1,000 Calories in One Workout?

2

Replies

  • beemerphile1
    beemerphile1 Posts: 1,710 Member
    ...Every single day we've been going to failure on almost every rep, and the weight is way more than I can do on my own (after the first few reps he has to guide the weight) which is extremely taxing....

    I fear your trainer is pushing you toward an injury. The trainer needs to push you beyond what you think your capabilities are but this sounds excessive.

    If you are a beginner the trainers primary job is to teach you proper technique to avoid injury. I'm guessing this is some poorly trained young stud that thinks everyone should be lifting heavy and working toward a competition.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    Is it possible that OP was doing some sort of HIIT routine where the lifts were the break sessions and she was doing some sort of cardio in between? OP: Where you only lifting for the entire 30 minute duration?

    Thanks for your response.

    No, we were lifting continuously with the only break being the time it took to get to the next machine. Every single day we've been going to failure on almost every rep, and the weight is way more than I can do on my own (after the first few reps he has to guide the weight) which is extremely taxing, yesterday I think my body was so desperate for recovery I fell asleep on the couch at 5 and every time I woke up I couldn't stay awake so I ended up going to bed and sleeping until 6am... I am still very new and learning a lot about things. I've lost a lot of trust in my trainer now though, which has taken a massive hit on my confidence and motivation in what I'm doing.

    Yeah, then he's likely overestimating how many calories you've burned by say.... a lot and the workout plan that you have (going past failure) is likely to get you injured. I do believe in going to failure on lifts but not on set 2 of the exercise unless you're lifting heavy and two sets is all you're going to be doing. Failure should occur on the last reps of your planned set. If you don't reach failure at your last set, then increase your weight. It's called progressive loading. If you're just starting out, the most important thing is to learn good form and get down the basic lifts. He might be a little too aggressive but you know yourself and it all depends on how aggressive you personally want to be. I don't think requiring a lot of sleep for recovery is necessarily a bad thing, especially for someone that's new. Your body will need time to catch up with the stresses. You will just want to watch out for excessive soreness or sharp or persistent pains that don't go away. Just have a talk with your trainer about your concerns and come up with a plan of attack together. It might be helpful to know how much experience this guy has.
  • DizzyMissIzzy
    DizzyMissIzzy Posts: 168 Member
    @wilsoncl06 I always appreciate your well thought out responses!

    I did a lot of working out on my own the 6 months prior to hiring this trainer, so I'm not *SO* new, but I am new to really sitting down and aggressively going after the results that before I didn't think were possible.

    I've lifted at my comfort zone 4-5x a week before the trainer and every day i'd do 30 min of cardio burning 400-450 calories. I saw limited results though because perhaps I wasn't pushing myself past where I already was comfortable at? Or hadn't changed my diet much? I always eat healthy but now that I'm actually counting macros and everything my diet really has changed. I had lost inches (2 pant sizes) but no weight, and only 4% body fat (32 down to 28% now).

  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    If you doing continuous weightlifting with little no rest between and working more towards your maximum heartrate I could see something in the 300-400 range maybe but 1000 seems rather excessive.

    All this uncertainty in calorie counts always makes me appreciate the simplicity of just using a TDEE and adjusting from there.
  • DizzyMissIzzy
    DizzyMissIzzy Posts: 168 Member
    ryry62685 wrote: »
    If you doing continuous weightlifting with little no rest between and working more towards your maximum heartrate I could see something in the 300-400 range maybe but 1000 seems rather excessive.

    All this uncertainty in calorie counts always makes me appreciate the simplicity of just using a TDEE and adjusting from there.

    Forgive my noobishness, what's a TDEE?
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    TDEE is the amount calories your body burns in a 24 hour period, sleeping, working, exercising, playing and even digesting food! The IIFYM TDEE Calculator is designed to give you your exact TDEE based on a few key factors (BMR + TOTAL ENERGY EXPENDITURE).

    You can go here to use the calculator to figure out yours. http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,738 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    Is it possible that OP was doing some sort of HIIT routine where the lifts were the break sessions and she was doing some sort of cardio in between? OP: Where you only lifting for the entire 30 minute duration?

    Thanks for your response.

    No, we were lifting continuously with the only break being the time it took to get to the next machine. Every single day we've been going to failure on almost every set, and the weight is way more than I can do on my own (after the first few reps he has to guide the weight) which is extremely taxing, yesterday I think my body was so desperate for recovery I fell asleep on the couch at 5 and every time I woke up I couldn't stay awake so I ended up going to bed and sleeping until 6am... I am still very new and learning a lot about things. I've lost a lot of trust in my trainer now though, which has taken a massive hit on my confidence and motivation in what I'm doing.

