I have 2 sources- elliptical and Polar heart rate monitor app. They are usually within 50 calories of each other. I average 1,100 calorie burn each workout. If you monitor calorie burn, how many do you burn in your typical workout? I burned an all time high today at 1,387.

5K run burns 370 calories, one small double cheese burger at McDonalds. (I don't eat it, but it's always fun to tell people 5K or "tiny" burger?

Ran 10 miles yesterday, it was around 1200K via Map My Run, but Garmin only shows 921 calories (kinda hard to believe that low number after running for a hour and a half).

Dang- 5k and only 370 cal??? Makes you think.

I tend to trust my Polar app since it knows my age and heart rate. The elliptical only knows my weight. Polar and elliptical will be about the same until the latter half of my routine then begin to pull away as I increase resistance to finish strong.

Eat burger in a matter of minutes, takes 25-30 mins to run it off.

Add fries and a drink (one refill) and you are needing to do a half marathon.

That's a small meal too.

I think on those apps, as you progress it takes it into account, uses formulas of some sort to calculate it, and you have to work harder to keep the results up. Take this for example, this was last April. There's no way I can ride 22 miles and burn that many cals unless I'm pedaling 20+mph the whole time. I think even if I told it I weighed what I weighed then, and even changed bike types, it still wouldn't give that many cals burned.


For what it's worth, I don't base my workout off how many cals I can burn. I set out to do something, when I'm done, whatever shows to have been burned is great, if it's over a thousand, awesome, if not, oh well, as long as I'm out of breath I'm happy.

I've never counted calories in any way myself. I judge by the looseness/tightness of pants to be honest, honestly, and I know, the more candy I eat, the more I fluctuate 1-3 pounds. Once I take a candy break, which is very hard, I slim up really fast. I still do the same amount of exercises, but it's all the sugar for me. Calories, I know when I get more of them, but I do not know how many I burn while exercising.

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I heard a mile is a mile of calories burned, doesn't matter how fast you go. So that sort of takes the heart beat aspect out of it.

I don't know though....if I run 10-11 min/miles I hardly breathe fast, I don't know how that is the same calories as when I burn out a 7 min/mile and red line my HR.

I didn't take biology in college. I took geology. LOL!

I think you could say that generally a mile is a mile. That might not extrapolate perfectly out to several miles... but in general a shorter, more intense workout is going to burn a similar number as a longer, less intense workout if the work done is the same.

You could compare it to weightlifting, if I bench 205 x 5 x 5 or if I bench 135 x 10 x 4 I'm going to burn a similar number of calories but the latter workout will take more time and probably not leave me feeling quite as worn out

You would think it would calculate it that way....

I wish it factored in heat/cold too. Gotta burn more when it's 100 degrees and humid of 95%...compared to 45 degrees. One will draw out sweat and one will not.

it's definitely a generalization, but I think it's a close approximation. Close enough for most people. You also have to factor in post workout calorie burn and a host of other factors.

If you wanted to get real sciency, one Kcal = 4.2 Kj = (4200 * kg_moved * m_moved^2)/time_in_seconds^2

Yeah I figure it's based on Average Person, Average Climate, Average Movement, ect.

Lot of outside factors like metabolism....my wife says mine has always been faster.

but to answer the original question I've never really thought much about calories burned during exercise. I counted calories in my diet for a while, and then became familiar enough with the foods I eat that I could approximate my intake without actually counting. Then I just tailor my intake to my goals (gain muscle/lose fat) and adjust based on how my body reacts.