Fitness Trackers : Not so Good at Measuring Calories

Fitness Trackers: Good at Measuring Heart Rate, Not So Good At Measuring Calories

I KNEW IT !

which is why i used to do the math for each client. Suffice to say that the industry bases data on a 160 lb college age male at 7% body fat. The NPR podcast shows how skewed it is for large or thick people asians or black people or diabetics (and other people affected by disease that limits effort)

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/05/24/529839681/fitness-trackers-good-at-measuring-heart-rate-not-so-good-at-measuring-calories

But you still want a monitor,  maybe an Apple watch  or something? The newest Fitbit : the Surge and it  has GPS
 http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/feature/gadget/best-fitbit-for-2017-3501231/


How serious are you anyway ? Lets get something almost  waterproof/sweat proof ....

  the following is an excerpt from Consumer reports :

"The $500 Whoop Strap does not track speed and laps, but it does collect heart-rate data, solving a common shortcoming in waterproof fitness trackers.

http://www.consumerreports.org/fitness-trackers/the-secret-to-finding-a-waterproof-fitness-tracker/

For Connor Jaeger, who won the silver medal and set an American record in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, fitness trackers are less about distance and strokes and more about calculating the full impact his workouts have on his body—not only in the pool but also on dry land.

He started using the $500 Whoop Strap fitness tracker in December 2015 and wore it every day in preparation for the Rio Games. Geared toward elite athletes, the Strap doesn’t track speed and laps but rather heart-rate data, which can be used to monitor the toll that swimming, cycling, and other activities take on the body. With info like that, you can adjust your training schedule to allow ample time for recovery between workouts.

“When you're training cross-discipline, everything becomes a best estimate of what your aggregate workload is,” the Olympian wrote in an email. “Whoop helped us say definitively just how much stress our bodies were under and how the out-of-the-water workouts were contributing to it.”

This raises an important shortcoming in swim-related trackers: They rarely monitor heart rate. That’s because the water interferes with the optical technology employed by most trackers, which uses green LEDs to detect heartbeats by measuring the light reflecting from your wrist. (Blood absorbs green light and reflects red.)

Another trade-off? The trackers rarely have displays, which means you have to use a mobile app to view the results of your workouts."

What do I do as a trainer with Goal Orientated Clients?

  I use my trusty textbook which contains the factors for Asians, Blacks, European     bone densities       (bone - muscle = Fat)

 If  I do not have to be that exact;  I use the 7% rule. For every 15 lbs you weigh Plus+ or Minus- compared to the mythical 160 lb college male athlete your treadmill/ rower/ stepper is digitally programmed to use to give you some incentive   I calculate the  calories  YOU expended.  This error rate is better I have been able to calculate my spin class members to +/- 3 percent . I used room temperature for that one- Yes the temperature has a lot to do with losing weight.  

Now you know... so  you just do it  and forget trying to Reward yourself based on caloric expenditure  

(NO you Did Not Earn That Muffin After an 1/2 Hour on the Treadmill )

or you do the math  :

Yes there are Gender Differences as well. As a trainer I have more effective methods for those who must lose weight and feel they are getting somewhere.

 I monitor the food intake  on SuperTracker.gov.- It's free.

. I once offered to  bring in a chef. Another client did it on wine and sushi for dinner, oatmeal and hemp seeds on broccoli slaw for breakfast  and Subway for Lunch. For Months. With Vitamins.

 The  client  looked like a Greek God thanks to the classic workouts we did at 5 am and 5 pm. 
Trained this particular client on and off for @ 12 years 

Another   client  wore a weight vest and we adjusted the calories as they adjusted to the vest. I started out with 6% of their total mass and upped it every 21 days. The workout also changed every 21 days. 

Are you getting the idea that trainers  are worth the $$$   especially us nerdy ones?