Apple Watch - Difference Between Some of the Indoor Works

I like to move around while I'm at home watching television after dinner.  Work is back in the office 100% now and while I am trying to establish a workout routine in the morning, that is still a work in progress.  I do variety of workouts about an hour after dinner as I binge on Netflix or rewatch one of my favorite science fiction shows (comfort shows).  With the Apple Watch, it offers a lot more workout options than when it first started but there is not way for Apple to provide every kind of exercise. So, I set out to find out which of the workouts would suit my calories counts so I can reach my daily goals.

One of the workout I like to do is the wacky jumps.  It is a lot like jumping jacks but different body movements and I feel it offers a good set of motions for what I want to achieve - essentially toning my body and my stomach muscles.  And it is good cardio that gets my heart pumping and some sweat.

There is no wacky jump workout option and while there is a jumping roping workout, I thought I give other options a try and see how close they monitor my calories burns - indoor walk, elliptical, and other.  

3-Minutes	Trial 1	Trial 2	Trial 3	Average
Other	25	24	22	24
Elliptical	25	25	25	25
Jump Rope	22	22	23	22
Indoor Walk	28	28	28	28

Prior to really looking at these workouts to see which gives me the most accurate workouts, I typically set my workout for Other workout.  It looks like I made the right choice even though elliptical and jump rope workouts would do as well even though the JR workout is a bit stingy with its calories count.  Going forward, I'll switch from Other to the JR workout because I like to be conservative and not get credit for my workout that I should not get.

As for the indoor walk workout, I'm surprised by the high calories count. 

I believe the Indoor workout gave me credit for 28 calories burnt has to do with the pace that the Apple Watch recorded for me.  On a typical outdoor walk, my pace is at a leisurely 3.5 miles per hour, which works out to roughly 18.75 minutes per mile.  My walks do not come close to my running pace even on my best days.  So it makes sense that I will definitely not use the Indoor workout option ever again.

Another note is the Total Calories count recorded by the watch.  All the four workouts provided with me total calories count and, without fail, 5 calories more than my active calories count.  I'm still a bit fuzzy what it is. And more so, why it is even provided as a result of the workout?  I read that total calories metric includes calories your body burns while you're sitting and breathing, basically, from body functions that is keeping you alive.

So, I hope this helps. I have read others asking about the different workouts and what workout can be substitute for another.  In my case, the jump rope workout seems to work for me.  I can imagine Apple putting test subjects in laboratories through thousands of hours of roping jumping to get it right.  For workout that do not offer similar movements, your best bet is the other workout.