If Client “A” burns more calories than Client “B” during the same workout, did Client “A” work harder than Client “B”?
I do a buddy training session for two women (same age), and both women wear heart rate monitors during the session. Both clients have their age, height, weight, gender, and resting heart rate entered in to their HR monitors. At the end of a 30-minute session, Client “A” has burned 475 calories while Client “B” has burned only 320 calories. Client “B” is frustrated because she did the exact same work out as Client “A” and did not burn nearly as many calories. Based on the HR monitor readings, Client “A’s” max HR during the session was higher than Client “B’s.” Does this mean that Client “B” is more fit than Client “A” and that it is going to take more exertion for Client “B” to achieve the same calorie burn as Client “A?” Is Client “B” not working as hard as Client “A,” even though Client “B” feels like she worked as hard as she could during the workout? Could it be possible that both clients are equally fit and one just has a physically bigger heart than the other?
It is important to remember that the volume of oxygen consumed per minute is different for everybody.
Factors that influence V02 are, cardiac output, one’s level of conditioning, one’s body weight.
As fitness professionals we all know that at rest the average 70kg individual pumps 3.5ml/kg/min of oxygen. Every litre of oxygen consumes about 4-5 calories per minute. If one weighs more or less than those 70kg oxygen consumption or caloric expenditure is increase or decreased.
If the world were perfect and both clients A and B were of the same gender, same weight and equally conditioned the caloric expenditures would be the same.
Hope this helps.