What does count as exercise?

fitpilatesqueen
fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
in Fitness and Exercise
I´m wondering what counts as exercise we log.
I know walking helps but right now I can´t walk fast like I would want to because I have a fractured tailbone.
I have been in a lot of pain for 11 days now.
I´m finding it very hard not to go over my goal limit when I can´t do exercise.
There for my question is this.
If I would go and take a slow 2 hour walk could I count that as exercise or would that be counting with the daily calorie burn.
I don´t want this injury to ruin my good progress, it is already making me restless and down.
Any ideas? advice?
Thanks

I apologize for my english, it´s not very good.

Replies

  • Lillyeatslillies
    Lillyeatslillies Posts: 78
    It depends on what your calorie burn is set as. I work at a desk 40 hrs a week so I set mine at sedentary. Because of that, when I clean, walk, work out, walk the dog, or whatever I log it since my calorie count it so low. If you set yours at highly active then you might not want to log it as extra as it would already be included in your daily burn.

    I hope that helps :)
  • Josteyn
    Josteyn Posts: 44
    Move as much as you can, as often as you can, and as fast and as far as you can.

    Work up to more when you can.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    I count lots of walking, as well as my Insanity and weight training. If you're set as sedentary, then count all your walking. I'm set as active, and after the first 1/2 hour of walking I start to count it, because that is about the difference in calorie levels for me. I hope your tailbone feels better soon - I fractured mine in the beginning of December, and would rather have gone through L&D 5 times over then ever do that again! While it was healing, I did a lot of walking (as quickly as I could), and as much upper body strength training as I could - everything I could do standing). If you have access to a pool, you could get some great workouts in that way as well.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    It depends on what your calorie burn is set as. I work at a desk 40 hrs a week so I set mine at sedentary. Because of that, when I clean, walk, work out, walk the dog, or whatever I log it since my calorie count it so low. If you set yours at highly active then you might not want to log it as extra as it would already be included in your daily burn.

    I hope that helps :)
    Thanks
    I have the same setting as you. Deskjob.
  • SlidingDown
    SlidingDown Posts: 64 Member
    Hi :) When you set your goals on MFP, did you put your typical exercise level down as Sedentary? Assuming you did, then go ahead and log your walk. There are different speeds of walking listed in the database, and there is one there that should be suitable :)
    To make it as accurate as possible in the calories burned, have a look here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm Enter your age, height, weight etc, then look up the exercise and it will give you a better idea of the calories burned than the default setting on MFP. Then you can select the slow walk exercise from MFP but manually input the calories burned.
    Hope that helps.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    Move as much as you can, as often as you can, and as fast and as far as you can.

    Work up to more when you can.
    Thanks
    I have tried walking normally / slow and thats ok I tried twice since this happend to take a brisk walk and was in so much pain few hours later, so I didn´t do that again.
    Maybe I should have kept going but I´m just so afraid it would only prelong my injury
  • SlidingDown
    SlidingDown Posts: 64 Member
    Sorry, I took so long to type my reply the question had been answered about the Sedentary level lol
    The rest of my reply still stands though :D
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    I count lots of walking, as well as my Insanity and weight training. If you're set as sedentary, then count all your walking. I'm set as active, and after the first 1/2 hour of walking I start to count it, because that is about the difference in calorie levels for me. I hope your tailbone feels better soon - I fractured mine in the beginning of December, and would rather have gone through L&D 5 times over then ever do that again! While it was healing, I did a lot of walking (as quickly as I could), and as much upper body strength training as I could - everything I could do standing). If you have access to a pool, you could get some great workouts in that way as well.
    Thank you
    You are the second person advicing to walk fast so maybe I should have kept going even though it meant more pain.
  • poulingail
    poulingail Posts: 110
    You can put just about anything into the database and find a calorie value there. I have mowing, gardening, raking, vacuuming, house cleaning, as well as the mundane walking or treadmill. What I don't understand is why strength training work doesn't get any calorie credit when listed with that tool. It's hard to do it, even over a short time, and it aids the metabolism afterward resulting in more calories burned.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    I count lots of walking, as well as my Insanity and weight training. If you're set as sedentary, then count all your walking. I'm set as active, and after the first 1/2 hour of walking I start to count it, because that is about the difference in calorie levels for me. I hope your tailbone feels better soon - I fractured mine in the beginning of December, and would rather have gone through L&D 5 times over then ever do that again! While it was healing, I did a lot of walking (as quickly as I could), and as much upper body strength training as I could - everything I could do standing). If you have access to a pool, you could get some great workouts in that way as well.
    Thank you
    You are the second person advicing to walk fast so maybe I should have kept going even though it meant more pain.
    I know for me, that what hurt was the bruised tendons around my tailbone when I was walking. Despite the discomfort, I knew that working them gently (to discomfort, not pain), would actually help them heal. If you are 11 days out, believe it or not, you're almost past the worst part. Alternating ice and heat at this point can really help.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    Hi :) When you set your goals on MFP, did you put your typical exercise level down as Sedentary? Assuming you did, then go ahead and log your walk. There are different speeds of walking listed in the database, and there is one there that should be suitable :)
    To make it as accurate as possible in the calories burned, have a look here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calories_burned.htm Enter your age, height, weight etc, then look up the exercise and it will give you a better idea of the calories burned than the default setting on MFP. Then you can select the slow walk exercise from MFP but manually input the calories burned.
    Hope that helps.
    Thank you for your answer.
    My setting is sedentary and when I walk I use a heart monitor. Need to get a better one since this one is so old and doesn´t allow me to set age, gender, weight or height.
    I thank you for that link, I ´ll take a look at it
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    I count lots of walking, as well as my Insanity and weight training. If you're set as sedentary, then count all your walking. I'm set as active, and after the first 1/2 hour of walking I start to count it, because that is about the difference in calorie levels for me. I hope your tailbone feels better soon - I fractured mine in the beginning of December, and would rather have gone through L&D 5 times over then ever do that again! While it was healing, I did a lot of walking (as quickly as I could), and as much upper body strength training as I could - everything I could do standing). If you have access to a pool, you could get some great workouts in that way as well.
    Thank you
    You are the second person advicing to walk fast so maybe I should have kept going even though it meant more pain.
    I know for me, that what hurt was the bruised tendons around my tailbone when I was walking. Despite the discomfort, I knew that working them gently (to discomfort, not pain), would actually help them heal. If you are 11 days out, believe it or not, you're almost past the worst part. Alternating ice and heat at this point can really help.
    Thanks
    I´ll just have to suck it up and get going before I lose my mind being so restless
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    You can put just about anything into the database and find a calorie value there. I have mowing, gardening, raking, vacuuming, house cleaning, as well as the mundane walking or treadmill. What I don't understand is why strength training work doesn't get any calorie credit when listed with that tool. It's hard to do it, even over a short time, and it aids the metabolism afterward resulting in more calories burned.
    Thanks
    I agree with you on that, that should count.
    People could go around it and use heart rate monitors and count it in that way.
  • charanne52
    charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
    One of my Fitness pals here uses a cane and there is actually an exercise level "walking with a cane" that she uses to log her exercise. Any movement you can do helps but you want to be careful not to cause yourself further injury.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    Strength training does count, they don't assign a calorie value because it's impossible to estimate. They have no way of knowing how many reps, how long it took, how much rest in between reps,. etc. That's what an HRM is for.

