700 calories in an hour - Possible?

I bought a heart rate monitor a few days ago and have worn it twice when working out. My workouts last about an hour (slightly under) and are a mixture of low and high impact aerobics and kickboxing, jogging on the spot, jumping jacks, squats etc.

According to calorie calculators on the internet, I always assumed I was burning around 200 calories.

However, my heart rate monitor said I had burned 700 calories! How is this possible?

Most of the workout I am apparently at an average of 70% of my max. heart rate, when kickboxing this went up to 90% for a while.

Is the monitor inaccurate?

It's a guesstimate, but I'll wager it's closer to reality than your prior guess.

did you enter the defaults right??? you gotta change the defaults before you start.

Jo

How tall are you what is your weight, height sex and age if you are working out this hard it is quite possible to burn 700 cals in an hour.

I am 48 weight 184 5'6" and if I was to do an hour of what you listed I'd burn 500- 600 cals easy

Unless you are in really really good shape, you are burning way more than 200 calories. 700 is probably much closer. I would burn about 600 in that time doing that amount of activity and I am 20 pounds over my goal weight.

I estimate my martial arts workouts at around 500 calories per hour, unless there's a lot of watching involved.  When I first started, 700 calories per hour was about right.

Your previous estimates (around 200 calories an hour) don't make much sense. You likely burn 200 calories an hour cleaning the house.

So long as your heart rate monitor settings are accurate, I would go with what the monitor says. If you still think it's high, reduce the calorie level by 10%. But anything that keeps your body actively moving at a vigorous pace for an hour is going to burn at least 2-3x more than 200 calories and hour.

I estimate I burn about 800 calories an hour running and 700 an hour in Judo based on calculators on this site and others I have used in the past.  Anything vigorous will burn way more than 200 calories.

Thanks for the replies. I am learning a lot about calorie burning since buying this monitor!

I guess I always deliberately underestimated how much I was burning to stop myself for eating too much for dinner afterwards. :)

Very possible, i once did 2600 calories in 2 and a half hours. 

My usual cardio workout gets me for anywhere from 800 to a thousand calories burned.

I agree with everyone here.  You weren't burning just 200 cals before.  Go with the h/r monitor!  Eat!

jcbolt:  OMG, you have a twin in Quebec, Canada.  I could have sworn you were her when I saw your picture.

That's the same thing I've been tripping out on. In the mornings I do about an hour of Tae Bo and on this site I burn usually around 200-250 calories. On another site where I had to put in my weight it said that I burn between 544 at the very least. I guess I should go with the higher one also. I don't have a heart rate monitor though.

Original Post by vixen316:

That's the same thing I've been tripping out on. In the mornings I do about an hour of Tae Bo and on this site I burn usually around 200-250 calories. On another site where I had to put in my weight it said that I burn between 544 at the very least. I guess I should go with the higher one also. I don't have a heart rate monitor though.

It depends on how you feel afterwards.  If you're a sweaty puddle, then I'd go with the 544, if you just feel pleasantly exerted than about 250 would be reasonable.

Yes it is possible.  when I was working out at curves which is only a 30 minute workout, my highest calories burned was calculated at 714 and that was in 1/2 an hour. 

It certainly sounds very possible!  I burn from 800 - 1000 cals in about 35 mins of dance on a dance mat (there again I jump very fast the whole time and only use expert mode!)  It's the best thing in the world i swear!  you burn loads and its so unrepetative and fun