HRM calories, walking

NovemberJune
NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Are HRM calorie estimates less accurate for walks? I took my kids for a 70 minute walk today, pulling them in the wagon. According to my HRM, my heart rate was from the low to high end of my target zone most of the time. I felt like I was working but not too strenuously. Well it said I burned 574!

Is it at all accurate? I'm used to burning about 10 calories per minute doing much more intense exercises. I do think my HRM overestimates in general because I'm near my max heart rate a lot.

It's a polar ft4 btw.

Forgive any typos, posting from mobile is difficult ;)

Replies

  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    Actually, thinking about it, I'd probably burn 800 calories in 70 minutes of rollerblading. But I also feel like I can barely go on after about 35 minutes of that! Lol. I could have kept walking another 30 minutes or so ;)
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    Bump :)
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I usually burn 300+ when I go for an hour long walk. If you're keeping a good pace, it adds up!
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    I think the polar was right.
  • Reckabek
    Reckabek Posts: 487 Member
    I burned 325 after a 60 min walk! Fast walking for me over a bridge! I was impressed that walking could burn that much, it was so easy and peaceful to!
  • clarebrad
    clarebrad Posts: 188 Member
    I burn about that on my polar FT4. 70 mins is decent, i always make sure i am at least in the zone a good amount of the time, having my hrm has made me push harder on walk. Even when i go on shorter walks with the dog, but heart rate about 130 ish, i burn nearly 200 cals.
  • MAndrews723
    MAndrews723 Posts: 10
    Holy wow.. I've been wanting a heart rate montior.. and now I am determined to get one.. like NOW
  • StarIsMoving
    StarIsMoving Posts: 437
    Yours is a Polar and has the strap - so my guess is it was on target. As long as you wet the strap to make the communication fluid, there is no reason it wouldn't be accurate :) So... from my standpoint, don't worry about the over estimation, just throw yourself in for a good walk and enjoy the burn of the calories :D
  • Coolhand1969
    Coolhand1969 Posts: 821 Member
    What I keep wondering about is if one should subtract the calories from doing nothing for the amount of time of the exercise from the exercise calories....
  • Hood25
    Hood25 Posts: 201 Member
    I'd say its pretty accurate especially if you were pulling a wagon and gettting your heart rate in your zone for that long of a time. My polar FT4 actually is lower compared to my treadmill and especially the MFP calculations. I think it is more accurate. I actually did 45 minutes on the treadmill and burned over 300 calories and immediately went outside and put weed killer on our lawn with a pushy thing and burned over 200 calories in 20-25 minutes! My guess is my heart rate was already up from working out and just doing brisk yard work kept me in the calorie burn zone.
  • abnerner
    abnerner Posts: 452 Member
    Absolutely! Just because you don't feel totally winded and exhausted after doesn't mean you didn't have a good work out!

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