance. I set the km counter at 0, then drove the distance there and back. It actually came out to be 6.125km.

    I do know what you mean. In Germany walking just over 6km/h forces my to jog, which is not what I'm after. I did do that a couple of times, and I didn't like it. I found for me walking is better. I would walk a "double" twice a week and a single 3 times a week. Depending on work, I would like to invade that, but to is a lot hotter here than Germany. I do take part in the hash here, a twice a month event where we walk/hike/run for about 2-3 hours, which also a way to see how well you fitness is progressing, ie am I completely dead at the end and just making it with the rest of the stragglers or am I coming in with a decent time.
  • VeronicaA76
    VeronicaA76 Posts: 1,116 Member
    Probably no difference. I had the exact opposite happen to me. I live in the desert where 100°+ weather is the norm. I just came back from a 2 week vacation in Great Britain and found that I was having a harder time in the cold weather. It's probably just your body not being acclimated to a climate.

    Just remember to stay hydrated as heat (dry or humid) can dehydrate you fairly quickly.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    TilKingdomCome wrote: »
    I have moved to a similar climate from a cold climate and my calories for running haven’t changed.
    My times are so much worse in the heat and humidity by about 1 min per km, but calories have stayed the same.

    I actually burn more calories running the colder it is.
  • HardcoreP0rk
    HardcoreP0rk Posts: 936 Member
    Azdak wrote: »
    The same or less. While the warmer weather increases your perceived exertion and heart rate, it does not increase calorie burn. In fact, if you are walking at a lower speed, the calorie count might even be lower.

    I think the jury might still be out on this one. There's a lot of research that says (keeping intensity and duration the same) you will burn more calories and more fat in hot temps over more comfortable temps.

    Of course, if you live in those conditions, your body has probably adapted to some degree. I would disregard the heat and base my calorie burn estimates on duration, distance, age and body stats...perhaps using this calculator http://www.mapmywalk.com/improve/calorie_calculator/.

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