Is my HRM giving me a wrong reading?

BeautyFromPain
BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
My HRM says I burn 1002 calories in my 60 minutes "GROOVE" class. It's a mixture of latin/club/hiphop for anyone that doesn't know, it's not very big yet.

Average HR during the class : 160
Highest HR : 185

I give it my all out sure, sweating loads by the end of it, feeling like I'm about to vomit half way through... but is it even possible to burn that many calories in an hour?

Replies

  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    bump
  • Pebble321
    Pebble321 Posts: 6,423 Member
    That does seem pretty high, even for a hard workout.

    Can you compare it to the exertion level of a hard run and see if the cals work out to be a similar level?
    I usually work on around 10 cals/minute for steady running, more if I'm pushing myself, less if I'm going slow. I use that as a comparison for other exercises where I'm not so sure if the calorie estimates are close. That number isn't going to work for everyone, but it's a useful guide for me.
  • BR3ANDA
    BR3ANDA Posts: 622 Member
    Does you HRM have settings? Mine somehow reset back to factory setting once, told me I burned like 1500 cals in a Zumba class, then I went through my settings and my weight was set at 500 lbs, whoops. I usually get about 500 cal burn in Zumba,
  • ava33
    ava33 Posts: 26
    Agree with bcdpearce - check age and weight and VO2 settings, the calorie calculation is partially based on those. I burnt about 150 calories in a class I usually do 400 last week - turns out my HRM had somehow set my age to 7 ;-)
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    How big are you and what do you have your max heart rate set as on the HRM?

    I burn about 300 cals an hour doing high impact aerobics, as a comparison.
  • rherington
    rherington Posts: 85 Member
    I would believe it based on mine. I average about 140 to 150 bpm and it is in the neighborhood of 600 calories an hour. Given your higher heart rate it sounds right. Or both of ours are off!
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    I would believe it based on mine. I average about 140 to 150 bpm and it is in the neighborhood of 600 calories an hour. Given your higher heart rate it sounds right. Or both of ours are off!

    You are male, though.

    My husband is less fit and bigger than me and he will burn half as many calories again as I do doing the same activity.
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    I certainly think it's possible but unlikely for the average person.

    Depends on intensity and your size. As a 90kg (200lb) man, when I go running for an hour my Polar FT4 reckons I burn 900Cals. That goes up to 1500Cals when I'm doing say 16kms/10miles.

    If you're a 50kg/110lb lady (or man) you aren't going to burn anything like that.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    I certainly think it's possible but unlikely for the average person.

    Depends on intensity and your size. As a 90kg (200lb) man, when I go running for an hour my Polar FT4 reckons I burn 900Cals. That goes up to 1500Cals when I'm doing say 16kms/10miles.

    If you're a 50kg/110lb lady (or man) you aren't going to burn anything like that.

    haha 50kg? honey i'm still in the 80's!

    my friend brought hers along tonight as well and hers said she burnt 901 mine said 1032 competely different models etc etc. and considering she weighs a lot less than me (like 15kg) then yeah i believe it's right!
  • SteveTries
    SteveTries Posts: 723 Member
    Do you know what you avg HR is during the session?

    From your description it does sound like you are putting in an intense effort. If you're averaging 80% max or higher, then at your weight you probably are burning 800+

    I am sceptical of all calorie calculators since they use data from average population samples. To be on the safe side I eat back 50-75% of what it says I burn and I've not gone wrong doing this.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    Do you know what you avg HR is during the session?

    From your description it does sound like you are putting in an intense effort. If you're averaging 80% max or higher, then at your weight you probably are burning 800+

    I am sceptical of all calorie calculators since they use data from average population samples. To be on the safe side I eat back 50-75% of what it says I burn and I've not gone wrong doing this.

    I only eat back 50% as well. My "average" HR is usually 160, tonight was 175.
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