Hiking

offbeatblonde
offbeatblonde Posts: 10 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello! Ive been doing a neighborhood hiking trail with inclines multiple times a day.

My questions are,

1. How can I more accurately log my calories burned for the day than selecting the "hiking < 10 lbs", since it doesn't take inclines and random bursts of running into consideration

And

2. Do any of you hikers add any other training into your schedule? If so, what? I have a pudge and want it GONE.

TIA

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    RE #1: I think you're overthinking it. Accuracy is an illusion for pretty much all of this. Make a reasonable estimate (for which hiking <10lbs is probably reasonable) and go on with your business.

    RE #2: Are you trying to add things to help with your hiking, or to help with your pudge? If the first, more hiking is the best option, but most anything will benefit you in some way and translate to your hiking. If the second, that's mostly about diet/intake, so make sure you are eating properly.
  • keithwp99
    keithwp99 Posts: 83 Member
    Do you have a smart phone? You can get a free app called Runkeeper that will log in your mileage and put a swag on your calories.

    Hiking is my cross training 1X or so per week. My fitness of choice is trail running supported by strength/core work. Hiking is a way for me to recon and test fly trails for running. And, keep loose, too.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
    +1 on the app. When paired with the right smartphone it can take into account elevation change, speed and distance. I don't know how accurate it is but if you focus on using it to push a bit farther or faster it's a win win!
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles. That's the best equation there is for net calories. Yes, you walk uphill, but you also walk down again which should equal out things.
  • ronocnikral
    ronocnikral Posts: 176 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles. That's the best equation there is for net calories. Yes, you walk uphill, but you also walk down again which should equal out things.

    It doesn't really work that way. It takes some extra energy on the downhill as well. Especially when it is steep, you are putting energy into basically stopping/slowing down your body each step.

    to calculate "vertical calories" = weight (lbs)*vert(ft)/3088. It's usually pretty small.

  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    yirara wrote: »
    use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles. That's the best equation there is for net calories. Yes, you walk uphill, but you also walk down again which should equal out things.

    I don't think that's right (for hiking specifically). That formula predicts that I burned about 6,400 calories hiking from Cascade Pass to Stehekin. It took me three days. I mean there days of wake up, make breakfast, pack the camp into my backpack, walk until the sun is getting ready to set, make camp, have dinner, stargaze, then repeat it all the next day. I thin k the ground surface and hills require significantly more energy than walking on a level sidewalk.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
    Hike for fun and to keep your body healthy. Ignore calorie burn; it's going to be inaccurate. Get your diet in check to lose fat.
  • CoachJen71
    CoachJen71 Posts: 1,200 Member
    I walked/hiked/dieted away 150lbs. If you only have a small amount of body fat to get rid of, keep walking and hiking, stay on top of your caloric intake, and do strength/resistance training to help with recomposition and hiking skills.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles. That's the best equation there is for net calories. Yes, you walk uphill, but you also walk down again which should equal out things.

    I don't think that's right (for hiking specifically). That formula predicts that I burned about 6,400 calories hiking from Cascade Pass to Stehekin. It took me three days. I mean there days of wake up, make breakfast, pack the camp into my backpack, walk until the sun is getting ready to set, make camp, have dinner, stargaze, then repeat it all the next day. I thin k the ground surface and hills require significantly more energy than walking on a level sidewalk.

    You are right, but OP was hiking in her neighborhood, not through the Cascades.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I think steps are great for improving (or maintaining through the cold muddy winter months) hiking, especially if you hike steep hills. I gave away my treadmill and bought a cheap step (like used for step aerobics) and use that for cardio when it's too muddy to hike. It keeps my lungs and legs in good hiking shape.

    I imagine this might be met with derision in this crowd but I also picked up a thigh master (yep, one of those things Suzanne Somers used to hawk on TV) and think it also helps.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    I use the following online calculator to estimate cals burned on a hike.

    It takes into account your weight, pack weight, time, distance, type of terrain and slope. It is more accurate than my pedometer (that assumes flat ground and estimates distance based on steps) and also less generous than MapMyHike (which is more accurate than the pedometer in terms of distance because it uses GPS but gives ridiculously high cal burn estimates).

