Is Garmin a reliable calorie counting device for exercise?

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slambiase
slambiase Posts: 23
in Fitness and Exercise
My Garmin 310 GPS said I burned over 1000 calories tonight during my bike workout. That seems really high and I really question it. Does anyone know how close this is? I think it takes speed, elevation, and distance into account. This is the data it collects.
I did not wear the Heart rate monitor tonight. I will do that next time.
What do you think??
Could it matter if I had it in "run" mode, but I was biking?

BTW, it knows I am a 42 year old, 5'3 female

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  • leadoff
    leadoff Posts: 136 Member
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    Hard to tell without the HR info. I believe that the 310 calculates based on HR. (I think any of the FR series ending in -10 calculate in that fashion with the exception of the 405CSX and the non-GPS units like the FR60/70.)
  • cannonsky
    cannonsky Posts: 850 Member
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    I have the Garmin FR60. When I first started using it I looked up how to calculate calories burned based on heart rate on like... five different websites and they varied a lot, but my FR60 was the lowest so I use those numbers because it's probably better to under estimate calories burned if anything. From what I understand though, the Garmin HR monitors are pretty reliable. And you can increase their accuracy with calibration and if you use the accessories (like the foot pod).

    Hope that helps!
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    My Garmin 310 GPS said I burned over 1000 calories tonight during my bike workout. That seems really high and I really question it. Does anyone know how close this is? I think it takes speed, elevation, and distance into account. This is the data it collects.
    I did not wear the Heart rate monitor tonight. I will do that next time.
    What do you think??
    Could it matter if I had it in "run" mode, but I was biking?

    BTW, it knows I am a 42 year old, 5'3 female
    If you had it in the run mode then it is not accurate at all. It will think you were running at biking speed for a long time. I have the 310 and think it is pretty accurate. If you have the 310 software updated and use the heart monitor in the correct mode and have the user data entered correctlyI think it is probably one of the most accurate since it uses 2d generation firstbeat algorithms to calculate calories.

    As for whether the 1000 calories is correct, you probably burn around 30 to 40 calories per mile biking if you are pedaling all the time and going around 15mph on level ground.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    I think it takes speed, elevation, and distance into account. This is the data it collects.
    I did not wear the Heart rate monitor tonight. I will do that next time.

    Could it matter if I had it in "run" mode, but I was biking?

    Like any computer - garbage in, garbage out.
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I'd try it again in cycle mode and with the the chest strap - I think those 2 things will make a very big difference to its accuracy.
    Without those settings, I wouldn't pay attention to the numbers at all.
  • slambiase
    slambiase Posts: 23
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    Thanks to everyone for the tips and info!
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    DId you have the chest strap on?
  • slambiase
    slambiase Posts: 23
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    I think it takes speed, elevation, and distance into account. This is the data it collects.
    I did not wear the Heart rate monitor tonight. I will do that next time.

    Could it matter if I had it in "run" mode, but I was biking?

    Like any computer - garbage in, garbage out.

    That's what I was thinking. I will retry with cycle mode and HRM.

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