How Many Calories Will I Burn?

I don't advocate being obsessed with calories. But I do highly recommend learning about them! The more you educate yourself, the more successful you will be.

As people begin learning about calories, one of the most asked questions we (fitness professionals) get is, "How many calories will I burn doing _______?" Unfortunately many fitness pros will tell you that their class or workout will burn the most. I hear many say, "If you take my class, you will/can burn 1000 calories or more!!" Truth is, they have no idea how much 'you' will burn. This widely varies from person to person.

I can max out at my most intense effort at 400 calories in an hour, while the person next to me can burn 1000 or more.! That's a wide range!
What determines how many calories one can burn? Everything!

Weight
Age
Gender
Body Composition
Diet
Hydration
Menstrual Cycle
Sleep
Energy level
Effort
Intensity

Type of exercise
Fitness level
Cardiovascular health
Over all health

This list seems endless.
So how do online charts, or fitness professionals know how many calories you will burn? Without more info, a heart rate and some math,they don't.

Back in the day, I used those online charts to track my calories. When I purchased my heart rate monitor, I was very disappointed to learn I was only burning half of what those charts were telling me! Seriously!? Is this thing broke!?! Even after asking fellow fitness professionals, no one understood why I was burning so little. Not to toot my own horn, but I go pretty hard in the gym...(toot toot).

After picking my ego up off the floor, I had to come to terms with reality. I adjusted my eating habits to account for this rather disappointing discrepancy, and WhaLa!! Goals were getting met!!

I'm in LOVE with my Polar FT-7 . I've had it for a couple years now and can track calories, and challenge myself with my max heart rates on intervals. With no cross talk, I know it's always reading my progress and not the person next to me. Polar isn't the only good brand. I have friends who love their Garmin versions as well, and some have the ability to track millage if you run or cycle (great for distant runners prepping for a race!). What ever you choose, this a great learning tool to find out what you are really doing in the gym, so you can make better choices in the kitchen.