    See: https://caloriesburnedhq.com/calories-burned-hiking/
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles. That's the best equation there is for net calories. Yes, you walk uphill, but you also walk down again which should equal out things.

    I don't think that's right (for hiking specifically). That formula predicts that I burned about 6,400 calories hiking from Cascade Pass to Stehekin. It took me three days. I mean there days of wake up, make breakfast, pack the camp into my backpack, walk until the sun is getting ready to set, make camp, have dinner, stargaze, then repeat it all the next day. I thin k the ground surface and hills require significantly more energy than walking on a level sidewalk.

    Strava says I do about .90 KCal per lb per mile hiking. Garmin says a whole lot less. 1500 KCal for Mt Moosilauke or 2200 KCal for Lafayette Ridge in the White Mountains seem about right
  • JMcGee2018
    JMcGee2018 Posts: 275 Member
    Where I walk has tons of hills and I sometimes do intervals of walking. I use Map My Walk and consider any extra calories burned from inclines that might not be calculated by the app as a bonus. I only eat back 50% of my exercise calories anyways.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    You can keep track of your running intervals, subtract the time from your hiking, and log them as running.
    How much elevation do you gain on your inclines?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    scorpio516 wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    use 0.3 * weight in lbs * distance in miles. That's the best equation there is for net calories. Yes, you walk uphill, but you also walk down again which should equal out things.

    I don't think that's right (for hiking specifically). That formula predicts that I burned about 6,400 calories hiking from Cascade Pass to Stehekin. It took me three days. I mean there days of wake up, make breakfast, pack the camp into my backpack, walk until the sun is getting ready to set, make camp, have dinner, stargaze, then repeat it all the next day. I thin k the ground surface and hills require significantly more energy than walking on a level sidewalk.

    Strava says I do about .90 KCal per lb per mile hiking. Garmin says a whole lot less. 1500 KCal for Mt Moosilauke or 2200 KCal for Lafayette Ridge in the White Mountains seem about right

    I trust Garmin over Strava or Runkeeper or Mapmywalk/run
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Maybe give him a gift certificate to a store with a good selection. Fit is very personal.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    offbeatblonde wrote: »
    Hello! Ive been doing a neighborhood hiking trail with inclines multiple times a day.

    My questions are,

    1. How can I more accurately log my calories burned for the day than selecting the "hiking < 10 lbs", since it doesn't take inclines and random bursts of running into consideration

    And

    2. Do any of you hikers add any other training into your schedule? If so, what? I have a pudge and want it GONE.

    TIA

    Hiking does take inclines into consideration - it gives far more calories than an entry like "Walking, 3.0 mph, mod. pace."

    I just use the hiking entry when I'm doing some SERIOUS inclines. I generally use a mix of hiking and walking entries.
  • westrich20940
    westrich20940 Posts: 921 Member
    I have found it helpful to have a hear rate monitor (Polar with a cheststrap/wristwatch). It will keep track of your heart rate for the duration of your hike and then give an estimate for calorie burn. I also use Runkeeper (but there are multiple apps like it you could use to track your hike) that also gives a calorie burn estimate based on my weight/height/age.....

    Neither of them are 100% accurate but I typically just pick a calorie amount between the two and it had to be pretty accurate since I lost weight and have now maintained my weight using that information.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    DevilsFan1 wrote: »
    Hike for fun and to keep your body healthy. Ignore calorie burn; it's going to be inaccurate. Get your diet in check to lose fat.

    Well, I hike on the weekends for fun, but I like to estimate the required re-feed. The OP is saying they do a regular trail walk/run, so the calorie estimate is really helpful.

    I vote for either a fitness watch (Garmin or Apple) or MapMyWalk/MapMyRun.
  • cheriej2042
    cheriej2042 Posts: 241 Member
    1. I never use the calories from the mfp app. I use a fitness watch that has a hiking option that tracks my altitude as well as a number of other items. I program in my current weight, age, etc. I found my real calories burned are sometimes 1/3 of what the app says.
    2. I do reformer pilates 2-3x per week and spin 2x/week just to train other muscles and for stability, balance and flexibility.

Categories