Take it with a pinch of salt but..

Retroman10 · July 2011

I know that calories trackers etc aren't the most accurate of tools but I just wondered how close they actually are.

I'm a pretty fat git at the moment but just got back from a ride and my information on endomondo is as follows:

Duration: 53min 13 secs
Distance: 10.23 miles
Calories: 849 kcal

Now as I said I'm currently a big lad (emphasis on the currently) Im 6'1" and 237lbs.

So out of interest, is that number acceptable, ball park etc or is it way off.

Nice comments welcome and although I know Im gonna get em I'll sill read your calories are useless ones

Thanks in advance.
Joe.

P_Tucker · July 2011

Its spot on, +/- 80%

Retroman10 · July 2011

\o/

joeyhalloran · July 2011

Looks in the right kind of ball park to me,I find when going for it I burn about 1,000 cals/hour.

Zoomer37 · July 2011

Cal counters seem to be a load of balls

My Garmin results from tonights ride

Time: 01:27:54

Distance: 32.32 mi

Calories: 2,452 C

ut_och_cykla · July 2011

I would guess a bit on the high side. there are loads of calculators on the web - I found this

http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php
which suggest 600kcal which is probably more like the truth - though there are all kinds of factors - weather, terrain, bike position etc which will affect the effort you had to make and thereby affect kcal burned.
And if knowing what you burned is part of teh plan to be a smaller chap err on the lower side for burning and the higher side for food input when estimating and you'll get there! Good luck

amaferanga · July 2011

So you rode at about 11mph for under an hour - I'd estimate you probably burned no more than 500kcal (unless it was all uphill). Endomondo consistently overestimates calories burned by a lot from what I have seen of it.

NB 1000kcal an hour equates to a power output of about 277W. Your average cyclist probably couldn't produce that sort of power even going balls out up a hill for an hour and for general riding with junctions, downhills, traffic lights, etc. they'd be nowhere near. I can go out on an undulating ride and average 17-19mph yet power is only around 200W.

Garz · July 2011

The human body can be pretty efficient especially after prolonged repetition of certain exercises so each individual will bring differing results. Most computers calculate with a large degree of exaggeration. I would go with the 80% as per P_Tucker if the device seemed close.

As with zoomers device it would require more of a reduction %.

SteveR_100Milers · July 2011

amaferanga wrote:

So you rode at about 11mph for under an hour - I'd estimate you probably burned no more than 500kcal (unless it was all uphill). Endomondo consistently overestimates calories burned by a lot from what I have seen of it.

NB 1000kcal an hour equates to a power output of about 277W. Your average cyclist probably couldn't produce that sort of power even going balls out up a hill for an hour and for general riding with junctions, downhills, traffic lights, etc. they'd be nowhere near. I can go out on an undulating ride and average 17-19mph yet power is only around 200W.

I'm distinctly average, and can manage around 280W for an hour. A 200W average is more than feasible for a 3 hour ride. Agree though that most speed measuring devices such as phones / garmins etc are all utter bllx. The polar HRMs seem to be a bit more realistic.

StageWinner · July 2011

200w for 3 hours isn't 'easy' - you have to work at it a little. But it's doable certainly.

280w for an hour is probably what a decent TTer does for a 25 mile TT for a sub-hour.

SteveR_100Milers · July 2011

StageWinner wrote:

200w for 3 hours isn't 'easy' - you have to work at it a little. But it's doable certainly.

280w for an hour is probably what a decent TTer does for a 25 mile TT for a sub-hour.

200W is hard of easy depending entirely on your body shape / mass - at 91kg and 6ft1 its not a particularly hard effort. Numbers out of context are meaningless.

Retroman10 · July 2011

Ooo...Im still a beginner so all the power output and stuff is abit beyond me.

I suppose it was slightly uphill but not a lot just hard work when you weight this much

Hopefully if I ride 3-4 times a week and maintain healthy eatting I'll lose it.

In regards to the route, amaferanga will probably know it as its going out of Sheff via abbeydale road.

