Recumbent-bike calories as an activity scenario

What the activity choices mean

Gross kcal = MET × 3.5 × weight in kg ÷ 200 × minutes; above-rest expenditure replaces MET with MET − 1. The choices illustrate stationary cycling effort rather than translating a bike resistance level. Recumbent posture and equipment differ; this is not a model calibrated to your bike.

The Adult Compendium conditioning category includes stationary cycling activities at different workloads. Use a workload-specific value when actual watts and a matching activity definition are available. The 3.5 and 5.0 choices are labeled scenarios; 6.8 represents general stationary cycling. Do not infer intensity from a level number shared across machines.

What this estimate cannot tell you

There is no heart-rate input, wearable integration or measured oxygen uptake. Individual resting metabolism, efficiency, pauses and workload affect expenditure. Treat the result as an educational estimate and avoid adding gross exercise energy twice when daily activity already includes the session.