Burning calories by Spinning?

[GeorgieB]

Hi all,

So recently I tracked my calories burnt by spinning, and I was kind of astonished to see that I only burnt 190 in 60 minutes. Is this accurate..?? They were pretty intense spinning classes, and I put in the work-out categorie on Fitbit's 'spinning'. Does anyone else have this experience?

I am kind of considering not taking classes anymore and just walking for an hour, 'cause that makes me burn more according to my Fitbit.. 

[Mukluk4]

What tracker are you using?

[GeorgieB]

The fitbit charge 2

[Corney]

GeorgiaB:  Try putting your fitbit on bare skin on your ankle.  This is the only way I can get an accurate HR while on my stationary bike due to the fact I frequently change hand positions on the bars.  My last ride was for 45 minutes doing 70RPM's with slight resistance on the pedals and burned 400 calories.  Without accurate HR monitoring you can't get an accurate assessment of calories burned.

[GeorgieB]

Does this really work? I don’t think my Fitbit fits around my ankle😅 Did you also put it on the ‘Spinning mode’? And did it also measure your heart rate whilst being around your ankle?

Georgiana Badea

[shingy]

Okay, I've had this issue, too.  First of all, I really doubt your calorie burn is accurate - you should burn more calories in a 60 minute spin class versus a 60 minute walk just because your heart rate is so much higher.  Also, you're working so many more muscles in spin (legs, core, even arms), which might not translate directly into more calories burned, but it is much more beneficial in gaining strength and physical endurance.

Make sure you are wearing your Fitbit two finger widths above your wristbone, and tighten it as tight as you can.  This was my issue - my Fitbit was a little loose and wasn't calculating an accurate heart rate (my first two spin classes gave me a 120 average heart rate - I could feel my heart racing, so I knew this wasn't accurate... I've moved the Fitbit up and tightened it for spin, and it now averages 170 heart rate, which feels much more realistic).

Anyway, even if you are still having trouble with it logging more calories, don't let that discourage you - this is just a tiny piece of technology, don't let it tell you how hard you're working when you know how hard you're working.

[GeorgieB]

I did put it above my wrist and tighter so it couldn’t move. Common sense would indeed say I burned more than just 190, and I take into account deviations.. but still found it weird it logged it THIS low. (Happened several times also)
I’ll try it again and see if it gets a bit higher.. because yes; it is quite discouraging hahah

[shingy]

What does it say your average heart rate is?  I'm assuming it's not reading your heart rate correctly.  Another thing to try would be to flip the Fitbit so the HR monitor is on the inside of your wrist, since you have a much stronger pulse on that side.

[GeorgieB]

I had a spike of 142 and average 113.. at least that’s what it says haha. Maybe wearing it differently could help, do you have good experiences with it?

[emili]

but how do you feel during the activity? because it actually may be accurate. If you didn't have HR, then the fitbit would be measuring calories out strictly by step count which would not be accurate. But since you have the HR function it shouldn't be that far off- unless of course it isn't reading it right. If you can carry on a conversation without trouble and aren't really out of breath- then your HR is correct. If you are winded and its difficult to carry on a conversation, then it isn't...

[Corney]

GeorgieB: I have a ChargeHR with a large band. It fits nicely around my
lower leg just above the ankle, it gives accurate step count plus accurate
HR and calories burned. It might be possible to figure out some way to
attach your fitbit around your lower leg next to the skin.

[bbarrera]

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@GeorgieB wrote:
I had a spike of 142 and average 113.. at least that’s what it says haha. Maybe wearing it differently could help, do you have good experiences with it?

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Try wearing it differently on the wrist. It might be too tight, or you might try rotating so display is on inner wrist. Or you might find its generally good, but sometimes is wrong ("more hit than miss").

Regarding HR, everyone is different but I'll share as I cycle and spin 6-10 hours a week for over a year now. When I do intense spinning (road bike on a trainer), my heart rate is in 150-165bpm range. When outside and I do a "full throttle" sprint for 20-40 seconds my HR jumps to 170-174bpm. Again, everyone is different. I weigh 205lbs and burn 700-1200 calories per hour, depending on intensity. I've been disappointed by optical wrist HRM, so I still use a chest strap to record HR. And I have a power meter, which is usually more accurate at estimating calorie burn because it is measuring the actual amount of work that my body is producing.

[Jenn25]

I used the "Spinning" exercise mode to track my last spin class (my first one with my Fitbit Charge 2, which I've had for a month) and it looked pretty accurate to me, in terms of heart rate and calories burned. I wear it like normal on my wrist.

[GeorgieB]

I did that too; with the spinning pre-set thing. Still seemed low to me😧

Georgiana Badea

[Jenn25]

Not sure if this was brought up by previous posters, but did you check your heart rate throughout the workout? Did it seem like it was having trouble getting a reading at various points? Maybe because of this, it takes the average heart rate during the workout and gives a lower reading for calorie burn. 

[Bootsie123]

I agree and have had the same issues. I am 100% convinced it doesn’t calculate properly. I am a trainer and have seen charts that show a spin class burns significantly more.