Amtgard Fitness: Counting the Calories
[01/06/2012] [Glen]Introduction I have spent the last year taking careful measurement of my caloric usage at Amtgard. For those of you who did not read it, in part one (http://www.electricsamurai.com/main_page.pl?action=view_article&file=20110329120035-Guests.txt&dir=General) I reviewed some of the common calorie monitoring techniques and came to the conclusion that the Body Media Bodybugg is the most accurate device for calorie monitoring. Further research indicates that the accuracy of the MedyMedia device is accurate for low to moderate intensity exercise but becomes inaccurate for high-intensity exercise (Drenowatz & Eisenmann, 2011) (Brazeau, Karelis, Mignault, Lacroix, Prud’homme, & Rabasa-Lhoret, 2011). High intensity exercise is defined as above 10 METs. To put that in perspective, if you’re in moderate shape, and you run a mile in under ten minutes, you have, just barely, reached the 10 MET threshold. It is safe to say that Amtgard fighting does not meet this level of exertion. With this in mind, the BodyMedia device can be considered accurate for our purposes. The Subject At the time of the study, I was 38 years old. I was fairly physically fit, cycling an average of 75 miles a week, in addition to bi-weekly hour-long weight lifting sessions in the gym. I was 6’2” tall and weighed 200 pounds. I am a left-handed fighter and significantly above the average skill level in the locales in which I fought. Skill level is relevant because a more skilled fighter will expend less calories to accomplish the same amount of fighting due to greater efficiency and economy of motion in combat. A more skilled fighter also tends to spend more time fighting and less time standing around being “dead.” I am passionate about fighting and spend the vast majority of my Amtgard time engaged in actual combat. The Fighting The majority of my fighting took place in warm weather, either due to overall climate or time of year. When I fought in sub-zero temperatures I burned about 10% more calories on average. I did not fight in deep snow. All my exercise took place in unobstructed terrain, which enabled great freedom of movement. I suspect that fighting in snow or difficult terrain would result in lower calorie usage. I discovered that I burned slightly more calories at events than at regular park days. This is due in large part to the non-stop ditching that I can participate in events. Regular battlegame days are a mix of ditching, battlegames, and individual sparring, which together makes up a less-intense workout than non-stop ditching. For those who do not spend all their non-battlegame time sparring and ditching, the calorie burn is probably far lower. However, I am not such a person and spend almost all my time at Amtgard in motion. In addition to Amtgard events and regular battlegame days, I also participated in and recorded my calorie usage at Dagorhir. On average, I burned about 10% more calories in Dagorhir. This is not due to their heavier weapons, but rather due to the “instant respawn” type of games they play, which allow a motivated player to do far more fighting and “running back to the spawn point.” I am one such motivated player and this extra cardio accounts for the increased calorie usage. I also participated in a NERO event. I burned almost as many calories per hour at the NERO event as at an Amtgard event. It should be noted that I am far from the normal NERO player and that I was playing a mid-level NPC with infinite lives