Sure its no problem for the general cyclist but for me its pretty hard :P

mallorcajeff · August 2011

some of mine for the last few days garmin 605
copy and paste isnt easy to read but after time is miles so top one is 50.39 miles and 4571 cal

Untitled Cycling Sun, Jul 31, 2011 9:56 AM 04:02:41 50.39 660 12.5 30.9 -- -- 4,571
103100790 Untitled Cycling Sat, Jul 30, 2011 9:11 AM 06:01:25 91.45 3,042 15.2 39.2 -- -- 9,854
103100805 Untitled Cycling Thu, Jul 28, 2011 7:33 PM 01:26:12 23.32 181 16.2 27.5 -- -- 2,651
103100822 Untitled Cycling Wed, Jul 27, 2011 5:09 PM 01:58:08 32.29 290 16.4 31.3 -- -- 3,278
103100844 Untitled Cycling Mon, Jul 25, 2011 5:10 PM 02:12:01 37.48 319 17.0 34.0 -- -- 3,796
103100864 Untitled Cycling Sun, Jul 24, 2011 8:40 AM 03:25:45 50.99 334 14.9 28.4 -- -- 5,241
103100899 Untitled Cycling Sat, Jul 23, 2011 8:42 AM 04:57:43 69.83 1,161 14.1 41.5 -- -- 7,256
103100919 Untitled Cycling Sun, Jul 17, 2011 1:16 PM 02:08:27 31.73 229 14.8 30.0 -- -- 3,130
103100939 Untitled Cycling Sun, Jul 17, 2011 9:43 AM 01:43:20 17.59 706 10.2 31.7 -- -- 1,988
103100981 Untitled Cycling Sat, Jul 16, 2011 7:56 AM 04:33:12 65.52 1,117 14.4 42.5 -- -- 6,931
103101003 Untitled Cycling Thu, Jul 14, 2011 5:43 PM 01:43:35 29.24 558 16.9 32.5 -- -- 3,141
103101016 Untitled Cycling Wed, Jul 13, 2011 5:54 PM 01:30:11 26.06 173 17.3 26.7 -- -- 2,874
103101024 Untitled Cycling Thu, Jul 7, 2011 5:45 PM 01:36:35 25.98 216 16.1 30.6 -- -- 2,743
103101037 Untitled Cycling Wed, Jul 6, 2011 6:18 PM 00:42:57 9.76 278 13.6 33.5 -- -- 1,180
103101059 Untitled Cycling Tue, Jul 5, 2011 3:16 PM 02:51:25 44.50 2,335 15.6 38.1 -- -- 4,945
103101080 Untitled Cycling Mon, Jul 4, 2011 5:42 PM 01:26:20 23.84 134 16.6 27.3 -- -- 2,535
103101119 Untitled Cycling Sun, Jul 3, 2011 9:08 AM 04:04:16 44.74 614 11.0 35.5 -- -- 3,953
103101169 Untitled Cycling Sat, Jul 2, 2011 8:52 AM 04:08:18 61.50 1,052 14.9 37.3 -- -- 6,138
103101191 Untitled Cycling Thu, Jun 30, 2011 5:46 PM 01:14:57 20.80 158 16.7 25.7 -- -- 2,516
103101205 Untitled Cycling Wed, Jun 29, 2011 5:38 PM 01:12:26 20.65 143 17.1 26.8 -- -- 2,410

mallorcajeff · August 2011

my garmin stats from the last 11 months Yes I have been busy, distane 6591 miles and 663270 calories i think it over reads by around 30 % but its a fair indication. I know im burning more than im eating and thats all im interested in in just under two years im 10 stone lighter.

Count: 243 Activities
Distance: 6,591.91 mi
Time: 429:18:44 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 146,217 ft
Avg Speed: 15.4 mph
Avg HR: --
Avg Run Cadence: --
Avg Bike Cadence: --
Calories: 663,270 C
Avg Distance: 27.13 mi
Median Distance: 18.19 mi
Max Distance: 126.02 mi
Avg Time: 01:46:00 h:m:s
Median Time: 01:11:14 h:m:s
Max Time: 08:38:36 h:m:s
Avg Elevation Gain: 607 ft
Median Elevation Gain: 231 ft
Max Elevation Gain: 6,458 ft
Elevation Loss: 165,011 ft
Avg Elevation Loss: 685 ft
Median Elevation Loss: 404 ft
Max Elevation Loss: 6,455 ft
Max Avg Speed: 21.5 mph
Max Speed: 71.4 mph

StageWinner · August 2011

mallorcajeff wrote:

my garmin stats from the last 11 months Yes I have been busy, distane 6591 miles and 663270 calories i think it over reads by around 30 % but its a fair indication. I know im burning more than im eating and thats all im interested in in just under two years im 10 stone lighter.

