MapMyRide & the workout calculator

[unclemule]

Hey all,
I'm trying to figure out why when I use the mapmyride website and map out a ride why the workout calculater tells me if I ride it in one hour and 15 minutes I'll burn 350 calories, if I ride it in one hour I burn 300 calories and if I ride it in one and a half hours I'm back up to around 350 calories again. I assumed the faster you rode a given distance the more calories you'd burn. According to that info it seems like I'll burn more calories if I ride 15 miles long and slow than if I ride as fast as I can and bust a gut! Can anyone shed some light on this?

Thanks

[kuan]

Maybe the calculator assumes that going faster represents a higher level of fitness, and fit folk burn fewer calories per same unit of distance?

I have a friend who sometimes accompanies me on my 9min/mile easy runs. My HR is 136 average on these runs. His is 109. My HR is 109 when walking at 3mph and I'm pretty sure I'm burning fewer calories than if I'm running.

But that only confuses things doesn't it?

[aham23]

Maybe the calculator assumes that going faster represents a higher level of fitness, and fit folk burn fewer calories per same unit of distance?

I have a friend who sometimes accompanies me on my 9min/mile easy runs. My HR is 136 average on these runs. His is 109. My HR is 109 when walking at 3mph and I'm pretty sure I'm burning fewer calories than if I'm running.

But that only confuses things doesn't it?

you are correct. the more fit person will burn less calories then an unfit person when doing the same activity at the same level. later.

[donheff]

I don't quite understand it - maybe some fitness gurus will weigh in - but a trainer explained to me that keeping the heartrate down in the fat burning zone will make you loose more weight than sprinting up near your max. My wife and I have lost 22 and 15 pounds respectively in the past few months with recreational speed rides of 15-25 miles 3 or 4 days a week. So maybe the less aggressive speeds actually work better for weight (fitness is a different matter).

[TurboTurtle]

I don't quite understand it - maybe some fitness gurus will weigh in - but a trainer explained to me that keeping the heartrate down in the fat burning zone will make you loose more weight than sprinting up near your max. My wife and I have lost 22 and 15 pounds respectively in the past few months with recreational speed rides of 15-25 miles 3 or 4 days a week. So maybe the less aggressive speeds actually work better for weight (fitness is a different matter).

That is technically incorrect. The 'fat burning zone' does not matter for losing weight/fat. The ride that does the most 'work' (power x time) will burn more calories and will be the best at losing weight/fat. It may well be that at the lower intensities you can increase the time enough that the ride will result in more work being done. - TF

[aham23]

1 pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. no matter how you burn them the number to burn is 3500 calories. later.

[donheff]

That is technically incorrect. The 'fat burning zone' does not matter for losing weight/fat. The ride that does the most 'work' (power x time) will burn more calories and will be the best at losing weight/fat. It may well be that at the lower intensities you can increase the time enough that the ride will result in more work being done. - TF
That makes more sense to me than what the trainer said - in fact it is clearly the case when I think about what MapMyRide is showing. The lower intensity ride does burn more calories but the distance remains the same. The difference is time.

[TurboTurtle]

That makes more sense to me than what the trainer said - in fact it is clearly the case when I think about what MapMyRide is showing. The lower intensity ride does burn more calories but the distance remains the same. The difference is time.

Ah, no. Mapmyride is just screwed up. The same distance at a lower speed will be less work= less calories burned. If you are going slower, you have to go (much) further to burn more calories. - TF