Heart rate monitor calories

I don't know exactly but I'd suggest emailing the manufacturers of your HRM for clarification?

From a read of the manual here;

http://www.polar.fi/e_manuals/FT7/Polar_FT7_user_manual_English/manual.pdf

It just says 'calories burnt during the training session' which doesn't mention adding in the normal resting calories you would have burnt had you not been training.

My understanding from this would be that if it read 350 calories that is the total during the hour - obviously you don't use the 'resting' or 'maintenance' calories on top because you aren't resting - so it's a complete figure for the duration of the time you have been exercising. So I have to say I agree with you.

But I'm guessing, it's just how I read it, you don't get to add any more calories quietly burning away in the background, just the number on the screen :)

https://www.polarpersonaltrainer.com/

There is a 'contact us' button here, perhaps they will help more definitively. It looks like a very useful piece of kit.

Hi Jazzlover,

What you refer to aside from the kcal burnt during exercise is known as your Basil Metabolic Rate. This is the number of kcal your body uses in just keeping you alive during any 24 hour period ie. even sleeping burns kcal.

The only way to know this figure is to have a Electronic Body Composition Analysis Scan undertaken. You should be able to get one for around £50.

Just to give you an example of how it works if you BMR is 2000kcal/24 then you use approx 83kcal per hour in breathing, sleeping, eating etc.

No HR monitor is advanced enough to know this so therefore they don't scan it and take it into account. Even though you are exercising you are still burning kcal on top across a whole range of other involuntary muscular and organ contractions such as stomach, kidneys, liver and brain.

Therefore if you burn 350 kcal during an exercise session then you need to also consider the extra 83kcal as used in the example above which your body would burn regardless of whether or not you undertook any exercise.

This very issue is why many athletes get glycogen depletion as they fail to account for BMR requirements during their daily kcal intake.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards

Simon

Simon Vincent
Performance and Nutrition Consultant
Body Bullet Dynamics
Aberdare
South Wales

Thanks for that - always nice to be totally wrong :)

That's fascinating- never knew that!

Hi all,

Glad to be of help.

So much easier to apply the knowledge of a sports science degree to these issues and I have been dispelling many myths with clients over the past few months, from both a performance and nutrition perspective.

When you apply the science and take away all the so called 'wonder supplements' it really is as simple as back to Mother Nature.

If any of you ever fancy a great weekend in Wales consisting of science based sport specific performance and nutrition assessment, combined with some of the best cycling or walking to be had in the country (Brecon Beacons and Glygorrwg MTB Centre), then please do not hesitate to contact me via my website.

Hopefully you'll then discover everything you ever need to know about your body and how it works from an exercise perspective, and get a chance to walk/cycle whether that be road or MTB within a stunning location only a few hours from your door.

Remember fellow PPonline members also get a 25% discount against my normal prices.

Kind regards

Simon

Simon Vincent
Performance and Nutrition Consultant
Body Bullet Dynamics
www.totalcyclingperformance.co.uk