

Regardless of your activity, one of the most reliable and accurate ways to determine metabolic energy expenditure is to use a power meter. Enjoy this perk for free! Does adding a power meter improve Strava’s calorie counting accuracy? When viewing your post-ride or post-run statistics, you’ll see your calories burned in the bottom right corner.Īnd perhaps the best part about Strava’s calorie counter is that you don’t need the paid, premium version of the app. Instead, it uses your body weight, speed, and moving time.

If you prefer to run rather than bike, Strava still calculates calories burned. Strava uses your weight, bike’s weight, distance covered, and elevation gained to create an overall power output to help calculate estimated calories burned. For Strava’s website only, go to Settings > My Gear > My Bikes > Input bike type, brand, and weight.For Strava’s mobile app, go to My Profile > Weight > Input weight in pounds.Other users have noted that adding a few extra pounds to your personal body weight (to account for shoes, helmet, water bottles, and other gear) increases Strava’s accuracy of calories burned. If you’re new to Strava, you likely missed these next several steps to ensure that Strava is recording your power output.Ĭheck that your body weight and bike model are recorded within the app. How do you set up Strava to show calories burned? Keeping that in mind, getting some idea of your energy expenditure is never a bad idea. Some rides have been spot-on, and some have been a bit off. Some users have compared Strava’s internal calorie counter with other external power meters, and the results vary. It likely underestimates your calories burned there. Strava’s capabilities to do this should get you in the ballpark of a realistic number, but the app can’t always account for every factor that may skew your efforts.įor example, group rides where you are drifting and using less energy result in Strava overestimating your actual calories burned.Įqually so, Strava won’t know if you’re riding straight into a headwind for most of your ride. Strava uses several factors to determine your power output during a ride or run to produce an estimated number of calories burned. How accurate is Strava’s calorie counter? 4 Does Strava’s calorie information sync to other connected health and fitness apps?.3 Does adding a power meter improve Strava’s calorie counting accuracy?.2 How do you set up Strava to show calories burned?.1 How accurate is Strava’s calorie counter?.
