MS Band: why are calories burned inconsistent if Exercise is not activated?

[mayugupta1]

MS Band: Calories burn inconsistent if Exercise is not "activated"

I tried to check band performance in 2 conditions - Exercise mode "activated" and exercise mode "not activated"

I played tennis for 1.5 hrs in both cases. When "activated" it shows my calorie burn in the range of 1000 with heart rate between 130-180. Whereas if it is "not activated", heart rate remains in the range of 80s and calorie burn around 300-400.

Is this a problem with band or regular feature that i have to activate the exercise mode?

Also, What should be the best mode for Tennis - "exercise" or "running"?

Thanks,
Mayank

 

[joe_easton]

Re: MS Band: Calories burn inconsistent if Exercise is not "activated"

I am surprised it was off by that much. In standard mode, your hear rate is only checked occasionally and that is how it bases the calorie burn. In exercise mode, it is checking it almost constantly to get a better gauge. So it should always be more accurate in exercise mode but I am surprised it is off that much.

And exercise mode is better than running for your purpose - running mode activates the GPS which is irrelevant when you aren't running. And it will drain your battery faster.

 

[poit57]

Re: MS Band: Calories burn inconsistent if Exercise is not "activated"

As Joe mentioned, since it is only recording your heart rate 10% of the time, it could be measuring a lower average than your actual heart rate if it is missing most of your peaks in heart rate and recording more lulls in activity between volleys

I did a similar test while sitting at my desk at work a few weeks ago. Since my heart rate was pretty steady for the duration of my tests, the calories burned for each hour was nearly identical whether I was tracking in the standard mode or using the exercise tile.

On the other hand, I tracked 3 hours of league bowling this week where I usually do not track this activity. Normally, there is no noticeable difference between my bowling activity and the rest of my day, but this week with the exercise tile active, the calories burned for those three hours was about 80% higher because of all the little spikes in my heart rate every time I bowled a ball.

 

[mayugupta1]

Re: MS Band: Calories burn inconsistent if Exercise is not "activated"

Thanks Joe & Poit57.. answers make sense. hope MS can bring more consistency even if you forget to activate the "exercise" mode.

 

[DroidUser42]

At the risk of pile-on, in normal mode the heart rate sensor is only active for one minute out of every ten. During exercise mode, it's on continuously. I'd look at the heart rate readings. If it recorded the same heart rate, I'd expect the same calories, but if normal mode missed some peaks, then I could a difference in the calculation.

 

[Nate Silver]

Re: MS Band: Calories burn inconsistent if Exercise is not "activated"

Thanks Joe & Poit57.. answers make sense. hope MS can bring more consistency even if you forget to activate the "exercise" mode.

They could do that, but it would be at the cost of much higher battery usage. As others pointed out, the hr monitor is much less active during times of "non-exercise", primarily to save on the battery I would guess. With the hr monitor as active as it is in exercise mode, we could never expect the Band to make it through the day (or even a significant portion thereof) without recharging.