How many calories does boxing burn?

[SharonZ]

This is my first time ever asking for help from a community board so forgive me if this is a little long.  I just want to make sure you all have enough facts available to help me.  I joined Title Boxing Club in September and go 5 days a week.  I take a boxing class 3 days a week and do personal training 2 days a week.  II lost 4% of my body fat, 7 pounds, and definitely some inches.  

At this point I want to know how to tweak my workouts and calorie intake to lose the reaining 5-7 pounds.  I saw the fitbit and felt this would help track the actual calories I'm burning, etc and after numerous hints my son bought me the Flex for my birthday 🙂  I absolutely love using it!  

It's now day 5 and I don't know if my boxing class is being logged properly.  The class is intense and I give it everything I've got... it's 60 minutes long.  First 15 minutes are an intense "hiit" "warm-up".  Then we have 8, three minute rounds of boxing (heavy bag).  In between each round we do approximately 30 seconds of cardio (burpees, running, jumping jacks, squat jums, etc).  The last 15 minutes are an intense core workout.  The flex can track some of the class but I don't think it's capturing everything.  The test was that on Wed I took a class and a personal training session and it recorded 55 active minutes and when it synced with MyFitnessPal it gave me a 495 calorie adjustment.  Yesterday (Friday) was my day off from the gym and it recorded 62 very active minutes and gave me a 449 calorie adjustment through MyFitnesssPal.  I live in New York and walk a lot and I walked a little more than usual yesterday but the numbers seem too close to the figures recorded for my workouts.

Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can truly see how many calories I'm burning during my classes?  This was the main reason behind wanting the fitbit. 

Thaks again for taking the time to help me 🙂

Sharon

[WendyB]

A heart Rate Monitor will give you a More accurate Calorie Burn. FitBit will give you a Calorie burn for the activity but it just is not as accurate as an HRM.

Not sure if Flex has the ability to Start Stop during an Avtivity. But read the Manual and it will tell you

https://help.fitbit.com/#product_flex

But there are no set calories burn for any activity. It goes by weigt, gender, height and age.

[SharonZ]

Thanks Wendy!  I had a feeling that I would need a heart rate monitor to accurately log my workouts.  I took a yoga class today, in addition to boxing, and I logged that in manually.  Is it safe to assume that logging a workout manually adjusts the information for that time slot?

Thanks again 🙂

[WendyB]

It should Sharon!

[Scubacolin]

 Suunto Ambit 2 S HR, one of the best heart monitors available in a sports watch, It can log any sport. It also has over 1000 down loadable apps for almost any sport on the suunto web-site.

Hope this helps ...

[SharonZ]

Thank you Wendy & Scubacolin for your help!

[slysam]

To see how many calories fitbit credited you for burning in the class: That is *not* your "fitbit adjustment on MFP. The easiest way to see that is to use the same function as the sleep timer on your device. If you are moving it tracks an activity vs. sleep. After you sync your device the record is in your fitibit activity log. If you forgot to use the timer there is a way to do it after the fact. In the activity log, click on the little icon with the "stopwatch". Then enter the start and end times for your class. It will generate an "activity record" just like the one the fitbit timer would generate showing various stats for that period of time. An "activity record" is different than a "logged activity". the record (whether using the timer or generating one as I described) just shows you the fitbit stats in that time. The logged activity overwrites fitbit's calorie burn. You can use a record to see if you need to log the activity. More to come... (My computer or browser has trouble with the new fitbit forum and I can only do single paragraph blocks of text--sorry!).

[slysam]

Adding on about the boxing (sorry I wanted to divide my post into paragraphs--technical difficulties on my end, lol)... From what you describe, I think the fitbit will not be tracking some of this activity, i.e. the calisthenics like Burpees and pushups it will under credit as it cannot factor in resistance. The fitbit burn is from how much and how fast you move. My Fitbit One picks up cardio shadow boxing just fine, giving me the same calorie burn as my Polar heart rate monitor and same with jumping rope (I have some workout dvds that are rope jumping and cardio shadow boxing). It also does fine with jumping jacks and fast feet/football feet, really most aerobic drills that involve fast steps and hopping. I think heavy bag work would be undercounted as it is a type of resistance--but I don't do it so can't compare. I think what is likely happening is some of your workout is credited highly and some maybe not counted. If you had a hrm that would be easiest. I am not sure how you would accurately log it with the database because I think the entry for boxing assumes just boxing (maybe with a bag or partner) and the burpees etc. would be vigorous calisthenics and the floor work light-to-moderate callisthenics. You might get it ll in the same ballpark to log it all as "circuit training" (though I think that is really for weights circuits--I find the entry seems similar to what my HRM credits for a lot of vigorous workouts that mix in a lot of different resistance and aerobic exercises and it results in very active minutes). I usually use my HRM for most workouts especially classes and workout videos that can be difficult to neatly classify using the database entries.

[slysam]

Just one thing, you probably know this only applies as you mention you are using MyFitnessPal. Any activity you log on MFP is actually excluded from your "fitbit adjustment". The fitbit adjustment is just for when you burn more calories than MFP expects. It is in comparison to your stated activity level on MFP and any exercise you log on MFP. So if you were logging your classes, the adjustment calories you are seeing are actually from general activity outside those workouts. If you weren't logging and you start, you will likely see your MFP adjustment decrease. If you log here, the calories are included in your adjustment. It is just personal preference either way, but often people get confused by this as they don't realize exactly what the MFP adjustment is meant to be.

[SharonZ]

Thanks Slysam...I appreciate the time and effort you took to help me out.  I played around with the activity info and feel the activity record underestimates the calorie burn more than the activity log.  However, both of them look pretty low.  You are right about what the fitbit is recording...jumping rope, shadow boxing, fast feet, etc.  all of those seem to register and the pushups, burpees and other forms of torture are off the radar.  I'll experiment with adding the workouts in as circuit training or calistenics and see what numbers pop up.

I'm still a bit unclear as to how all this info is updated in MFP.  I see that all the fitbit updates create a change in MFP so until I get a hrm I'm going to only update movement in fitbit, food in mfp, and let them do their thing.

Thanks again...all this info is really helpful...Have a great day!

[Mary]

If you don't want to spend more money, I think you can get a decent estimate of your fitness classes' burn from simply logging them.  Even a HRM is just assigning calories based on population averages.  If you're not obese, usually 10 calories a minute is a good guess for hard exercise sessions.  So 600 for an hour class.  People sometimes feel like they need precision to be successful but we really don't.  The scale tells us if we're overeating.  Good luck!  

[WendyB]

You dont need precision. But 600 Calories for an hour is way to high IMHO. You have a warm up and cool down and most exericses are Moderate. They do go into high but you dont stay there.

I would use Fitbit calories burn before I would use what you have above.

I just got back from a 90 Minute walk. HRM 312 Cal burn FitBit 357 cal burn

[Mary]

Right, 10 calories a minute would be a highest value, so I'm assuming her boxing class is mostly spent at her highest exertion levels, since she described each segment as 'intense' and 'giving it all she's got'.  Walking-- no way.  

[slysam]

---

@WendyB wrote:

You dont need precision. But 600 Calories for an hour is way to high IMHO. You have a warm up and cool down and most exericses are Moderate. They do go into high but you dont stay there.

I would use Fitbit calories burn before I would use what you have above.

I just got back from a 90 Minute walk. HRM 312 Cal burn FitBit 357 cal burn

---

I agree. Sorry, with my HRM, I am *never* credited with 600 calories burned in an hour. A vigorous class tends to be about 400 calories max for me. That is probably why fitbit credits me with Very active minutes when I burn more than 5 calories a minute (for others that threshold may be higher or even lower). And it is pretty hard for me to work hard enough to burn that. I can burn similar pro-rated amounts during short intense hiit workouts if I start the HRM after I am warmed up. Just saying, it does depend on your physical size, fitness level, etc. And in most one hour classes and workouts--that includes a warmup and cooldown which do not burn at a high rate. If the class starts and ends on time, it is probably more like 45-50 minutes of vigorous activity at most. If it includes traditional ab work and other isolated strength moves that works small muscle groups even lower--crunches etc don't burn very much as they are using smaller muscles (compared to say squat jumps, burpees etc that use large muscle groups). So that can complicate things, but even if you burn 10 calories a minute with vigorous activity (this will depend on your stats if that is even possible) most all round conditioning/bootcamp/circuit type classes are not the whole hour at that high intensity. It doesn't have to be precise, but I think it would be safer to just use the most appropriate exercise in the exercise database than to make up numbers. At least the database activity estimates are adjusted for weight--in my opinion they tend to be overly generous compared to my HRM but they are based on research. Some people may burn 10 calories a minute with all out effort, some 15 calories a minute, some may only burn 5 calories a minute.

[Mary]

I did recommend she use the activities database, IF she didn't want to spend more money.

I think people have overconfidence in their HRM calorie values.  They basically estimate calories the same way a Fitbit does but with a little bit better indicator.  

I like the table in this Mayo Clinic article.  If you scroll down the 160 lb. column, you see that 10 calories/minute starts at an exertion of running 5mph.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/weight-loss/in-depth/exercise/art-20050999

Activities burning nearly 10 calories/minute include rollerblading, football, Tae Kwon Do, tennis, x-country skiing, racquetball and others.  

I think the source of that table is the same as the activities database here.  I just logged an hour of cross country skiing and it gave me 511 calories.  

Maybe it does overestimate, it's hard to tell, but it doesn't matter that much.  If you use the database and you don't lose according to your logged deficit, you know which direction to tweak.  

[SharonZ]

I checked out the HRM's and a good one is way too pricey for me.  I might go for a cheaper model just to get an idea of how many calories I'm truly burning.  The reason why I want to measure the calorie burn is because the boxing club says you can burn up to 1000 calories per class.  I know I'm not burning that many calories but I can definitely see 400-500 calories.  I'm not a big person and want to lose only 3-5 more lbs and being this close to my goal means it willl be a little more difficult to get there and I need to pay closer attention to everything I'm doing in both my diet and exercise.

I used to use the MFP log for my boxing classes and it would give me approx 440 calories, however fitbit only gives 250 calories.  I'm not sure which is closer to the truth but I lost 7 pounds and reduced my body fat by 4% and that was before I got the fitbit.  I'm more concerned with the additional calories it allows me to have each day before I even workout.  Today was a rest day and it gave me an additional 311 calories which was synced with MFP.  I was more active than usual but if it's over inflating the calories I'm allowed then I'm worried about gaining all the weight back.  It's taken me 5 months to come this far and I definitely don't want to go backwards right before the summer.  

Regarding the boxing class itself, slysam is right...the intense activity is continuous for 45 minutes...The last 15 minutes are the core exercises usually with a 10 lb medicine ball and my heart rate is much lower.

Mary, I checked out the mayo clinic link you sent...thanks!  Do you know if they have a chart for people who weigh less than 160?  I'm 108 and can't figure out how to adjust those figures.

As far as the fitbit active minutes are concerned...they totally baffle me, lol.  I tend to walk fairly quickly but it seems to record all the walking I do, to and from the subway, as "very active minutes"  kind of funny since it's only 6-7 blocks total each way.

Time to go catch some zzz's...goodnight everyone!

[WendyB]

Have you checked out Polar? They have some good HRM for less FT4 is under 100$

If you go with Polar do a Google search for "Polar Heart rate monitor Coupon code" and you will get a discount.

A lot of classes will say you burn 1000 calories  Its just not true. Would ne nice tho 🙂

[Mary]

I agree, at 108 lbs., you're not burning 1000 calories in an hour.  At 250 lbs., maybe.  That '1000 calories' is a common marketing claim.  

I think the MFP log's estimate of 440 is probably pretty close.  Closer than the Fitbit, which is clueless about a lot of what you're doing in class.  

The Mayo article is just based on the same METS multipliers the activity database here is, and probably MFP's, I'm not sure, so when you put in your activity here or there, the output is about what that article would show if they had a column for your weight.  

I first heard the '10 calories per minute max' estimate from Cathe Friedrich, the advanced fitness video instructor.  She said that's about what she and her crew burn in her videos.  They're very fit and she's tiny.

If you do get a cheap HRM, don't bother with one without a chest strap.  

I think the Fitbit will give you Active Minutes if you're walking more than around 3.8-4mph, regardless of time or distance.  

Congrats on your progress!   

[SharonZ]

Thanks Mary! There's a City Sports a block from my office so I'm going there today to check out the hrm's (with the chest strap)...if you're all still interested, I'll keep you posted 🙂

On a side note, I'm a pretty private (aka shy) person and don't tend to ask for help or share too much however, I know it's important to go against my grain in order to grow, and reaching out to the Fitbit community was a huge step for me. Thank you all for your feedback, help, and encouragement...it means the world to me!

[Kriddycat]

I think part of the problem with input from people who have not taken one of these boxing classes is that there's a lack of understanding as to the type of workout that accompanies the boxing. I take boxing classes and I know exactly what you're talking about in terms of the intensity of the exercises done in class. It's high intensity interval type training. I use the Alta Fitbit and I agree that it doesn't log the activity correctly in terms of calorie burn. I do look at the heart rate it registers though and the fat burn which seems to be in line with what I would expect for calorie burn during & after class. 

I know I'm getting an incredibly intense workout, regardless of how many calories anyone or anything says. As long as you eat right, getting your proper macros, you should continue to lose body fat and weight. Congrats on your hard work & achievements!