Should I track my weight lifting exercise?

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  • Meganthedogmom
    Meganthedogmom Posts: 1,639 Member
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    I don't track any strength training on MFP, as I don't believe it burns much calories and I just do cardio to burn calories.

    I do, however track it in the notes on my phone, just so I can keep track of how much I'm doing and try to improve all the time. It's cool to be able to look back a few months ago and see what I could do versus what I do now.
  • vixtris
    vixtris Posts: 688 Member
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    When I lift, I spend about an hour. I do some stretches and floor exercises for about 5 mins, then 2 sets of 8 exercises. I am never sure how much I burn, but when I log it, I log it under cardio as lifting for 45 mins because I do take some seconds/mins in between my exercises that adds up. So it usually gives me about 180 calories burned, but I try not to eat those back.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
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    Track your lifting - lifts, sets, reps, weight - so you can see your progress over time.

    Tracking for calorie burn is kind of pointless. No way to get an accurate burn available to the general public. Don't rely on an HRM - not appropriate for weight lifting. A decent strategy is to guesstimate a number of calories per weight lifting session (maybe 100 to start) and eat those. See what happens to your rate of loss and your appetite over the next couple of weeks. Adjust value as needed.
  • JustinAnimal
    JustinAnimal Posts: 1,335 Member
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    I think it should be said, especially for people who eat crazy low calories per day (1200-1500), that lifting does take energy and continues to give a burn throughout the day, so eating something back is probably smart. Also agree with joe that you have to feel these things out. My goal is so low that I have to eat something back when I exercise, regardless of the in-the-moment calorie burn.

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