HRM and Calories burned per hour... what can I expect?

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jteammom
jteammom Posts: 173
in Fitness and Exercise
I usually wear my HRM when doing cardio or attending circuit classes. Even when I work out as hard as I possibly can, getting my heart rate up in the 160s, I never burn more than 400 calories per hour. One of the instructors at my gym (who is also an RN) tells me that I should set a goal to get up to 500 calories per hour this summer. I can't imagine how this could be possible. I am 55 years old, weigh 170 lbs and am 5'1" tall. (Yes, I know. I either need to get taller or lose weight. I'm working on it!)

What is typical for everyone else to burn per hour?

Replies

  • tony1307
    tony1307 Posts: 127 Member
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    I have noticed with my HRM, that I seem to average about 10 cals per minute.
    So a nice 20 minute quick walk, is about 200 calories.

    Some things are more, some are less, but usually pretty close to the 10 calories a minute.
  • sdevan45
    sdevan45 Posts: 74 Member
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    I burn about 400 per hour when I'm working out, but my heart rate is in the 125 range. On the other hand, I'm 66. I think a sustained 160 is pretty high.
  • dad106
    dad106 Posts: 4,868 Member
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    Is there a reason that you need to burn 500 calories an hour? If not.. then ignore and keep doing what you are doing.

    Short people are naturally going to burn less than tall people.. and heavier people burn more then thinner people.

    Personally, I would love to get 400 calories an hour.. I can barely get 200 in a half an hour.. and thats when I run!
  • embclark
    embclark Posts: 186 Member
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    I usually wear my HRM when doing cardio or attending circuit classes. Even when I work out as hard as I possibly can, getting my heart rate up in the 160s, I never burn more than 400 calories per hour. One of the instructors at my gym (who is also an RN) tells me that I should set a goal to get up to 500 calories per hour this summer. I can't imagine how this could be possible. I am 55 years old, weigh 170 lbs and am 5'1" tall. (Yes, I know. I either need to get taller or lose weight. I'm working on it!)

    What is typical for everyone else to burn per hour?

    Do you have your heartrate monitor set properly? Most of them you can set your max heartrate... I took the highest I have ever seen it and added 5 to get mine. And if I ever get to it I will add 5 again. My HRM came with a max heartrate of 200, so it thought when I was exercising at 160 that I wasn't working to my potential. When really, 170 is about as high as I go. So I moved it to 175. It makes your calorie burn more accurate for your body...

    Is may help you reach the 500 an our without much change! Then you'll have to make a new goal! :-). Hope this helps!
  • minnesota_deere
    minnesota_deere Posts: 232 Member
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    900
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
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    Hi!

    I guess my first idea would be to not push yourself to 500 calories burned in one workout. I mean if you are hitting 400 giving it your all, then maybe throw in another less strenuous workout at another point in the day, if possible. Also, maybe it's the type of workout......have you tried anything else? How many calories do you burn doing other activities?

    Secondly I guess I'm curious as to why you want to burn more? I have just recently come to the conclusion that more isn't necessarily better......I have trouble eating my cut number of calories to begin with, let alone adding in the whole eating back exercise calories thing. But that's just for me :)

    Best of luck to you!
  • xMonroeMisfit
    xMonroeMisfit Posts: 411 Member
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    i'm short, so i burn about 100 when im doing a brisk walk for 15-20 minutes. Ideally, you want to burn about 10 cals a minute, just takes a while to get there. Work on building up those muscles, thatll create a bigger burn :)
  • dvisser1
    dvisser1 Posts: 788 Member
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    Depends on the intensity of the exercise you're doing.

    running outside or busting my butt on the elliptical and I can burn 900-1000 cal in an hour. Being 36, my max heart rate (based on 220 - age = max) should be 184. On the elliptical I will hit that once or twice during a 30 minute workout and almost never have my heart rate much below 150 except during warm up and cool down phases. As I've gotten in better shape I have increased my exercise intensity on the elliptical (increased pace & resistance) and when running I'm working on running hills without walking and running flats faster as well as pushing distance.
  • jteammom
    jteammom Posts: 173
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    Thanks for the imput!

    I checked my HRM settings and everything is as it should be. I think this instructor feels my stamina is not what it should be, therefore I am not "in the zone" for a long enough period of time. I do find it frustrating when the person next to me in class is burning calories at a higher rate then I am. I just don't know if 500 calories per hour is reasonable for me.
  • Will_Thrust_For_Candy
    Will_Thrust_For_Candy Posts: 6,109 Member
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    Thanks for the imput!

    I checked my HRM settings and everything is as it should be. I think this instructor feels my stamina is not what it should be, therefore I am not "in the zone" for a long enough period of time. I do find it frustrating when the person next to me in class is burning calories at a higher rate then I am. I just don't know if 500 calories per hour is reasonable for me.

    I say listen to your body......if you don't think that 500 cal/hr is reasonable for you then maybe it's not! Maybe try a couple other workouts, change it up and see if that makes a difference and if not then you'll know :) I totally think that 400 cal/hr is reasonable, but that's just my opinion and I'm sure others feel differently :)

    Good luck!
  • abetterjune
    abetterjune Posts: 219
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    Thanks for the imput!

    I checked my HRM settings and everything is as it should be. I think this instructor feels my stamina is not what it should be, therefore I am not "in the zone" for a long enough period of time. I do find it frustrating when the person next to me in class is burning calories at a higher rate then I am. I just don't know if 500 calories per hour is reasonable for me.

    I'm also 5'1" and in the last 2 years I've worked a lot on my stamina. I started around 350/hour and felt I was working really hard... I can now burn upwards of 650/ hour working at my hardest with my HR around 185-195ish. I am only 23 though, so that might play into it quite a bit, as well. I guess I'm just saying it is possible to burn 500! My best friend, 5'2" just started working out a month ago (she's about 165ish and 32 yo) and she averages 450ish/hr but doesn't always work to her full potential, by her own admission.

    As for your hrm settings, have you had your VO2 max professionally tested? I'd highly suggest having that done and then programming that into your monitor, as well, if you haven't already. I re-test that every 8-12 months and the first few times I re-tested, I noticed a big difference in my calorie burn.

    Good luck
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,554 Member
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    I work on an estimate of around 10 cals/minute for running and about 5 cals/minute for brisk walking. But, that's only an estimate, my HRM doesn't use heart rate to calculate calories. Those numbers (and MFP's numbers) have worked perfectly well for me though, so I'm happy with my near guess.
  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
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    My average is 5 calories per minute and I'm busting my butt to get that number. When I was 35 pounds heavier my resting heart rate was 48 bpm. I wondewhat it is know and I wonder if that has anything to do with the low burn.
  • HartJames
    HartJames Posts: 789 Member
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    When I had a crappy HRM I supposedly burned 1100 in an hr. I got a Polar specifically for women and burn around 400 in 1 hr. with my heart rate in intervals of 130/165. I'm 35. Just a word of advice, most trainers are not all that qualified, get a second professional opinion. There are many highly trained trainers right here on the boards- perhaps title a post that seeks their opinions out?
  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
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    I burn about 400 per hour when I'm working out, but my heart rate is in the 125 range. On the other hand, I'm 66. I think a sustained 160 is pretty high.


    Oh I hate to hear this I'm 47 and burn less calories at 120 range

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