First, an update on Fat Kitty: he’s doing so much better! I got home on Thursday night and he was sitting in the window waiting for me and ran to me when I came inside. He meowed, ate a bit and was running around like a crazy cat. I’d say he’s back to normal! Here’s more evidence:
I’m so glad he’s feeling better. Whatever his funk was, it seems to be improving. On Wednesday I had the chance to go the spin class with the awesome teacher again. I also got to wear my NEW heart rate monitor to try it out in class.
This class was intervals, but mainly intervals in the saddle. We did a warm-up sprint and then did 2-minute intervals at a “6/10 climb”. 2 minute intervals are hard! She mixed in some standing climbs, which I like a lot more.
The class was challenging but at the same time I struggled to keep my heart rate in my zone during the entire class. Other routines have been easier for that. As a result, I don’t think I burned as many calories as I should have.
When I was going to the class without my heart rate monitor, I was estimating the calories at about 500 for the hour long class. This was based on my bike commutes to work that took about an hour as well as internet research. I thought 500 was a safe number. When I got my heart rate monitor back, I realized I was a little off in my calculations. I over-calculated the elliptical but under-calculated weight lifting so it ended up evening out in the end.
So how did I do?
It’s actually a little less than 500. I did some weight lifting before the class and burned 75 calories, so the class itself only burned about 420. A little lower than I thought. I’m sure some of the more challenging classes burn more but it’s not bad for an hour or so.
I’m not discouraged by the lower calories. I think the spin class is beneficial for my winter fitness and preparing me for cycling season in the spring. I want to start sooner than I did last year and I think Spin is the way to do it. Because of this, I’m okay with not burning a “huge” number like a normal gym session:
See the difference? The above was Tuesday’s workout (elliptical and weight lifting). Same amount of time but I burned more calories. Oh well. It’s all about the final product.
QUESTION: If you find out an activity doesn’t burn as many calories, do you do that activity less?
shelby
That first picture is, like, the STORY OF MY LIFE. Glad FK is feeling better!
Lisa Eirene
It seems like book=cuddle time. Which is cool. I like cuddling, but not in FRONT of my book!
SMM
I am so glad that your kitty is better!!!!
I have that HRM too!!! I super-love it. Though, it sucks when I go to Body Pump and forget to start it right away. I am addicted to seeing how I do each class!
Spin hurts my butt too much, but I really would like to get into it. I have a friend who is insisting that if I had the right pants it wouldn’t hurt as much. Considering I am unemployed and poor, cushy-butt-pants are not on my priority list! 🙂
Happy Saturday!
Lisa Eirene
I am so glad my kitty is better too. This week has just been one big ball of stress for us. UGH!
Isn’t it motivating seeing the numbers burned on the HRM? I know it pushes me to work harder.
As for Spin…you can break it up by standing up in the saddle periodically to give your butt a rest. Or get the padded shorts. I totally get $$ being an issue but you can find some for fairly cheap. My first pair were from the Pearl outlet store and I think I spent about $30. It makes a huge difference. You can also try eBay and try to get some for cheaper. Michael sold a bunch of his old cycling gear on eBay that he never used.
Lori
Glad fat kitty is better! Our fur babies are so important in our lives!
I don’t actually pay much attention to calories burned anymore other than ballpark. I got rid of my heart rate monitor. My bike computer does calculate calories, but I just use that for general guidelines. The only time I really cared about calorie burning was doing running over walking because I could burn the calories faster, but now that I don’t run anymore, that choice is made for me 😀
Lisa Eirene
When I didn’t have my heart rate monitor it wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be. I still got in a good workout and cared less about the numbers. However! I also found that I didn’t push myself as much when I didn’t know my heart rate.
Jill
I am so glad fat kitty is better! It can be stressful when our pets are sick. They can’t tell us what is wrong and they look so pitiful.
I used to pay attention to calories a lot more when I was heavier. I would only want to take classes that burned the most calories. Now I want to do the activities I find I have the most fun at doing. That is what keeps me going back now…
Luckily road biking burns a LOT of calories and I LOVE it!! 🙂
Lisa Eirene
I’m with you Jill! Before it was all about what I could burn the most at. But then I found that I wanted to do things that I had FUN doing and liked. I LIKE spin class, even if it’s not burning a massive quantity of calories.
Deb
Glad Fat Kitty is doing better!
Question about your monitor- would you recommend it? And which model is it if you would? I did a search for Polar but quite a few come up.
Lisa Eirene
I LOVE my hrm! I have the F7 monitor for the Polar ones. I like it a lot. It’s simple to use and works great. I haven’t tried any of the other models so I’m not sure what extra features they might have. Spending between $75-100 for one is perfectly fine. I think the Garmins are cool but overpriced.
Deb
Thanks Lisa! I’ll look into that one. There are so many options and such a wide price range, its overwhelming when you have no idea what might be good or bad.
Lisa Eirene
It is overwhelming but you don’t really need fancy stuff…just the calories and heart rate!
jane at Keepingthepoundsoff.com
No, I do any activity I enjoy and i do not try to calculate the calories. I do not base what I eat on the calories I burned. I do not adjust my food to my burns for the simple reason that calorie burning it not as accurate as I would like. It is enough for me to know I am sweating, my heart is pumping faster, my muscles are moving and I am doing it for a certain length of time.
Fabulous Fat Kitty news! Love the kitty!
Lisa Eirene
It’s important to do activities we enjoy. If we aren’t having fun it’s just a chore.