Garmin calories consumed
Discussion
Hello,
Am a bit of a newbie so apologies if this is an incredibly stupid question. After a 30 mile ride today, my Garmin reckons the calories consumed were 1946. There were few hills in the 30 miles (approx 2,500 feet of ascent) but it wasn't exactly Mt Ventoux! I'd be rather surprised if the actual calories consumed were more than 1/4 to 1/3 of those stated. Am i doing something wrong or is the Garmin just trying to make me feel good?
Thanks in advance.
Am a bit of a newbie so apologies if this is an incredibly stupid question. After a 30 mile ride today, my Garmin reckons the calories consumed were 1946. There were few hills in the 30 miles (approx 2,500 feet of ascent) but it wasn't exactly Mt Ventoux! I'd be rather surprised if the actual calories consumed were more than 1/4 to 1/3 of those stated. Am i doing something wrong or is the Garmin just trying to make me feel good?
Thanks in advance.
Without HRM it goes on age, weight and so on (dunno if you've set your profile into it - without it's utter nonsense, with, it's not much better).
With a HRM it's a bit better as it knows how hard you're working, but it's still largely a wild assed guess. It can be improved by knowing your HR zones (that means figuring out a realistic max or threshold heart rate, not the old 220-age, which is 99% tosh). I guess it then becomes a scientific wild-assed guess.
Bottom line is it's never going to be terribly accurate.. but interesting perhaps
With a HRM it's a bit better as it knows how hard you're working, but it's still largely a wild assed guess. It can be improved by knowing your HR zones (that means figuring out a realistic max or threshold heart rate, not the old 220-age, which is 99% tosh). I guess it then becomes a scientific wild-assed guess.
Bottom line is it's never going to be terribly accurate.. but interesting perhaps
On Friday I cycled 30 miles with 2000 ft of elevation and according to Garmin I used 836 calories, on Saturday I cycled 52 miles with 3400 ft of elevation and used 1305 calories
They're just reference numbers that I look at but don't take seriously as I would be like Billy Bunter if I had to eat all the calories that Garmin said I used
They're just reference numbers that I look at but don't take seriously as I would be like Billy Bunter if I had to eat all the calories that Garmin said I used
Gruffy said:
As a guide, at 82kg I burn ~400kcal/hour on a mellow ride and a bit more than 1,000kcal/hour at full gas. There variations between riders aren't that dramatic, per kg of bodyweight.
Really?240w is about 1k cals per hour, that would be fairly mellow for me, and I would have thought you too...
I wouldn't trust the garmin, or the HRM, the powermeter probably pretty close mind.
Sorry, 'full gas' wasn't a good phrase for what I was thinking of, which was a fast long ride rather than a threshold effort. I don't remember the calorie numbers for max efforts as that's not relevant to what I've been training for but I'm curious now. I'll try and find the folder from my last test.
If you're really bothered you can have your Garmin calibrated. Read somewhere (DC Rainmaker maybe?) that you can be wired up and tested by a specialist company and the results used to calibrate your Garmin.
I always use a HRM but find that the variation between the Tomtom site and Strava is often quite noticeable so it's different companies doing different sums.
I always use a HRM but find that the variation between the Tomtom site and Strava is often quite noticeable so it's different companies doing different sums.
tenohfive said:
If you're really bothered you can have your Garmin calibrated. Read somewhere (DC Rainmaker maybe?) that you can be wired up and tested by a specialist company and the results used to calibrate your Garmin.
I always use a HRM but find that the variation between the Tomtom site and Strava is often quite noticeable so it's different companies doing different sums.
Am more interested than bothered to be honest. Power meter comment is interesting- have been looking for an excuse to buy one of those!I always use a HRM but find that the variation between the Tomtom site and Strava is often quite noticeable so it's different companies doing different sums.
Gruffy said:
Sorry, 'full gas' wasn't a good phrase for what I was thinking of, which was a fast long ride rather than a threshold effort. I don't remember the calorie numbers for max efforts as that's not relevant to what I've been training for but I'm curious now. I'll try and find the folder from my last test.
Hour full tilt for me circa 1400 calories at high 300's WEasy enough to work back from there, obviously everyone's efficiency is different, but its not likely to be a huge difference.
okgo said:
Hour full tilt for me circa 1400 calories at high 300's W
Easy enough to work back from there, obviously everyone's efficiency is different, but its not likely to be a huge difference.
Is the strava calories figure correct if a PM is used ? If so I'm surprised how many calories i burn just from 1 1/2 hours commute each day super easy!Easy enough to work back from there, obviously everyone's efficiency is different, but its not likely to be a huge difference.
okgo said:
Gruffy said:
Sorry, 'full gas' wasn't a good phrase for what I was thinking of, which was a fast long ride rather than a threshold effort. I don't remember the calorie numbers for max efforts as that's not relevant to what I've been training for but I'm curious now. I'll try and find the folder from my last test.
Hour full tilt for me circa 1400 calories at high 300's WEasy enough to work back from there, obviously everyone's efficiency is different, but its not likely to be a huge difference.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff