You can figure out the calories that you burn during an exercise session from your heart rate and a few other measurements. This will allow you to more accurately predict your expected weight loss as you follow a fitness program. This calculation is possible because your heart rate directly affects your calorie expenditure rate over a fairly broad range. Your results will be most accurate when you keep your heart rate between 90 and 150 beats per minute (bpm) while you exercise.
Step 1
Weigh yourself in pounds on a scale.
Step 2
Wear your heart monitor and ensure that it's measuring your heart rate. Begin exercising and start recording your heart when your heart rate exceeds 90 bpm. Perform some aerobic activity, such as cycling, walking or running, to increase your heart rate.
Step 3
Speed up or slow down as necessary to keep your heart rate between 90 and 150 bpm during your exercise session. Stop recording your heart rate after you complete your exercise session but before your heart rate drops below 90 bpm.
Step 4
Calculate the calories you burned if you're male, using this formula from the March 2005 issue of the "Journal of Sports Sciences": [ (0.09036 x weight) + (0.2017 x age) + (0.6309 x heart rate) - 55.0969 ] x time / 4.184. The heart rate in this formula is your average heart rate over the exercise session, and time is the length of your exercise session in minutes. Assume for this example that you weigh 164 lb., are 37 years of age, had an average heart rate of 143 bpm and exercised for 37 minutes. You burned [ (0.09036 x 164) + (0.2017 x 37) + (0.6309 x 143) - 55.0969 ] x 37 / 4.184 = 508 calories.
Step 5
Derive the calories that you burned if you're female. This calculation uses the formula [(0.074 x age) - (0.05741 x weight) + (0.4472 x heart rate) - 20.4022] x time / 4.184. Assume for this example that you weigh 147 lb., are 28 years of age, had an average heart rate of 136 bpm and exercised for 32 minutes. You burned [(0.074 x 28) - (0.05741 x 147) + (0.4472 x 136) - 20.4022] x 32 / 4.184 = 260 calories.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Heart monitor
- Calculator
References
- "Journal of Sports Sciences"; Prediction of energy expenditure from heart rate monitoring during submaximal exercise; L.R. Keytel, et.al.; March 2005
- Mayo Clinic: Calories Burned in 1 Hour
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