How to calculate calories burned with heart rate calculator?

litlpineapple
litlpineapple Posts: 63 Member
edited October 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello, I'm having a hard time trying to determine how many calories I have burned when creating my own exercise. I have this app (heart rate) which provides me with my resting heart rate, current heart rate, and the "target bpms" but I dont know how to use this info for calories burned.

I'm looking for a free app, calculator on a site, some simple math, anything that could help? I'll be measuring my bpm during HIIT. I'm desperate and coming up short on searches. :/

Replies

  • dcgonz
    dcgonz Posts: 174 Member
    How are you measuring your heart rate? You really aren't going to find a simple calculation or app for it, I don't think. If you do let me know because I have looked...LOL
    I use a HRM and it calculates the calories burned according to my heart rate. Everyone is different so you can't really do a simple math equation to get an accurate count.

    Diana
  • BigDaddyBRC
    BigDaddyBRC Posts: 2,395 Member
    Easiest means, if you can afford one is an HRM...

    This might help...http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

    Never tested it though
  • Awake_Alive
    Awake_Alive Posts: 261 Member
    Yeah, I agree. A cheap heart rate monitor that includes calories burned is about 35 bucks at Walmart. Made all the difference in the world for me
  • leilani♥
    leilani♥ Posts: 579
    Before I bought my HRM this is what I used to calculate the amount of calories I burned per training session. Mind you it was a pain in my *kitten* because I would stop every 15-20 minutes to check my pulse. Then at the end of my training session I would figure out the average heart rate and plug it in to this site:

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    I never knew my exact HR. I would just check my pulse for 6 secs and multiply by 10. So I could of been burning more or less calories than what I estimated. Good LUCK.

    BTW, I don't think there's an app that can detect your heart rate unless it comes with a strap to find your HR.... ?
  • litlpineapple
    litlpineapple Posts: 63 Member
    I have one and it has been reviewed well in the Apple App Store, it's called "heart rate". You take your pulse for a period of time and it calculates your bpm. It doesn't say anything about calories burned though. :(
  • dcgonz
    dcgonz Posts: 174 Member
    Easiest means, if you can afford one is an HRM...

    This might help...http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

    Never tested it though

    I agree, a HRM is the only way to go to be accurate.

    The problem with MFP database and the site you provided is they only go off your weight and time excercised. What they don't take into account is your fitness level.
  • boku70
    boku70 Posts: 80
    Here's the calculator used by the medically supervised weight-loss program that I completed.

    http://www.hmrprogram.com/index.cfm/DietTools/Walk-O-Meter

    (Enter your weight on the left side, then click the "Calories for any Activity" tab on the right side.)

    Here's how I map their categories to HR:

    Low intensity: HR 60%max
    Med intensity: HR 70%max
    High intensity: HR 80%max
    V. high intensity: HR 90%max

    At my weight (182), this works out to

    Low: 2 cal/min
    Med: 7 cal/min
    High: 12 cal/min
    V. High: 15 cal/min

    I further divide each level into tenths, such that, for example:

    Med (70% HRmax) = 7 cal/min
    71% HRmax = 7.5
    72% HRmax = 8
    .
    .
    .
    79% HRmax = 11.5 cal/min
    80% HRmax (high intensity) = 12 cal/min


    This method has worked very well for me, both for weight loss and maintenance. I find it a bit less generous than my Polar HRM's calorie calculator, but I'd rather be conservative when figuring out what I'm allowed to eat for the day.

    The arithmetic is kind of a pain in the beginning, but you quickly memorize the key HRs/cals.

    hth--good luck! :-)

    b
  • audram420
    audram420 Posts: 838 Member
    Id suggest getting a HRM...I'm not quite sure how a phone app is accurate at giving you consistant, current HR during excersie?!?!
  • rebeccalippett
    rebeccalippett Posts: 21 Member
    I'm never without my Ki Fit monitor... http://www.kiperformance.co.uk/

    I got mine second hand on ebay but I wear it ALL THE TIME and it gives me a constant running total on how many cals I've burned throughout the day. There is a trip function on there so you can measure specific periods of calorie burn e.g. exercise sessions.... it also tells you how many steps you've taken and you can plug it into the laptop and it gives you information on how many hours quality sleep you've had, when your peaks and troughs of calorie burn are, etc... etc...

    Awesome bit of kit and worth investing in. I wouldn't be without mine!!
  • litlpineapple
    litlpineapple Posts: 63 Member
    Thank yiu for all of the suggestions! It's not as accurate as a HRM but it seems to be the closest without having to spend money. You take your pulse and tap the screen and it gives you bpm estimate. You have an option of the number of pulses to count as well.

    I've heard that some people have HRMs that don't do the calorie estimates for you, how do those people estimate the burned calories during that people?
  • boku70
    boku70 Posts: 80
    >I've heard that some people have HRMs that don't do the calorie estimates for you, how do those people estimate the burned
    >calories during that people?

    See my post above.
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