Exercise bike and actual calorie burn?

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Jd1360
Jd1360 Posts: 170 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This might be a noob exercise question, but I have somewhat recently started using a exercise bike at the gym and I am completely lost when it comes to accurately logging the exercise on MFP.

If I go for the "bicycling" option it only gives speeds and doesn't account for resistance and sometimes gives me HUGE calorie burns for what I deem fairly short amounts of time e.g. 400 calorie burn for 30 minutes. Using the "stationary bicycling" option is even worse with only various efforts to choose from.

I am completely lost - any advice would be helpful!
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Replies

  • maric771
    maric771 Posts: 3 Member
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    I found this calculator helpful.
    http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=60
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited September 2017
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    Indoor stationary cycling and outdoor cycling are completely different!
    And the outdoor cycling options on here are extremely inflated calorie estimates.

    Does your stationary bike measure your power output? (In Watts typically.)
    Does it give you its own calorie estimate?
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    maric771 wrote: »
    I found this calculator helpful.
    http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/calories_burned.asp?exercise=60

    That method is badly flawed on two counts:
    Weight has very, very little to do with calorie burns on a stationary bike (unless standing up).
    Speed on an indoor bike is an artificial construct as you aren't moving anywhere. The "speeds" displayed vary enormously from one brand to another.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Speed is meaningless for a stationary bike. If it has a power meter you can get an accurate count. If not, a heart rate monitor can help estimate your effort level.
  • Jd1360
    Jd1360 Posts: 170 Member
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    I use a Precor bike, so no output in watts or anything, it does offer a calorie estimate but doesn't allow me to put in weight or anything to make a better estimate.
    sijomial wrote: »
    Indoor stationary cycling and outdoor cycling are completely different!
    And the outdoor cycling options on here are extremely inflated calorie estimates.

    Does your stationary bike measure your power output? (In Watts typically.)
    Does it give you its own calorie estimate?

  • sarahlovesfood25
    sarahlovesfood25 Posts: 408 Member
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    I never go by calories burnt on an exercise bike they r completely wrong (well the ones ive been on)
    i have a garmin watch and average at 100 calories for every 10 minutes, hope this helps u :)
  • canary_girl
    canary_girl Posts: 366 Member
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    A heart rate monitor would help you with calorie burn. And I when I'm trying to lose I don't eat back ANY calories, just try to ignore it.

    But, just as an example, I'm 140 lbs, I cycle for an hour. My max HR is typically 177, I average 155. I typically burn 650 calories in that hour.

    HTH
  • brownbred8
    brownbred8 Posts: 6 Member
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    Similar problem to me, I posted a bit further down as I'd like an app that syncs with MFP that records my HR while on an indoor bike and can give me an accurate calorie figure. I've got an ant+ HRM strap that works with my phone, currently using the Wahoo fitness app as it does everything I want, other than syncing with mfp so I have to input the exercise manually and manipulate the time to give me the same calorie burn as the app recorded, bit of a pain!
  • MatthewRuch
    MatthewRuch Posts: 165 Member
    edited September 2017
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    brownbred8 wrote: »
    Similar problem to me, I posted a bit further down as I'd like an app that syncs with MFP that records my HR while on an indoor bike and can give me an accurate calorie figure. I've got an ant+ HRM strap that works with my phone, currently using the Wahoo fitness app as it does everything I want, other than syncing with mfp so I have to input the exercise manually and manipulate the time to give me the same calorie burn as the app recorded, bit of a pain!

    Use any polar fitness watch (I use the M430 paired with an H10 chest strap monitor) They are renowned for their accurate HR monitoring and calorie burn tracking.

    The polar flow app syncs beautifully with MFP and gives you the added bonus of all day activity tracking to get the most accurate calorie counts. Just make sure to set your MFP activity level to sedentary so you aren't double dipping on your activity calories.

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  • brownbred8
    brownbred8 Posts: 6 Member
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    Does the polar flow app only work with a polar sensor or will any ant+ one work? Mine is a Cardiosport and I only recently purchased it so a bit reluctant to buy another one
  • MatthewRuch
    MatthewRuch Posts: 165 Member
    edited September 2017
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    brownbred8 wrote: »
    Does the polar flow app only work with a polar sensor or will any ant+ one work? Mine is a Cardiosport and I only recently purchased it so a bit reluctant to buy another one

    I don't think PolarFlow works with third party monitors, but I have never tried...so I will look and see if any are compatible and get back to you.

    You would probably want to get a fitness tracker, they come in several different models if you wanted full day tracking too...most you can get in a package with a tracker although the M430 I use also has a built in HR monitor that is just as accurate as a chest strap (usually within 2-3 BPM at most if it is different at all). So all the extra uses you would get out of it would outweigh the cost of upgrading in reality.

    If you replied before I updated my previous post with screen shots take another look at how it integrates with MFP. It also has a specific workout mode for indoor cycling.

