Heart Rate Monitor in the hour after exercise

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IckleJP
IckleJP Posts: 3
in Fitness and Exercise
Good morning,
I have been using my fitness pal for two weeks without using a heart rate monitor. I used a basal metabolic rate calculator and googled calories burned in each of my workouts by people approximately my size. These values were as follows...
Hourly calorie burn at rest - 72
Daily Basal Metabolic Rate -1750 (eat this without exercise to maintain weight)
Daily Calorie Goal - 1200 (eat this without exercise to lose 1 pound a week)
Calories burnt in my typical morning workout - 400

Yesterday, I bought a heart rate monitor. It calculates calories based on age and heart rate only (not height, weight, etc).
I wanted to check my accuracy in calculations to make sure I wasn't sabatoging myself (concerned I overestimated my workouts). I've worn it overnight, as well as at rest and during my daily workout, seperating the values for each as follows...
Hourly calorie burn at rest - 70
Daily Basal Metabolic Rate - 1680
Calories burnt in my typical morning workout - 675 (after subtracting my basal rate)
Calories burnt in the first hour after my workout - 600
Calories burnt in the second hour after my workout - 300

My question is, how reliable is this heart rate monitor. I tend to trust the BMR, as it is essentially equivalent to the one the calctulators give. I also tend to mostly trust it during the workout as I'm working very hard, can barely speak a full sentence during it and my heart rate stays between the 160s and 180s. However, I find it hard to believe I burn 900 calories in the two hours AFTER a workout. If any one has indepth understanding of these matters, please let me know if this is accurate. Otherwise, I intend to count the 675 for the workout, but leave the two hours after as 70 calories an hour. Thanks!

Replies

  • steph1278
    steph1278 Posts: 483 Member
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    HRM's aren't reliable for calculating anything other than calories burned through exercise. Devices such as the Body Media Fit, which I have, are made to be worn all the time and can give you a good idea of your total daily burn. I would only count the calories burned through actual exercise.
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
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    Daily Basal Metabolic Rate -1750 (eat this without exercise to maintain weight)
    No, this is not correct. BMR is the amount to stay alive. If you were lying in bed for 24 hours and didn't move a muscle, your caloric need then is your BMR. Your description there is for TDEE; Total Daily Energy Expenditure. That's your BMR plus cals to support your normal daily activities.
    Yesterday, I bought a heart rate monitor.

    I've worn it overnight, as well as at rest and during my daily workout, seperating the values for each as follows...
    This won't be at all accurate.

    Your HRM uses an algorithm that estimates your caloric burn during exercise. That algorithm was developed following clinical study of individuals under exercise stress where HR and caloric burn were actually measured (I'm simplifying but this is basically the case).

    Those algorithms do not hold true at lower heart rates (non exercise) and will return a falsely high burn reading.
  • IckleJP
    IckleJP Posts: 3
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    Thanks for both clarifications. I assumed it couldn't be correct, but couldn't figure out what it was doing. By hour three to four after exercise, it went back down to normal and stayed steady until exercise this morning. So, knowing that it's only accurate for exercise, is it safe for me to use the algorithym for my TDEE and only count what the monitor says for the exercise portion?
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
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    Yes, that's the best thing to do.

    Forgive me if you know this already but all of these different calculators (internet, gym equiptment, books, HRM's etc) are only estimates and they all assume the "average" person. So whilst they are a good place to start, if you aren't getting the expected results then you should adjust based on what you observe.

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