    Now, don't let that happen! It was just one question. Granted, the trainer should know better, but it doesn't mean you should dismiss them altogether. If you enjoy working with them, then state that you'd like to readjust your training a bit: lighter weights so that you can do more of the reps yourself. If they are willing to work with you then stick with it and keep adjusting as your progress. If they don't consider your opinion only then would I look into another trainer. Either way do not let it affect your mindset!
  • Diana_GettingFit
    Diana_GettingFit Posts: 458 Member
    If he's helping you with the weights and showing you the correct form and you're happy with him for that then stick with him. He's there to help you with your workout. The fact he doesn't know the nutrition side so well doesn't mean he doesn't know what he's doing in the gym.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    No, we were lifting continuously with the only break being the time it took to get to the next machine. Every single day we've been going to failure on almost every set, and the weight is way more than I can do on my own (after the first few reps he has to guide the weight) which is extremely taxing, yesterday I think my body was so desperate for recovery I fell asleep on the couch at 5 and every time I woke up I couldn't stay awake so I ended up going to bed and sleeping until 6am... I am still very new and learning a lot about things. I've lost a lot of trust in my trainer now though, which has taken a massive hit on my confidence and motivation in what I'm doing.

    Here's a question I haven't seen asked yet - how many days a week are you doing this?

    In addition to the muscle fatigue, strength training also fatigues the CNS (central nervous system). If you're not allowing for adequate recovery, progress/gains are going to be very difficult to achieve. A good training program certainly has to include progression, which means you're going to push beyond your comfort zone - but it should also include periodization and adequate recovery.
  • ryry_
    ryry_ Posts: 4,966 Member
    ryry62685 wrote: »
    If you doing continuous weightlifting with little no rest between and working more towards your maximum heartrate I could see something in the 300-400 range maybe but 1000 seems rather excessive.

    All this uncertainty in calorie counts always makes me appreciate the simplicity of just using a TDEE and adjusting from there.

    Forgive my noobishness, what's a TDEE?

    Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Instead of having a base calorie goal and eating back our excericse calories, you would calculate your total daily calories with excercise included, and base your calorie goal off of that number and adjust up or down based on real world results. A guy put much more thought and detail into it than I can in this post.

    http://www.acaloriecounter.com/diet/calorie-maintenance-calculator-daily-calorie-requirements/
  • DizzyMissIzzy
    DizzyMissIzzy Posts: 168 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »

    Here's a question I haven't seen asked yet - how many days a week are you doing this?

    In addition to the muscle fatigue, strength training also fatigues the CNS (central nervous system). If you're not allowing for adequate recovery, progress/gains are going to be very difficult to achieve. A good training program certainly has to include progression, which means you're going to push beyond your comfort zone - but it should also include periodization and adequate recovery.

    Lifting 4x a week and Cardio 3x a week. This week I've been lifting Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and will again today. Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday are my cardio/rest days. Tuesday was my cardio day because I'm in the military and run a cardio based PT session on that day.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    If he's helping you with the weights and showing you the correct form and you're happy with him for that then stick with him. He's there to help you with your workout. The fact he doesn't know the nutrition side so well doesn't mean he doesn't know what he's doing in the gym.

    I would say the same if he had said he didn't know and would get back to her, it is the way he blagged it that would make me fire him on the spot!
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    There is a good article on what's called EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption). That's where the body has to expend more energy than normal to repair damage done during intense workout to get back to a complete resting state.

    You're still only talking about single figure percentage of net though.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    There is a good article on what's called EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption). That's where the body has to expend more energy than normal to repair damage done during intense workout to get back to a complete resting state.

    You're still only talking about single figure percentage of net though.

    Not really, there is the exercise phase of EPOC and the extended post exercise phase that is more likely to be created by HIIT.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    There is a good article on what's called EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption). That's where the body has to expend more energy than normal to repair damage done during intense workout to get back to a complete resting state.

    You're still only talking about single figure percentage of net though.

    Not really, there is the exercise phase of EPOC and the extended post exercise phase that is more likely to be created by HIIT.

    Do you have any evidence? Every study I've ever read shows that EPOC is generally grossly overestimated and usually only equates to about an extra 6-10 calories per hour, even in post exercise recovery phase. I'd be interested to see some documentation as I often end up in EPOC related conversations with other trainers I know.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    There is a good article on what's called EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption). That's where the body has to expend more energy than normal to repair damage done during intense workout to get back to a complete resting state.

    You're still only talking about single figure percentage of net though.

    Not really, there is the exercise phase of EPOC and the extended post exercise phase that is more likely to be created by HIIT.

