What are resting calories DURING a workout?!?

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What are resting calories DURING a workout?!?

Hey so I use the watch religiously when I workout. I know that treadmill displays are not always accurate since it's based on a template weight, body, etc. but there's anywhere from 100-300 calories discrepancy with my watch count (the watch is lower). However, if you scroll down on the workout summary, it notes "Resting Calories" and "Total Calories", the latter being the resting plus the active. If I'm working out the whole time (running 3-4 miles with incline), how are there resting calories? What do I use to calculate total calories burned-active only or active plus resting??!!

Apple Watch

Posted on Jul 12, 2015 9:16 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 12, 2015 10:45 AM in response to KiaCarlo

"Resting calories" is a bit of a misnomer. Your body burns calories all the time, to digest food, move your blood around, all the basic processes. The term often used is "basal metabolic rate" or BMR. Calories from exercise are the amount of energy you needed to expend on top of just keeping yourself alive. Honestly, I wouldn't get too hung up on it. Unless you've had some fairly careful testing done by a doctor, the estimate for your BMR is just that, a very rough estimate. Different people will have a different BMR even if they are the same height and weight. Gender can be a factor, muscle mass is, even ambient temperature. The ability of a device such as an Apple Watch (or the treadmill at your gym) to determine caloric burn is also, at best, an estimate.

See this article as well:

http://www.imore.com/apple-watch-activity-tracking-5-tips-you-need-know?query=

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