Potentially odd question

[wheelzoffortune]

I'm very much into fitness... weight lifting, bodybuilding, swimming, biking, etc, etc.

I recently downloaded an app to help me keep track of the mileage that I do when I go for walks or runs (or bike rides... w/e).  Said app contains information about calories burned during a walk, BUT I realized that the info it has can't possibly be accurate for me because I am pushing a wheelchair when I go for a "walk".

Soooooooo, I'm wondering if anyone has experience with that.

A quick Google search showed a few sites saying varying things that are mostly consistent, but would love some input from ppl here if they have any to offer.

Thanks!

[justnick]

I don’t have any direct experience with what you are asking but I’m sure if you talked to the rehab doctor or someone like that, they could probably give you a decent estimate.

I recently started an adaptive fitness program put on at the university by the kinesiology department. (don’t get your hopes up devs, I’m actually the best looking guy in my section so it’s not the crippled dude paradise that you might think) It’s basically students acting as personal trainers. They record all the metrics but for us dudes in chairs, they don’t even bother with calories burned. My only muscle groups that fire are biceps, shoulders and some upper back. These are such small muscle groups in comparison to say legs and butts that the calorie burn is actually pretty negligible. At least for what I am doing. If you’re only looking for how many pushes you are getting in, in lieu of steps, I wouldn’t bother with the tracker and just count the average that you do in a fixed distance and multiply that number by how far you go.

[ayla]

If you have an Apple Watch or one of the newer Garmin watches, they come equipped with a wheelchair mode setting for activity tracking. If you don’t have/don’t want a smartwatch you could also try putting an odometer on your chair. It won’t give you calorie burn or pushes but it will help you quantify and track some of your movement…and they’re a lot cheaper than an Apple Watch for example. You can usually buy one at a bike shop.

[pyrat]

Feb 28, 2024 21:03:07 GMT -5 ayla said:

If you have an Apple Watch or one of the newer Garmin watches, they come equipped with a wheelchair mode setting for activity tracking. If you don’t have/don’t want a smartwatch you could also try putting an odometer on your chair. It won’t give you calorie burn or pushes but it will help you quantify and track some of your movement…and they’re a lot cheaper than an Apple Watch for example. You can usually buy one at a bike shop.

I imagine the Apple Watch feature is really helpful for tracking. I have the feature but I’m not trying to track my activity.

On a side note: the Apple Watch this feature to ask if you’re using ok when it detects a fall and call for help if you don’t react. This seems way less useful, I had to turn it off cause it never triggered when I fell but randomly triggered when I hit my arm

[cpguyatlanta]

Feb 28, 2024 21:03:07 GMT -5 ayla said:

If you have an Apple Watch or one of the newer Garmin watches, they come equipped with a wheelchair mode setting for activity tracking. If you don’t have/don’t want a smartwatch you could also try putting an odometer on your chair. It won’t give you calorie burn or pushes but it will help you quantify and track some of your movement…and they’re a lot cheaper than an Apple Watch for example. You can usually buy one at a bike shop.

Unfortunately it does not work if you propel with your feet.

[ayla]

Unless you wear your watch on your ankle... just kidding ;-)