Calories Burned by Heart Rate
Estimate calories burned during exercise from your average heart rate, age, weight and sex.
About the Calories Burned by Heart Rate
Heart rate rises roughly in line with oxygen use during aerobic exercise, so it can estimate energy expenditure. This uses the equations of Keytel et al. (Journal of Sports Sciences, 2005), the basis of many fitness watches. It's less accurate for weight training, intervals, very low or very high heart rates, and anyone on heart-rate-altering medication such as beta blockers.
The formula
Men: kcal/min = (−55.0969 + 0.6309 HR + 0.1988 W + 0.2017 A) ÷ 4.184; women: (−20.4022 + 0.4472 HR − 0.1263 W + 0.074 A) ÷ 4.184
Worked example
Example: Calories burned = 771 kcal
- Inputs: Sex: Male; Age: 39; Weight: 190; Weight in: lb; Average heart rate: 150 bpm; Duration: 50 minutes.
- Formula: Men: kcal/min = (−55.0969 + 0.6309 HR + 0.1988 W + 0.2017 A) ÷ 4.184; women: (−20.4022 + 0.4472 HR − 0.1263 W + 0.074 A) ÷ 4.184
- Result: Calories burned = 771 kcal
Questions people ask
Why does my watch show something different?
Watches add their own models and estimates of VO₂max.
Does it work for lifting weights?
Poorly; heart rate rises for reasons other than oxygen use.