    Not trying to sell anything, just giving honest feedback from a long time user.

    If interested here is a really good review

    https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/05/polar-m430-review-a-runners-watch-that-athletes-new-and-old-will-love/
  • brownbred8
    brownbred8 Posts: 6 Member
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    I'm into mountain biking and walking and a little bit of running recently so if I was to get a watch I'd be looking at a sports gps unit, I had a forerunner 10 until recently but got rid of it due to the lack of hr support and bluetooth, just haven't got round to replacing it yet and am happy using my phone to track proper runs and rides using strava for now, but it doesn't give me live hr data which doesn't matter so much in the great outdoors but is essential stuck on a piece of equipment in the gym I find!

    I'll download the polar flow app and see if it works, if so it might be what I'm looking for until I can get myself a decent watch
  • kmf117
    kmf117 Posts: 3 Member
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    I had a similar question. I do regular spinning classes, which are hard work! I have a Garmin Vivoactive HR that synchs with MFP. I tell my Garmin I'm doing indoor cycling, and then based on my heart rate, it gives me an estimate of calories burned. Usually a 45 min spin class will burn 500-600 calories. But when it synchs with MFP, it ALWAYS comes in as "Cycling, less than 12 mph, leisure" There is NO way the spin class was leisurely paced! Even if I manually input the # of miles the cadence meter said I did (usually 15-17, in 45 minutes with lots of sprinting) it still doesn't register as an intense workout. I can't find any settings that would make this more accurate.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Jd1360 wrote: »
    I use a Precor bike, so no output in watts or anything, it does offer a calorie estimate but doesn't allow me to put in weight or anything to make a better estimate.

    Weight has virtually nothing to do with stationary cycling and calorie burns - it's not a weight bearing exercise.
    Skinny little Chris Froome weighs a fraction of my weight but burns calories twice as fast as I can.
    It's all about fitness levels.

    What does your Precor actually estimate for you for a specific period of time?
  • brownbred8
    brownbred8 Posts: 6 Member
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    kmf117 wrote: »
    I had a similar question. I do regular spinning classes, which are hard work! I have a Garmin Vivoactive HR that synchs with MFP. I tell my Garmin I'm doing indoor cycling, and then based on my heart rate, it gives me an estimate of calories burned. Usually a 45 min spin class will burn 500-600 calories. But when it synchs with MFP, it ALWAYS comes in as "Cycling, less than 12 mph, leisure" There is NO way the spin class was leisurely paced! Even if I manually input the # of miles the cadence meter said I did (usually 15-17, in 45 minutes with lots of sprinting) it still doesn't register as an intense workout. I can't find any settings that would make this more accurate.

    At least it's got your activity right, I use Wahoo fitness and indoor cycling always gets changed to a leisurely walk, wtf?
  • RachelHPMarathonMom
    RachelHPMarathonMom Posts: 14 Member
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    I just got a stationary bicycle and there's a huge disconnect between the bike and MFP on the number of calories I burn during a workout. For example, this morning I rode for 20 minutes with average watts around 70, average speed around 15 mph ('weight loss' program, level 5), and the bike told me I burned about 100 calories, while MFP estimated nearly 300 calories. Other internet sources estimated around 150. What's most likely correct? Does my heart rate matter more than the watts for calculating calorie burn?
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    Heart rate means nothing for calories burn, it's like rolling dice. Watts are the most accurate way to measure calories use outside a lab.
  • RachelHPMarathonMom
    RachelHPMarathonMom Posts: 14 Member
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    Thanks, NorthCascades; MFP seems to estimate calories for "bicycling" based on speed rather than watts (maybe they're thinking of outdoor cycling). MFP has entries for 'Stationary bike" rated by degree of effort; I think my workout this morning (20 minutes, averaging 70 watts) counts as moderate effort, but MFP says that would have burned 204 calories, while my bike estimated only about half that. How should I estimate my caloric burn on my stationary bike?
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    70 watts = 70 Joules per second
    20 minutes = 1,200 seconds

    70 Joules * 1,200 seconds = 84,000 Joules, or 84 kilo-Joules.

    It's a happy (for the sake of easy math) coincidence that 1 kJ on a bike = 1 kCal, with a maximum error of 2.5% in either direction.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    canary_girl wrote: »
    A heart rate monitor would help you with calorie burn. And I when I'm trying to lose I don't eat back ANY calories, just try to ignore it.

    But, just as an example, I'm 140 lbs, I cycle for an hour. My max HR is typically 177, I average 155. I typically burn 650 calories in that hour.

    HTH

    The problem with heart rate monitors is that they assume that there's a correlation between heart rate and caloric expenditure that simply does not exist.

    While I wouldn't expect everybody to rush out and buy a power meter for their bikes getting one was a real eye opener for me. Cycling burns a lot fewer calories than many people expect (even my Garmin was over estimating before tracking my watts)

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