Calories burned on Leg Day vs Upper Body

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Talan79
Talan79 Posts: 782 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone know any info on this? I'm assuming I'm burning more on leg day but can't really find any research on this. I also follow a few bikini competitors on IG who up their calories on leg day.

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  • Cherimoose
    Cherimoose Posts: 5,210 Member
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    It depends what you do on those days.
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
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    I would also think leg day typically uses more calories.

    Trying to figure the difference is really majoring in the minors for 99%+ of the people though
  • Talan79
    Talan79 Posts: 782 Member
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    Squats, dead lifts, step ups with weight, thrusters, walking lunge with weight, Bulgarian split squat, jump squats, hamstring curls, one leg RDL, reverse lunge, leg press, front squat, leg extension...these type of things. My sets are usually X 4. I do about 8 exercises. Super setting most. Lasting an hour.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Bigger muscles will burn more, but weight training is not really all that big on burn. Generally, if you’re fully recovering from your workouts, sleeping well, and not putting on body fat, you’re eating the right amount.

    Allan Misner
    NASM Certified Personal Trainer (Corrective Exercise Specialist, Fitness Nutrition Specialist)
    Host of the 40+ Fitness Podcast
  • redrobot5050
    redrobot5050 Posts: 43 Member
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    Yeah, it's all about volume. My leg days are pretty epic -- they are hellish, It usually takes 2-3 hours to finish (one time we were so worn out we stepped out to eat a meal, then come back and finish), but I'm also lifting pretty heavy on Chest/Back days. Basically, it's all about volume.
  • redrobot5050
    redrobot5050 Posts: 43 Member
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    But yeah, squats and what not that work your full chain, it would make sense to up your calories.
  • FabianRodriguez94
    FabianRodriguez94 Posts: 221 Member
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    Squats and Deadlifts alone make my heart race and pound harder than any other lift I do, so I would argue that perhaps my body is working much harder on leg day.
    But in the end, I do not record my exercise calories for lifting.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
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    redrobot5050 wrote: »
    Yeah, it's all about volume. My leg days are pretty epic -- they are hellish, It usually takes 2-3 hours to finish (one time we were so worn out we stepped out to eat a meal, then come back and finish), but I'm also lifting pretty heavy on Chest/Back days. Basically, it's all about volume.

    Two to three hours on leg day holy sh1t dude that is just wild!! I do legs twice a week 8 sets squats 5 sets leg press, extns 4sets , curls 4 sets, and 4 sets box steps to finish and its 75 min each workout. I guess if you double that in one day makes sense.. WOW..
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Say you burn 200 hour weight training and it happens to be:
    220 on leg day, 180 on upper body day - in other words not worth bothering about a tiny difference in what is only a rough estimate anyway. And of course it will average itself over time anyway.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
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    redrobot5050 wrote: »
    Yeah, it's all about volume. My leg days are pretty epic -- they are hellish, It usually takes 2-3 hours to finish (one time we were so worn out we stepped out to eat a meal, then come back and finish), but I'm also lifting pretty heavy on Chest/Back days. Basically, it's all about volume.

    2-3 hours? If I'm doing just legs, I'll be in and out in about 35 minutes. And struggle to walk up stairs.
  • FitGirl0123
    FitGirl0123 Posts: 1,273 Member
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    I'm prepping for a show (physique- not bikini) and I have my high carb day on leg day which is also higher calories, but it's because I want the extra energy on leg day. I actually have 3 leg days a week, but my biggest leg day is my carb refeed day. I imagine that's the same with the bikini competitors you're referring to.. .they are likely carb cycling. That doesn't necessarily mean they burn a ton more calories on leg day.
  • finneyjason218
    finneyjason218 Posts: 166 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    Say you burn 200 hour weight training and it happens to be:
    220 on leg day, 180 on upper body day - in other words not worth bothering about a tiny difference in what is only a rough estimate anyway. And of course it will average itself over time anyway.

    A closer estimate might be say you burn 50 hour weight training and it happens to be 55 on leg day, 45 on upper body day. You are very much over estimating how many calories are burned during anaerobic exercise. I don't even bother logging weight training calories because they are so low (and yes I work up quite a sweat lifting)
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Talan79 wrote: »
    Does anyone know any info on this? I'm assuming I'm burning more on leg day but can't really find any research on this. I also follow a few bikini competitors on IG who up their calories on leg day.

    I've actually been wondering this. I definitely lift heavier and go harder on leg day versus ab/arm day.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited February 2016
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    finneyjason218 wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    Say you burn 200 hour weight training and it happens to be:
    220 on leg day, 180 on upper body day - in other words not worth bothering about a tiny difference in what is only a rough estimate anyway. And of course it will average itself over time anyway.

    A closer estimate might be say you burn 50 hour weight training and it happens to be 55 on leg day, 45 on upper body day. You are very much over estimating how many calories are burned during anaerobic exercise. I don't even bother logging weight training calories because they are so low (and yes I work up quite a sweat lifting)

    @finneyjason218

    Where are you getting that very, very low number from?
    I'm going by the published METS estimates for an hour of lifting, as does this site.

    Sweating is irrelevant I hope you realise - it's mass moved over distance that determines energy expenditure.

  • Talan79
    Talan79 Posts: 782 Member
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    @sijomial I'll stay tuned for those numbers. This app gives me 120 for an hour. The UP app, more like 335. So a huge difference. I've seen a bunch of different numbers with different on line calculators. Thanks in advance.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited February 2016
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    Talan79 wrote: »
    @sijomial I'll stay tuned for those numbers. This app gives me 120 for an hour. The UP app, more like 335. So a huge difference. I've seen a bunch of different numbers with different on line calculators. Thanks in advance.

    There's quite a range:-
    https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/Activity-Categories/conditioning-exercise

    Depending on your lifting style, rest periods, weights , reps and therefore how much weight you actually move the calorie burn is going to vary but still remain relatively small. It's why worrying over tiny details like a few more on leg day than upper body day isn't really worth the effort - the numbers simply can't be validated with any accuracy.

    All you actually need is a "reasonable" estimate, consistency and then make adjustments to your calorie balance based on actual results - including gym performance.

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