How many calories you burn depends on how elevated your heart rate is and for how long (given your height, weight, age, and metabolism). So if you run three miles really fast you actually do burn more calories than if you slowly walk three miles. I know this because I wear a heart rate monitor and do the exact same activities day after day (an hour on the elliptical, a 4 mile run, etc) but the number of calories I burn varies FOR THE SAME EXACT ACTIVITY AT THE SAME EXACT LENGTH OF TIME AND/OR THE SAME DISTANCE depending on how elevated my heart rate is. For example, when I run on the treadmill, I may have to adjust my Ipod or take off my sweatshirt or talk with the person on the treadmill next to me. All of those things will increase my heart rate even though I'm going the same distance at the same pace. Or I could pump my arms more or drink more caffeine pre-workout or eat more food pre-workout or a million other variables. What really changes the number of calories you're burning is your heart rate. Furthermore, if I run four miles in 30 minutes and burn (lets say) 450 calories, then I walk around my house doing normal activity for the next 30 minutes and burn (lets say) 100 calories, I will have burned more in an hour than if I WALKED those four miles slowly for 55 minutes and burned 300 calories, then putzed around the house for 5 minutes and burned 15 calories. So going the same distance, does not necessarily give you the same calorie burn. Make sense?
|