What are Calories?

Calories are units of energy. The broad definition of calorie is the heat energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

When we talk about calories or measure calories we refer to the kilogram calorie (symbol: Cal or Kcal), also known as the food calorie (1000 small calories = 1 kilocalorie). 

The kilocalorie is a measure of chemical energy stored in foods. This chemical energy can be transformed into heat and mechanical work energy in the body. In practice, we use Kcal to calculate the energy used in a physical activity (burned calories) and the energy stored in food (food calorie). We need energy for our basic functionalities such as breathing, moving, pumping blood, and we get the energy from the food we eat. In the fitness world measuring burned calories and consumed calories is an essential tool to reach our desired weight.

The math is simple, if you consume less calories than you burn you'll lose weight. 2.2 Pounds (1 Kilogram) of fat equals ~7500 Calories. That means that in order to lose that weight you'll need to burn 7500 Calories more than you consume over a specified period of time.

During a workout, when we produce power and work at any rate, our body needs energy (Kcals), and it also loses energy when heat is leaving our body, while we sweat.

There are different ways to calculate the amount of calories we burn during a Spivi workout. Spivi uses a hierarchical system to accumulate member's burned calories. It is based on the available measuring inputs at the studio (Watts, BPM, RPM etc) and a member's own personal data.