I honestly don't worry very much about specific numbers when it comes to calories burned. I do wear a heart rate monitor with chest strap, which gives me a pretty good estimate, but all this chart of the HRM gives is an ESTIMATE. All of us burn calories in our own way, and it's impossible to know exactly how many calories you burn with each exercise. Just like you shouldn't obsess over that pesky number on the scale, I think you also should not obsess about your calories burned.
So, instead, I rely on making sure I get plenty of exercise. I go to the gym 3-4 times a week and switch it up between Zumba, Zumba Toning (w/weights), the weight machines, and the treadmill. I always make sure I get an hour's worth of exercise or more while I am there, and also that I work up a good sweat. When I don't go to the gym I spend 30 minutes-1 hour playing Wii games like EA Sports Active 2, Just Dance and Just Dance 2...or I go walking on the city's walking trail with friends.
I actually found this article very helpful. I do not see why a little information needs to necessarily "stress me out". Since weight loss is a matter of burning more calories than are taken in, having a guide of how many calories get burned in certain activities to me is helpful. I may never run at those speeds, but then I'm not going to play 30 mins of racquetball either. The one I didn't see here that I do frequently is biking - not stationary.
I agree with Philfan1 - why stress out about the numbers of calories burned when we do exercises? Personally, I feel I've accomplished something if I can actually get outside and walk for 1/2 an hour! If I can do that every other day, I feel good about myself. This is coming from a person (me) who is not very much into exercising. Oh, I understand the benefits, but it takes a lot for me to get out there and do it! I keep trying, and I am getting better. That's all I really care about. Good luck, all!
Where did they get these running/jogging speeds at? That is WAAAYYYYYYY faster than what I move at...
They should have named it Run, baby, run. lol =)
REBORN4EVER
8/19/2011 9:22:56 AM
Sorry gang, if I'm too anal retentive but it appears this is a re-cycled article from 2007? I say that because I went back to look at all the comments and saw comments from 2007. So could it be possible that this, being a "dated" article, doesn't reflect more accurate information?? I, too, find these figures questionable but I'm going to use them as a "guide estimate" for my workouts. I really do think the point of the article is that I need to change-up my routines so boredom doesn't take hold. Remember, new research is intimating that as little as 15 minutes a day, every day, can yield positive benes. :)
At 58 my body can't take the stress of most of these activities and in this economy who can afford a gym or golf membership? The article is well-intentioned but didn't suggest activities that the average person could do within a realistic budget and time-frame. Short breaks where we increase our heart rate, stretch and take a short walk are more achievable activities that will gently raise the calories burned over the day.
I wear a BodyBugg to keep track of my calories burned. I weigh 140 pounds and walk at a 4 MPH pace. In that hour I burn 400 calories, give or take, depending on what route I'm doing that day. I've taken a 50 minute step-interval class at my gym and burned 250 calories (that includes a 10 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down). I burn approximately 250 calories during a 50 minute weight training session, but the "after burn" stays with me for hours and I burn more calories per minute than normal.
'jog' at 6.5 mph? running at 8.5? that's race speed, and NOT what so many of us who are struggling with weight issues can begin to aspire to. i ran my first 10K last fall and am training for my first half-marathon now, and i jog at 4mph and SPRINT at 6 or 7. if i hit an average speed of 5mph over the duration of a longish (6 miles or more) run i'm delirious with joy. i think that chart sets up an unrealistic expectation of what running looks like for those of us who are doing it for health, not to set records. khairete suz
This article was kind of a bummer Sparkpeople. Not bummer in the sense it made me sad, it just felt incomplete and kind of lame. The chart feels half-hearted, really. I thought this was *actually* going to be about getting the most out of your workout- like....make a plan! use a heart rate monitor! best exercise cycles, etc.
PUUURFCT
8/19/2011 6:58:20 AM
I found that you can also go into a website called Calorie King and I tells you what type of excerise to do based on the amount of food you ate. For example I ate a personal pan pizza from pizza Hut and just consumed 590 calories! So calorieKING tells me (see below) To burn 590calories, you could do any of the following: 2 164 mins of walking 67 mins of jogging 49 mins of swimming 90 mins of cycling
So this might help out! I use this website all the time and it helps me NOT eat certain things because I dont want to be spending hrs and hrs at the gym :)
