Logging martial arts training?

salxtai
salxtai Posts: 341 Member
edited November 9 in Fitness and Exercise
For those on the site that train martial arts, wondering how you log it / if you log training?

I train taekwondo twice a week, and the few times I've tried logging 1 - 2 hrs of training for a night I get some riddiculous calorie expenditure that I don't think is anywhere near right (something in the range of 700s).
I've given up logging them to avoid overcounting but I'm curious how others have approached it.

I didn't think 2 trainings a week was enough to justify upping my activity level to the highest - at the moment I've got it set to "active" and I log (approximate) the 2-3 gym sessions I do a week.

Replies

  • salxtai
    salxtai Posts: 341 Member
    .. No one does martial arts?
    :ohwell:
  • jenniferwren
    jenniferwren Posts: 189
    no sorry, I don't do but it doesn't sound an unreasonable cal expenditure on such a high energy activity :smile:
  • coco1119
    coco1119 Posts: 18
    I do kung fu and tai chi. For the Kung Fu I log it as martial arts and for 60 min it logs as 450 calories. I some times adjust it because some classes we do alot of conditioning and cardio and others we work on forms and material. So on the cardio/conditioning days I log the full 60 min and on the easier days sometimes I log it for 40 min instead of an hour so that the calories burned will be lower. I know its not totally accurate so I just deal with it.
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    Typically a class is intense periods of energy followed by rest (holding pads for partner, watching instructor teach a new technique).

    I log an hours class as if it was 40 minutes to recognise that. And that is a tough class, muay Thai fighters. It feels about right to me.
  • beccyleigh
    beccyleigh Posts: 846 Member
    :smile: Invest in a cheap HRM & find out for sure
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    I do kickboxing once a week and I agree, it's hard to know if the calorie expenditure is accurate. The same also applies to the two sessions of netball I do each week. However, I don't think that the calorie count of *any* exercise is going to be entirely accurate as it depends on how hard you train, what kind of moves you do, etc.

    My kickboxing class is 90 minutes long, but I usually only log it as 60 or 45 minutes since there is a fair bit of slower paced activity and waiting around for your turn to punch/kick the pads. Same with netball - I tend to play goalkeeper, so if my team is losing badly I'll do a lot more running around than if we're winning and the ball is at the other end of the court! Who knows if the calories burnt are accurate, but I'm still losing weight, so it can't be too bad!
  • salxtai
    salxtai Posts: 341 Member
    :smile: Invest in a cheap HRM & find out for sure

    It'd have to be a watch-less one, which I think don't exist? Or if they do, they're probably mega expensive
    - I can't wear anything on my wrists at training, they're prone to getting hit :tongue:
  • olong
    olong Posts: 255 Member
    Don't give up on counting it! Tae Kwon Do is not a nothing, record it. Based on 2 minutes of searching, a 160lb person doing Tae Kwon Do can indeed expend 700 something calories. Evaluate each class -- do you think you spend about half of your two hours intensely? Do you spend the other hour doing primarily strength/conditioning? Using a MET of 6-7 for Tae Kwon Do (found here: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/pdf/PA_Intensity_table_2_1.pdf), you can reasonably count 7-8 calories per minute for TKD. When in doubt about an activity, I look up it's MET and use that calculation as a start.
  • salxtai
    salxtai Posts: 341 Member
    Typically a class is intense periods of energy followed by rest (holding pads for partner, watching instructor teach a new technique).

    I log an hours class as if it was 40 minutes to recognise that. And that is a tough class, muay Thai fighters. It feels about right to me.

    +1 good idea, I'll try that and see what it generates - because I have no sense of time during training, so I can't even tell how much time I spend sparring etc
  • mbatey
    mbatey Posts: 45 Member
    Log the time spent training and see if you can use a HRM to guage the calories burnt, you can then edit the calories burnt before you complete the training log. The only way i see you getting a fairly accurate reading!!
  • salxtai
    salxtai Posts: 341 Member
    Don't give up on counting it! Tae Kwon Do is not a nothing, record it. Based on 2 minutes of searching, a 160lb person doing Tae Kwon Do can indeed expend 700 something calories. Evaluate each class -- do you think you spend about half of your two hours intensely? Do you spend the other hour doing primarily strength/conditioning? Using a MET of 6-7 for Tae Kwon Do (found here: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/pdf/PA_Intensity_table_2_1.pdf), you can reasonably count 7-8 calories per minute for TKD. When in doubt about an activity, I look up it's MET and use that calculation as a start.

    That's a very smart idea! Hadn't thought of using METs for calculating it.
    And its honestly hard to judge the time in class - I have a vague notion because juniors break 45 min into it, but then between intermediate and seniors we don't always break.
    I do sweat like crazy (but I do that even when I'm not tired - I look mega pro at the gym because of it, haha)
  • iwillsoonbeslim
    iwillsoonbeslim Posts: 283
    The watch part of the HRM doesn't have to be on your wrist :) I often hook mine round the shoulder strap of my bra when I'm doing press ups and stuff at my kickboxing cicuits :)
    If you're sparring the whole time, you could be burning 700 cals easily!
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    I subtract something like an hour whenever I log in my Aikido session
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