How To Track Calories Burned

My newest video on YouTube is receiving many comments with the same question:

How do you know how many calories you burned during the outdoor circuit workout?

This fall Chris, over at Polar USA, sent me a Polar FT60 watch to test out.  It instantly became my workout companion.  I use it when I review fitness DVD’s, go running or walking, and even sometimes to yoga class.  When I first set it up, I entered my height, weight and fitness goals.  I also took a resting heart rate test that I performed one morning before fully waking up. 

The heart rate monitor does just as it says, it monitors how hard and fast your heart is pumping.  This directly relates to your oxygen consumption which correlates to how many calories your body burns or requires to complete the given activity.  Depending on how in shape you are, your heart works at different levels.  Some one very out of shape may get out of breath walking up the stairs.  This means their heart has to work harder than someone who is fit.  These variations play into how many calories you burn during any given day. 

Wearing a heart rate monitor while you exercise is beneficial because it allows you to see how hard your body is actually working.  In the morning, I try to exercise but some days I just don’t feel like running so I walk/run.  I wear my heart rate monitor because it helps me see if I’m strolling along or actually putting in some serious fitness minutes.  

The picture above is from my morning walk/run/coffee/errands.  It took me an hour but if I had run the same route, I would have burned the same amount of calories but in less time (about 30 minutes less).  

Another device that I have not tested but tracks calories burned is the Body Bugg. 

After doing yesterdays challenging workout I sipped on a homemade chocolate smoothie made with chocolate protein powder, 2 fresh strawberries, 2 inch slice of banana, 1/2 cup of almond milk, 1/2 cup water and 3 ice cubes.

If you didn’t do the workout yet, it’s amazing and I can honestly admit that today my butt is sore!  I burned 470 calories in 54 minutes (filming included).  If you manage to squeeze it in the week or this weekend, leave a comment on the video with your final time and calories burned if you have a heart rate monitor.