    Do you have any evidence? Every study I've ever read shows that EPOC is generally grossly overestimated and usually only equates to about an extra 6-10 calories per hour, even in post exercise recovery phase. I'd be interested to see some documentation as I often end up in EPOC related conversations with other trainers I know.

    I agree, most studies that I have read does state that the EPOC may only extend to an additional 6-15% of the net cost of the exercise performed (one hour = 100 calories = 6/10 calories EPOC) but that figure may need to be adjusted as many of the studies did not take rest EPOC into consideration but, either way, the extra caloric burn is negligible for any one bout and the intensity required to get to an extended EPOC state is generally not tolerable for non-athletes.

    This study: J Sports Sci. 2006 Dec;24(12):1247-64. talks about it.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    There is a good article on what's called EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption). That's where the body has to expend more energy than normal to repair damage done during intense workout to get back to a complete resting state.

    You're still only talking about single figure percentage of net though.

    Not really, there is the exercise phase of EPOC and the extended post exercise phase that is more likely to be created by HIIT.

    Do you have any evidence? Every study I've ever read shows that EPOC is generally grossly overestimated and usually only equates to about an extra 6-10 calories per hour, even in post exercise recovery phase. I'd be interested to see some documentation as I often end up in EPOC related conversations with other trainers I know.

    I agree, most studies that I have read does state that the EPOC may only extend to an additional 6-15% of the net cost of the exercise performed (one hour = 100 calories = 6/10 calories EPOC) but that figure may need to be adjusted as many of the studies did not take rest EPOC into consideration but, either way, the extra caloric burn is negligible for any one bout and the intensity required to get to an extended EPOC state is generally not tolerable for non-athletes.

    This study: J Sports Sci. 2006 Dec;24(12):1247-64. talks about it.

    Cool... Thanks for that. I'll take a look when I'm not at work and can get away with reading for a while.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    ...the extended post exercise phase that is more likely to be created by HIIT.

    Still negligible, the most I've seen reliably are claimed to be between 6-10% of net.

    So when a HIIT session is only in the realms of 100-200 cals you're still talking negligible calorie benefit. But that's not really the point of HIIT, is it...
  • dakotababy
    dakotababy Posts: 2,406 Member
    The only time I have EVER burnt 1000 calories was when I was obese and first started working out. I think I was like 230lbs (5'7) and incredibly out of shape. I think I was doing Turbo Jam for a little over an hour...

    I have never been able to accomplish a 1000 calorie burn since.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    ...the extended post exercise phase that is more likely to be created by HIIT.

    Still negligible, the most I've seen reliably are claimed to be between 6-10% of net.

    So when a HIIT session is only in the realms of 100-200 cals you're still talking negligible calorie benefit. But that's not really the point of HIIT, is it...

    No, it's not. It's to get the highest caloric burn in the shortest amount of available time and to stimulate hypertrophy. However, I'm not completely sold on HIIT as most people can't sustain the intensity required to maximize the effects. This would probably work better for elite athletes more than your standard gym goer. To get the right HIIT effect, you'd have to exercise to the point of puking your guts out if you're doing it right.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    dakotababy wrote: »
    The only time I have EVER burnt 1000 calories was when I was obese and first started working out. I think I was like 230lbs (5'7) and incredibly out of shape. I think I was doing Turbo Jam for a little over an hour...

    I have never been able to accomplish a 1000 calorie burn since.

    1000 calories in an hour is doable under certain circumstances but you're not going to achieve it just by lifting weights. Not going to happen. I did over 1000 calories in an hour a few times when I was trying to increase my time for a half marathon I was prepping for. I was doing a 7 minute mile pace and was puking my guts out afterwards until I learned not to eat anything at least 8 hours beforehand.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    No, it's not. It's to get the highest caloric burn in the shortest amount of available time and to stimulate hypertrophy.

    Given that the warm up and cool down are likely to burn more net than the high intensity effort I'd question the value of doing it to burn calories, particularly given the recovery requirement.

    Personally I'm more interested in the VO2Max improvements that I'd get from it, but really wouldn't be trying to sell it from the calorie benefit perspective at all.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    dakotababy wrote: »
    The only time I have EVER burnt 1000 calories was when I was obese and first started working out. I think I was like 230lbs (5'7) and incredibly out of shape. I think I was doing Turbo Jam for a little over an hour...

    I have never been able to accomplish a 1000 calorie burn since.

    fwiw it's about a 10 mi,le run for me or as upthread about a 25-30 mile cycle. So in both cases about 90-110 minutes for me.
  • wilsoncl6
    wilsoncl6 Posts: 1,280 Member
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    No, it's not. It's to get the highest caloric burn in the shortest amount of available time and to stimulate hypertrophy.