    As for the question of what counts as exercise, the answer depends upon what you are trying to accomplish. For weight loss anything that burns calories above a resting level is exercise (assuming a sedentary lifestyle setting). For fitness improvement it has to be something that is more challenging and not just "what your body is used to doing". Hope that makes sense.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    One of my Fitness pals here uses a cane and there is actually an exercise level "walking with a cane" that she uses to log her exercise. Any movement you can do helps but you want to be careful not to cause yourself further injury.
    Thanks.
    I have since this happend moved my arms more while walking. As strange as it sounds, I feel as it helps me, like it makes me lighter.
    Yes I´m going to make sure not to extend my injuries.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    Strength training does count, they don't assign a calorie value because it's impossible to estimate. They have no way of knowing how many reps, how long it took, how much rest in between reps,. etc. That's what an HRM is for.

    As for the question of what counts as exercise, the answer depends upon what you are trying to accomplish. For weight loss anything that burns calories above a resting level is exercise (assuming a sedentary lifestyle setting). For fitness improvement it has to be something that is more challenging and not just "what your body is used to doing". Hope that makes sense.
    Thank you
  • bratleen
    bratleen Posts: 60 Member
    Do not push yourself if you are in pain. That will not help you heal. Walk at a comfortable pace for as long as you can. If you feel mild discomfort you can continue, but actual pain is not good.
  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    Do not push yourself if you are in pain. That will not help you heal. Walk at a comfortable pace for as long as you can. If you feel mild discomfort you can continue, but actual pain is not good.
    Thanks
    That is correct. I will have to be aware during my walks, this is something I do not want to be prolonged
  • SlidingDown
    SlidingDown Posts: 64 Member
    Thank you for your answer.
    My setting is sedentary and when I walk I use a heart monitor. Need to get a better one since this one is so old and doesn´t allow me to set age, gender, weight or height.
    I thank you for that link, I ´ll take a look at it

    You're very welcome. I hope it helps. :)
  • Serenstar75
    Serenstar75 Posts: 258 Member
    Do you have a smartphone? There's an app called Sports Tracker. IF your GPS is good on your phone, it's pretty cool for tracking your approximate speed and also gives distance you walked. It could help you with seeing how many calories you think you may have burned and it's great to track your progress as it logs your walk with GPS location. My phone has a very good GPS, so for me it works well.
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    Do you have a smartphone? There's an app called Sports Tracker. IF your GPS is good on your phone, it's pretty cool for tracking your approximate speed and also gives distance you walked. It could help you with seeing how many calories you think you may have burned and it's great to track your progress as it logs your walk with GPS location. My phone has a very good GPS, so for me it works well.

    I agree those apps are pretty good. I use Runkeeper, same idea.

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