Calories burned martial arts- is the MFP estimate too high?

dtpurvis wrote: »

I take Krav Maga (martial arts) classes 2-3 times per week and I am wondering if the MFP calories burned is too high. When I enter into my log it tells me 605 calories in 1 hour, which seems kind of high. It is an intense class with a lot of cardio and impact training but the intensity varies from class to class depending on what we are working on. I am 45, female 5´1¨ and 136 lbs. Trying to lose 10 lbs and would like my counts to be accurate. Any advice on the accuracy of the count or amending it would be appreciated. Thanks

As a similar-sized woman (5'5", mid 130s) who used to do a lot of MA (Chinese styles, including some grappling), I'm skeptical.

I'm now a rower (water/machine). I'm in OK but not elite shape, active for 15 years, but old (63). I'm about a 75 percentile rower for my age. On the rowing machine (which is well metered), I think I could hold maybe somewhere 600-700 calories per hour for a solid hour if someone made me. (On-water rowers don't mostly train for that). I'm saying this just to give you a basis to evaluate my advice, nothing more.

I never came even close to that 600-700 cal/hrs level of intensity/fatigue from MA, and I'm definitely in better shape now. I respect Krav Maga, and think it could well be more intense than my MA. I'd still guess 400ish/hr at the outside at our size. It's totally just a guess, though.

What I'd suggest is that you make your best estimate, consistently, without stressing about it, and watch your scale weight over 4-6 weeks. You're not at an unhealthy weight, and it would be unhealthy to lose too fast. You have time, right?

After that, you'll have enough data to adjust based on personal experience.

Wishing you thriving, vitality, strength, power - Go!

dtpurvis wrote: »

Thank you guys for your responses. I thought it was too much 🙄 and think I will watch how things go. I don’t eat much of my excercise back anyway and yes I have time...want this to be permanent!! I greatly appreciate the insights.

Keep an eye on the scale, given the bolded, to try to be sure you aren't losing too fast. You don't have much to lose, and research suggests we can metabolize only a certain amount of fat per pound of fat on our bodies per day . . . lose too fast, and more of the deficit gets made up elsewhere, which could be from muscle. Clearly, you don't want that . . . with training one of your objectives in life, especially.

Losing no more than 0.5 pounds per week would be good at your current weight, and that will be hard to see on the scale in less than the 4-6 week horizon, especially as a woman your age. However, if - especially after the first week or two - you seem to be seeing more like a pound or more per week on average, I'd suggest eating a bit more to slow things down. I lost a bit too fast at first (because MFP under-estimated my calorie needs**), and got weak and fatigued. I corrected as soon as I realized, but it took multiple weeks to recover.

** MFP estimates accurately for most people, but can be off for a few - just the nature of statistical estimates.

Best wishes!

it would be about right for me if I've done an hour of intense kickboxing training. but I'm 178cm which I think is about 5' 10". I've done Krav Maga too and I'm pretty sure it will burn less

It all depends on intensity....When I used to train in a proper MMA gym where you could meet UFC/Bellator guys on daily basis, it was completely different story than kickboxing classes I attended in an average, ''normal'' gym

SiminaDar wrote: »

I got a fitness tracker because I didn't trust the estimates on MFP. Mostly because my primary exercise has been belly dance, and it gives a flat number of calories for belly dance without regard for intensity.

Fitness trackers won't work for a person doing martial arts. Jewelry of any kind cannot be warn to prevent injury.

OP, in my experience the MA calorie calculations are greatly inflated. Eat back a small portion of those calories but not all and reassess again after a month or so.