    Given that the warm up and cool down are likely to burn more net than the high intensity effort I'd question the value of doing it to burn calories, particularly given the recovery requirement.

    Personally I'm more interested in the VO2Max improvements that I'd get from it, but really wouldn't be trying to sell it from the calorie benefit perspective at all.

    True, the recovery requirement negates the effectiveness but people gravitate to it that have limited time for cardio routines, are bored by steady state cardio or just want to do something different than running, riding a bike or using a cardio machine for extended periods of time. For me, I add two HIIT sessions during the week and 3 days of steady state just to break up the monotony. I'm sure my HIIT sessions aren't truly that since I'm sure I don't put forth 100% effort the entire time. Goes back to my point that most gym goers don't do the kind of intensity required to make a HIIT routine effect and I might argue that steady state provides a better calorie burn overall so caloric burn wouldn't be a good argument to make to do HIIT.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member

    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    wilsoncl6 wrote: »
    There is a good article on what's called EPOC (Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption). That's where the body has to expend more energy than normal to repair damage done during intense workout to get back to a complete resting state.

    You're still only talking about single figure percentage of net though.

    Not really, there is the exercise phase of EPOC and the extended post exercise phase that is more likely to be created by HIIT.

    Given that the name EPOC specifically refers to "post exercise", curious about what are calling the "exercise phase of EPOC".
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,398 Member
    I think that even assuming the highest possible rates of EPOC, and a brutal HIIT routine, most people would still far significantly short of 2000 calories per hour, or 1000 for the half hour. Some below professional types might burn calories at that rate for a 1/2 hour doing certain cardio, but probably not as many doing it lifting. And even that would be a stretch.. probably a big stretch. We're talking 33+ calories per minute there. That's more along the line of HIIT level intensity for an extended period!


    If I could burn at those calorie rates on the bike I wouldn't need a car. And I'd never need help moving anything if I could do it lifting. And a big triathlon might just be part of a training day.
  • SomeNights246
    SomeNights246 Posts: 807 Member
    Whoa. It takes me like 4 hours to burn 800 calories walking (I know because I had to once, and even then the guess is probably off given MFP's calculator is sometimes), so I somehow doubt it. Maybe he was trying to motivate you? But whatever the case, he gave a bad answer.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,942 Member
    edited December 2015
    Hey guys,

    So I've been lifting heavy with a trainer for the past week (I've been lifting for longer but I wanted to buckle down and really get some direction) and we've been doing some pretty intense workouts.

    I asked today how many calories he thinks we burn in one 30 minute session and his answer seriously floored me. He told me we burned about 1,000 calories a workout. I had been expecting something like 400-500.

    We do weights that are incredibly high for me, as in, my muscles usually end up failing before the end of at least the second set but for sure by the third, and we take little to no break in between the exercises. The exercises are all superset with others or dropsets. I'm dripping with sweat and sore for days. But 1,000 calories, is this possible? If so.... I need to eat more.

    Please let me know!
    Your trainer is obviously unknowledgeable on calorie expenditure during anaerobic exercise.

    In a 30 minute session, even if it's intense from start to finish..............maybe 250 at most unless you're really heavy in weight.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    9285851.png

  • Drewdizm
    Drewdizm Posts: 3 Member
    Hey guys,

    So I've been lifting heavy with a trainer for the past week (I've been lifting for longer but I wanted to buckle down and really get some direction) and we've been doing some pretty intense workouts.

    I asked today how many calories he thinks we burn in one 30 minute session and his answer seriously floored me. He told me we burned about 1,000 calories a workout. I had been expecting something like 400-500.

    We do weights that are incredibly high for me, as in, my muscles usually end up failing before the end of at least the second set but for sure by the third, and we take little to no break in between the exercises. The exercises are all superset with others or dropsets. I'm dripping with sweat and sore for days. But 1,000 calories, is this possible? If so.... I need to eat more.

    Please let me know!
    Hey guys,

    So I've been lifting heavy with a trainer for the past week (I've been lifting for longer but I wanted to buckle down and really get some direction) and we've been doing some pretty intense workouts.

    I asked today how many calories he thinks we burn in one 30 minute session and his answer seriously floored me. He told me we burned about 1,000 calories a workout. I had been expecting something like 400-500.

    We do weights that are incredibly high for me, as in, my muscles usually end up failing before the end of at least the second set but for sure by the third, and we take little to no break in between the exercises. The exercises are all superset with others or dropsets. I'm dripping with sweat and sore for days. But 1,000 calories, is this possible? If so.... I need to eat more.

    Please let me know!