Count: 243 Activities
Distance: 6,591.91 mi
Time: 429:18:44 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 146,217 ft
Avg Speed: 15.4 mph
Avg HR: --
Avg Run Cadence: --
Avg Bike Cadence: --
Calories: 663,270 C
Avg Distance: 27.13 mi
Median Distance: 18.19 mi
Max Distance: 126.02 mi
Avg Time: 01:46:00 h:m:s
Median Time: 01:11:14 h:m:s
Max Time: 08:38:36 h:m:s
Avg Elevation Gain: 607 ft
Median Elevation Gain: 231 ft
Max Elevation Gain: 6,458 ft
Elevation Loss: 165,011 ft
Avg Elevation Loss: 685 ft
Median Elevation Loss: 404 ft
Max Elevation Loss: 6,455 ft
Max Avg Speed: 21.5 mph
Max Speed: 71.4 mph

Your Garmin overestimates calories by more like 50%. Nevertheless you have lost weight and that's what matters.. But if you were relying on those calories figures in any way, I'm shocked you didn't actually gain weight.

mattshrops · August 2011

when youre overweight and unfit it is concievable that you COULD burn that many calories in that time. As you get fitter you'll probably ggo a fair bit faster/further and still burn less than that.
On average i'd go with a figure 60-80% of what it says.
Just keep at it and you'll shed the weight.Good luck.

freehub · August 2011

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

So you rode at about 11mph for under an hour - I'd estimate you probably burned no more than 500kcal (unless it was all uphill). Endomondo consistently overestimates calories burned by a lot from what I have seen of it.

NB 1000kcal an hour equates to a power output of about 277W. Your average cyclist probably couldn't produce that sort of power even going balls out up a hill for an hour and for general riding with junctions, downhills, traffic lights, etc. they'd be nowhere near. I can go out on an undulating ride and average 17-19mph yet power is only around 200W.

I'm distinctly average, and can manage around 280W for an hour. A 200W average is more than feasible for a 3 hour ride. Agree though that most speed measuring devices such as phones / garmins etc are all utter bllx. The polar HRMs seem to be a bit more realistic.

What sort of speeds can you avg on yer own and what sort of times you do in TT?

280W ain't average... either your power meter is not calibrated correct or you're a lot more powerful than the average rider.

Then again, the bigger someone is, the more power they'll produce anyway.

For someone around 70kg and 5ft 11, 280W would not be average.

P_Tucker · August 2011

Pffft, I've been riding my bike about once a week for the last three months and during my weekly ride (1-1.5 hours) I manage about 280w average - and I am, and always was, rubbish (and under 70kg).

stephenballantyne · August 2011

StageWinner wrote:

mallorcajeff wrote:

my garmin stats from the last 11 months Yes I have been busy, distane 6591 miles and 663270 calories i think it over reads by around 30 % but its a fair indication. I know im burning more than im eating and thats all im interested in in just under two years im 10 stone lighter.

Count: 243 Activities
Distance: 6,591.91 mi
Time: 429:18:44 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 146,217 ft
Avg Speed: 15.4 mph
Avg HR: --
Avg Run Cadence: --
Avg Bike Cadence: --
Calories: 663,270 C
Avg Distance: 27.13 mi
Median Distance: 18.19 mi
Max Distance: 126.02 mi
Avg Time: 01:46:00 h:m:s
Median Time: 01:11:14 h:m:s
Max Time: 08:38:36 h:m:s
Avg Elevation Gain: 607 ft
Median Elevation Gain: 231 ft
Max Elevation Gain: 6,458 ft
Elevation Loss: 165,011 ft
Avg Elevation Loss: 685 ft
Median Elevation Loss: 404 ft
Max Elevation Loss: 6,455 ft
Max Avg Speed: 21.5 mph
Max Speed: 71.4 mph

Your Garmin overestimates calories bymore like 50%. Nevertheless you have lost weight and that's what matters.. But if you were relying on those calories figures in any way, I'm shocked you didn't actually gain weight.

