Calorie Counts - Garmin v Strava

Diggabot

Can anyone answer why Strava calculates calories so much lower than my Garmin? For example... I did 64km and my Garmin gave my calories as 2632... Strava calculates it at 1254 calories. I'd be more inclined to take my Garmin as more accurate but can anyone explain why there's such a difference.

eoz

Diggabot wrote: »

Can anyone answer why Strava calculates calories so much lower than my Garmin? For example... I did 64km and my Garmin gave my calories as 2632... Strava calculates it at 1254 calories. I'd be more inclined to take my Garmin as more accurate but can anyone explain why there's such a difference.

Are you using the HR monitor with the Garmin?

Peterx

As that Italian lad said - just don't eat

Bikerbhoy

Peterx wrote: »

As that Italian lad said - just don't eat

WTF ! !

Diggabot

eoz wrote: »

Are you using the HR monitor with the Garmin?

Yeah using a hrm with my garmin. The same info is getting imported in to Strava.

Inquitus

Strava likely to be the most correct

TheBlaaMan

Diggabot wrote: »

Can anyone answer why Strava calculates calories so much lower than my Garmin? For example... I did 64km and my Garmin gave my calories as 2632... Strava calculates it at 1254 calories. I'd be more inclined to take my Garmin as more accurate but can anyone explain why there's such a difference.

You would want to have completed it at some serious pace to burn 2600 calories - did you manage it in under an hour by any chance?:cool:

As guide, the pro's on Flanders last weekend would have burned about 9000 calories in 6.5 hrs over 250km or so.

The answer is that both are wrong, but Strava is likely to be less wrong that those Garmin stats....

bambergbike

The Strava figure looks more plausible for the distance. Unless you were towing a load of scrap metal or riding into the teeth of a gale the whole time. My own HR (not a Garmin) displays wildly inflated calorie counts because it "thinks" I'm running until I upload the data to my computer and tell it I was /only/ cycling (so heart rate up, but fewer muscles working than with running and fewer calories being torched.) At that point the calorie counts suddenly change to much more plausible figures. It gives 2151 calories for the 186 km I cycled on Sunday, for example. But before I uploaded that data, the figure on the watch was probably something north of 3000.

bazermc

Neither are probably accurate!

ryan_sherlock

Yesterday I rode 60km out and back (29kmph average - flat), Powermeter said around 1,400kj => ~ 1,400kCal

Having looked at what Strava guesstimates for me, verses the PM, it is usually close enough.

Is your weight set correct in Strava?

(and put down the 3rd serving of ice cream - the Garmin for that ride was way way off)

Strava link: http://app.strava.com/activities/128091449

macnab

Plenty of debates about this issue on the net, I think the majority of people in the know would say neither is accurate but the Strava figure is close enough for general use. I find the Garmin figure is usually almost 2 times what it should be.

Diggabot

ryan_sherlock wrote: »

Yesterday I rode 60km out and back (29kmph average - flat), Powermeter said around 1,400kj => ~ 1,400kCal

Having looked at what Strava guesstimates for me, verses the PM, it is usually close enough.

Is your weight set correct in Strava?

(and put down the 3rd serving of ice cream - the Garmin for that ride was way way off)

Strava link: http://app.strava.com/activities/128091449

Yeah weight is correct in both. I would've assumed the Garmin would be correct but clearly it's off. I'm importing into Strava directly from my edge so Strava must analyse the info a lot differently to Garmin. Just curious as they're so different.

ryan_sherlock

Have a google on why the difference - lots of different algorithms out there. Closest, non PM value I have seen is from the Ascent software on the Mac.

Lusk_Doyle

I have noticed that there is often differences in top speeds registered between the two also. This evening I hit 58kph max speed on the Garmin but strava says 56.9kph.

bedirect

i seem to burn 400-500 calories per hour with the garmin & i use the hrm also