Calculating calories burned per hour

[metro_88]

Hello,

Does anyone have any sort of chart or calculator that they like to use to determine weight, speed, and then calories burned per hour during inline skating? I've searched the web and seen answers all over the place, varying between 600 calories to 1200 calories per hour.

The most scientific chart I can find is this one, but I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts on determining caloric burn.

http://www.lenihan.org/sk8_calories.htm

Thanks!

[WJCIV]

Based on my experience that chart is way on the high side for a 170 pound person, at least on the high end of the speed. Likely they had people with poor form sprinting.

1200 per hour would be some pretty intense skating. I weigh about 170 now, but I was closer to 160 about a year ago. I use Endomondo with a heart rate monitor from about late April to mid July. I burnt anywhere from 500-1000 calories per hour depending on the workout last year. This does seem to be pretty accurate because I connected in MyFitnessPal and tracked my intake at the same time, and the weight lost seemed to match up pretty well with their estimates. Some of my workouts had average heart rates close to 180, and others were closer to 140. Some were intervals, and others were pretty close to steady state.

Note that this does include the "base state metabolism". If for some reason you just put on skates and stood there you would still burn calories because your organs like to function and your body likes to keep warm. Some charts will only show you the the energy spent on the sport, which would explain roughly a 100 calorie difference in my case. The inclusion of the BSM is actually a bit of a pain for me. I set my calorie expenditure for the day, and MyFitnessPal automatically adds the calories burnt by working out. But that means the BSM calories during my workout are actually double counted (once in the daily expenditure, and once in the exercise), so I have to subtract them back out by resetting the daily allotment. That isn't a problem if I work out two hours every day, but when I can work out anywhere from 2 to 6 it is a minor annoyance.

Anyway, I would suggest getting a heart rate monitor you can connect to your phone. It's going to be more accurate based on your mechanics, hills, wind, using estimated instead of measured speed (especially if you aren't perfectly constant), etc. than a simple chart. They only cost about $50.

[metro_88]

Thanks so much for your help!

I do use an HRM (Polar H7) and connect it to my iPhone and the Runkeeper app. I couldn't tell, though, if Runkeeper was calculating my calories burned based on that HRM data, plus weight, plus speed or if it had a preset number of something like 1,000 calories per hour exercised. For instance, a workout a few days ago (with HRM + GPS + Weight) put me at 955 calories burned after 52 minutes.

You can see that here:
http://i.imgur.com/MojurId.png

[Foot2big]

My endomondo puts me at 1000 cals an hour and I believe it.

[WJCIV]

I don't know your weight. If you are my size (170 lbs.) 955 would seem a little high, but not too unreasonable for that heart rate, speed, and change in elevation. My calorie to speed estimates are based on my experience - mostly indoor with very good form. If you are battling the elements and terrain you burn more calories for the same speed. If you stay low and glide you are more efficient than if you stand up, which means more steps, or are choppy. In your shoes I would trust the app more than a chart.

If you really want to calibrate you can use MyFitnessPal for two weeks and see if your change in weight matches the estimate. Of course you have to account for a margin of error, and it is a fair bit of work unless everything you eat has a barcode - which isn't a particularly healthy way of eating.

[Foot2big]

My calculations were this:

I'm 200lbs and runkeeper and endomondo both agreed that a ten mile skate around the lake in 50 minutes burned 650 calories.

Bowl skating is at least half again harder and more strenuous as it is purely HIIT (hi intensity interval training). I split the difference and chose "Hockey" on endomondo because it counted the calories near what I "felt" was the proper intensity.

I alway throw in a 100 pushups or 100 pullups that don't get calculated in the totals either.

I doubt very seriously if anyone will ever do any scientific measurements on bowl skaters, as it is such a tiny niche.

[oldspeedskater67]

I use myfitnesspal app. When you sign up it ask gender, age, height, weight. I skate indoor and outdoor. ride a road bike Indoor, and outdoor, jumpe rope etc. on a 800 cal burn workout according to a heart monitor set, my app was within 10 cals. I don't use the monitor anymore just the app. The app also tracks all your meals, cals, fat, protein, carbs, salt, etc also exercise. It is great. I have been using it for over a year. If you have friends you can see what they ate, and exercises they did. It will also link with endomondo for runs, and rides etc.
Oh also has push ups, pull ups.. If there is something you do, that isn't on the app, you can add it. Like p90x, T25, or like I do crunches but with a 25lb plate. Use my monitor one time to get the cal burn. Next time it will calc it for you, if you do more or less time. It Makes all the cal changes for you. Based on what you entered the first time. Also as you loose weight it automatically makes the cal adjustments. It is awesome, and Hard to beat.

[sk84luv]

[chuckboucher]

Originally Posted by oldspeedskater67

I use myfitnesspal app. When you sign up it ask gender, age, height, weight. I skate indoor and outdoor. ride a road bike Indoor, and outdoor, jumpe rope etc. on a 800 cal burn workout according to a heart monitor set, my app was within 10 cals. I don't use the monitor anymore just the app. The app also tracks all your meals, cals, fat, protein, carbs, salt, etc also exercise. It is great. I have been using it for over a year. If you have friends you can see what they ate, and exercises they did. It will also link with endomondo for runs, and rides etc.
Oh also has push ups, pull ups.. If there is something you do, that isn't on the app, you can add it. Like p90x, T25, or like I do crunches but with a 25lb plate. Use my monitor one time to get the cal burn. Next time it will calc it for you, if you do more or less time. It Makes all the cal changes for you. Based on what you entered the first time. Also as you loose weight it automatically makes the cal adjustments. It is awesome, and Hard to beat.

MyFitnessPal is a great app. It works very well with iPhone HealthKit and the Fitbit app, both of which I recently started using. I needed a way to track what I was eating. I'm finding that logging what I eat is preventing me from snacking, like I used to do.

I was losing weight as it was, doing short track skate practice twice a week. But when I also added two days of spin classes and started tracking my eating, I dropped 7 pounds in 2 weeks. I'm below 200 pounds for the first time in over a decade.

[Joey]

I use a Lezyne Mini GPS and upload the data to Strava. I don't pay much attention to the alleged calories burned. But since you asked I checked closer. On average, according to Strava, I burn 300 calories per hour. I honestly haven't the slightest idea if that is correct or not.

I am 5'10" and 150 lbs. Sometimes I skate hard and fast 15-18 mph, other times I just chug along between 10 and 12 mph. But my average calorie burn for my last 35 mile skate session (not a race) was 300/hr.

I hope you find this more useful than I do.

[whiskey02]

I use a TomTom Runner and I was shocked at the "calories burned" display, but then I quickly realized that it is calculating that I RAN that speed/distance! When people close to you tell you "you're too thin, you need to eat more" you are burning the right amount of calories.