It looks like it might be overstating max speeds (I know mine has a habit of doing this), therefore, I wouldn't necessarily trust the calorie counter. Proof is in your waistline, which seems to be doing just fine.

amaferanga · August 2011

mattshrops wrote:

when youre overweight and unfit it is concievable that you COULD burn that many calories in that time. As you get fitter you'll probably ggo a fair bit faster/further and still burn less than that.
On average i'd go with a figure 60-80% of what it says.
Just keep at it and you'll shed the weight.Good luck.

But if you're a fit and well-trained cyclist then you will put out more Watts and therefore burn MORE calories. It may seem harder when you're overweight and unfit, but that doesn't mean you're burning more calories.

amaferanga · August 2011

mallorcajeff wrote:

some of mine for the last few days garmin 605
copy and paste isnt easy to read but after time is miles so top one is 50.39 miles and 4571 cal

Ha ha! I cycled over 100 miles yesterday and 65 of those miles were a hard road race and I still burned fewer calories than that.

As others have said already - Garmin calorie estimates are a waste of time.

Surfr · August 2011

freehub wrote:

SteveR_100Milers wrote:

amaferanga wrote:

So you rode at about 11mph for under an hour - I'd estimate you probably burned no more than 500kcal (unless it was all uphill). Endomondo consistently overestimates calories burned by a lot from what I have seen of it.

NB 1000kcal an hour equates to a power output of about 277W. Your average cyclist probably couldn't produce that sort of power even going balls out up a hill for an hour and for general riding with junctions, downhills, traffic lights, etc. they'd be nowhere near. I can go out on an undulating ride and average 17-19mph yet power is only around 200W.

I'm distinctly average, and can manage around 280W for an hour. A 200W average is more than feasible for a 3 hour ride. Agree though that most speed measuring devices such as phones / garmins etc are all utter bllx. The polar HRMs seem to be a bit more realistic.

What sort of speeds can you avg on yer own and what sort of times you do in TT?

280W ain't average... either your power meter is not calibrated correct or you're a lot more powerful than the average rider.

Then again, the bigger someone is, the more power they'll produce anyway.

For someone around 70kg and 5ft 11, 280W would not be average.

280 Watts equates to a just sub hour 25 by my the little bike calculator app on my phone which has proved quite useful in the past for pacing calculations. This is with zero wind or incline in the aero tuck though..

mossychops · August 2011

Yesterdays ride:

Endomondo: 1300 calories
Cardiotrainer: 300 calories
Garmin: Been robbed by a mate trying to cycle to London

freehub · August 2011

Bike calculator apps are no good tho are they? It depends on the conditions and the course, some people could go sub hour on under 280W possible.

briantrumpet · August 2011

amaferanga wrote:

NB 1000kcal an hour equates to a power output of about 277W. Your average cyclist probably couldn't produce that sort of power even going balls out up a hill for an hour and for general riding with junctions, downhills, traffic lights, etc. they'd be nowhere near. I can go out on an undulating ride and average 17-19mph yet power is only around 200W.

That's good news. I thought at that sort of speed I would only be using 400kcal/h. If it's more like 750kcal/h, it means I only need to cycle 50 miles in order to work off an entire Co-op Truly Irresistable Chocolate Cake, which wouldn't even get me to Weston-Super-Mare. Which is quite a relief, all things considered.

stuj15 · August 2011

I've been meaning to ask this for a while. I use the Garmin 500 with HRM and I've found that it under estimates my calories burnt to my previous polar HRM by about 15-20%. Has anyone else found this?

The other week in a rush I forgot to put it on before my commute as you can see from the stats there is a 100% difference! Is this purely the Garmin taking my height/weight (6ft/210lbs) for granted and over estimating? When I used the Polar I believe it was regularly around 700. At first I put the Garmin stats down to me losing weight, now I'm not so sure.

Date          Time    Duration  Miles Elv. A.Spd Mx.Spd Avg HR Max HR  Cals 

Aug 1, 2011 8:11 AM   01:06:05  16.06  58  14.6   28.4   123    187    531
	
Jul 29,2011 5:44 PM   01:05:39  15.99  59  14.5   25.5    --    --     1,035

ps: please ignore the poor stats - it was a go slow couple of days... honest

Take it with a pinch of salt but..

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