and a ten-second respawn, who was outnumbered about ten to one. The numbers for NERO are included only for fun and are in no way whatsoever indicative of the caloric usage of the typical NERO player. To provide context, I have also included numbers for one of my fencing practices. I fence with the BGSU fencing team. This practice included some open fencing at the end of it. It is interesting to note that I burn less calories fencing than fighting at Amtgard. The Numbers Activity | Avg. Mets | Avg. Cal/Hr | Min Cal/Hr | Max Cal/Hr | Cycling @15 MPH | 4.02 | 528 | * | * | Cycling @12 MPH | 3.8 | 357 | * | * | Fencing | 3.13 | 275 | * | * | Dagorhir | 4.2 | 373 | 230 | 445 | Amtgard @Sunday | 3.41 | 314 | 276 | 375 | Amtgard @Event | 3.65 | 334 | 217 | 410 | Amtgard @Event @Cold | 4.12 | 373 | 317 | 410 | Amtgard @Event @Warm | 3.59 | 329 | 217 | 433 | Amtgard Battlegaming | 2.77 | 254 | 226 | 292 | Amtgard Ditching | 4.03 | 369 | 303 | 433 | NERO | 3.45 | 313 | * | * | The Next Step While these results are interesting and useful in and of themselves, the average Amtgardian can be excused for a certain amount of hebetudinous imperception. In the next article, I will examine how Amtgard calorie usage impacts our need to consume energy after our initial energy reserve is consumed. The use of Gatorade, both low-calorie and normal, protein recovery beverages, and other avenues of maintaining energy levels and avoiding a decrease in performance will be explored in depth to provide a nutritional profile to maintain peak performance. Raw Data Biking: | | | | | | | Time | Miles | Minutes | Calories | Avg METS: | | Cal/Hr | Morning | 12.5 | 50 | 440 | 4.02 | | 528.00 | Evening | 12.5 | 64 | 381 | 3.8 | | 357.19 | | | | | | | | Fencing | Type | Minutes | Calories | Avg METS: | Date: | Cal/Hr | | Practice | 122 | 560 | 3.13 | October 3, 2011 | 275.41 | | | | | | | | Dagorhir Battlegame | | | | | | | | Type | Minutes | Calories | Avg METS: | Date: | Cal/Hr | | Stop and Start | 234 | 1145 | 3.22 | April 9, 2011 | 293.59 | | Orlando Dag | 382 | 1469 | 2.53 | June 11, 2011 | 230.73 | | Toledo OH Dagorhir | 154 | 1111 | 4.86 | October 1, 2011 | 432.86 | | Toledo OH Dagorhir | 187 | 1342 | 4.92 | October 15, 2011 | 430.59 | | BG Dagorhir | 265 | 1782 | 4.6 | October 23, 2011 | 403.47 | | Toledo OH Dagorhir | 164 | 1215 | 5.05 | October 29, 2011 | 444.51 | | | | | | | | Amtgard - Battle Day | | | | | | | | Type | Minutes | Calories | Avg METS: | Date: | Cal/Hr | | Mostly Non-stop | 240 | 1500 | 4.01 | March 6, 2011 | 375.00 | | Had to hunt sparing partners a lot | 310 | 1428 | 3.05 | April 10, 2011 | 276.39 | | Good fighting | 314 | 1763 | 3.69 | April 24, 2011 | 336.88 | | Low Intensity Day | 228 | 1140 | 3.15 | June 5, 2011 | 300.00 | | Traveling in Florida | 324 | 1573 | 3.2 | July 23,2011 | 291.30 | | Traveling in Florida | 246 | 1260 | 3.37 | July 24, 2011 | 307.32 | | | | | | | | Amtgard Event | | | | | | | Event | Type | Minutes | Calories | Avg METS: | Date: | Cal/Hr | Winters Edge Coronation | Friday Night Ditching | 150 | 891 | 3.82 | March 11, 2011 | 356.40 | Winters Edge Coronation | Saturday Early AM Ditch | 138 | 696 | 3.25 | March 12, 2011 | 302.61 | Winters Edge Coronation | Saturday Battlegames & Ditching | 762 | 3714 | 3.14 | March 12, 2011 | 292.44 | Winters Edge Coronation | Sunday Early AM Ditch | 138 | 997 | 4.65 | March 13, 2011 | 433.48 | Feast of Fools | Friday Day Ditching | 180 | 1231 | 4.5 | April 1, 2011 | 410.33 | Feast of Fools | Friday Night Ditching | 71 | 465 | 4.37 | April 1, 2011 | 392.96 | Feast of Fools | Saturday Events | 330 | 1744 | 3.48 | April 1, 2011 | 317.09 | Unknown Event | Friday Night Ditching | 240 | 1481 | 4.1 | April 15, 2011 | 370.25 | Unknown Event | Saturday Early AM Ditch | 100 | 607 | 3.99 | April 16, 2011 | 364.20 | Unknown Event | Saturday Battlegames & Ditching | 876 | 3304 | 2.48 | April 16, 2011 | 226.30 | Unknown Event | Sunday Early AM Ditch | 156 | 899 | 3.79 | April 17, 2011 | 345.77 | SKBC | Thursday Night Ditch | 88 | 542 | 4.05 | April 28, 2011 | 369.55 | SKBC | Friday Early AM Ditch | 94 | 552 | 3.65 | April 29, 2011 | 352.34 | SKBC | Friday Classes and Ditches | 553 | 2240 | 2.67 | April 29, 2011 | 243.04 | SKBC | Friday Night Ditching | 187 | 1343 | 4.75 | April 29, 2011 | 430.91 | SKBC | Saturday Classes and Ditch | 538 | 2288 | 2.74 | April 30, 2011 | 255.17 | SKBC | Saturday Night Ditch | 136 | 915 | 4.43 | April 30, 2011 | 403.68 | RW WM Tourney | Tournament with light ditching | 372 | 1345 | 2.38 | May 22, 2011 | 216.94 | Salt Wars | Thursday Ditching | 479 | 2976 | 4.1 | May 26, 2011 | 372.78 | Salt Wars | Friday Early AM Ditch | 88 | 577 | 4.32 | May 27, 2011 | 393.41 | Salt Wars | Friday General Fighting-Ditch Heavy | 782 | 4255 | 3.59 | May 27, 2011 | 326.47 | Salt Wars | Saturday Early AM Ditch | 68 | 402 | 3.89 | May 28, 2011 | 354.71 | Salt Wars | Saturday General Battlegaming | 490 | 1989 | 2.68 | May 28, 2011 | 243.55 | Salt Wars | Sunday Early AM Ditch | 252 | 1528 | 3.99 | May 29, 2011 | 363.81 | Rakis | Thursday Ditching | 562 | 2926 | 3.43 | June 16, 2011 | 312.38 | Rakis | Saturday Night Ditching | 360 | 2095 | 3.83 | June 18, 2011 | 349.17 | RW Crown Quals | Tournament | 186 | 710 | 2.49 | August 21, 2011 | 229.03 | RW Crown Quals | Ditching | 108 | 612 | 3.66 | August 21, 2011 | 340.00 | | | | | | | | NERO Event | | | | | | | Event | Type | Minutes | Calories | Avg METS: | Date: | Cal/Hr | Florida NERO Event | Day of Questing | 578 | 3020 | 3.45 | May 14, 2011 | 313.49 | Graphs  Figure 1: Fencing - October 3, 2011  Figure 2: Dagorhir - June 11, 2011  Figure 3: Dagorhir - October 1, 2011  Figure 4: Dagorhir - October 15, 2011  Figure 5: Dagorhir - October 23, 2011  Figure 6: Dagorhir - October 29, 2011  Figure 7: Amtgard - July 23, 2011  Figure 8: Amtgard- July 24, 2011  Figure 9: SKBC Friday Classes and Ditching - April 29, 2011  Figure 10: SKBC Friday Night Ditching - April 29, 2011  Figure 11: SKBC Saturday Classes and Ditching - April 30, 2011  Figure 12: SKBC Saturday Night Ditching - April 30, 2011  Figure 13: Rising Winds Weapon Master and Light Ditching - May 22, 2011  Figure 14: Salt Wars Thursday Ditching - May 26, 2011  Figure 15: Salt Wars Friday Early Morning Ditching - May 27, 2011  Figure 16: Salt Wars Friday Fighting (Mostly Ditching) - May 27, 2011  Figure 17: Salt Wars Saturday Battle Gaming - May 28, 2011  Figure 18: Salt Wars Sunday Early Morning Ditching - May 29, 2011  Figure 19: Rakis Thursday Ditching - June 16, 2011  Figure 20: Rising Winds Crown Quals Tournament - August 21, 2011 Works Cited Brazeau, A., Karelis, A., Mignault, D., Lacroix, M., Prud’homme, D., & Rabasa-Lhoret, R. (2011). Test–retest reliability of a portable monitor to assess energy expenditur. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism , 339-43. Drenowatz, C., & Eisenmann, J. (2011). Validation of the SenseWear Armband at high intensity exercise. European Jounal of Applied Physiology , 883-7.
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