Logging weight training on MFP - help!

MerinneW

I am (slowly!) psyching myself up to apporach the weights section of the gym. But I'd like to be able to log what I do on MFP, and am not sure I understand the entry system; with cardio it's so simple - tell it what you've done and how long you've done it for, and it spits out a calorie count. What is the process for logging weight training? I get that in the 'Weight per set' section I'd put the weight of the weights I was using, but what is the difference between a Repetition and a Set? And does MFP not work out the calories burnt from weight training? I wanna know how much more I get to eat if I do exercise! :P

Any and all advice greatfully recieved - I can't believe I'm being such a wuss about the whole weight training thing, I jsut find it really intimidating for some reason - like it's some sort of secret society I don't know the code words for and I'm just doomed to make an almight tit of myself... :embarassed:

ChrisLindsay9

So, the way I understand it ... you can log your strength training work in two ways: calories burned and exercises performed.

If you've updated your profile and weight information, then to get an estimate on calories burned, just use the Cardiovascular section and find "Strength Training (Weightlifting, Weight Training) from the dropdown box and just fill in the duration. The estimated calories burned will vary as your weight changes. It's a pretty decent estimate if you're doing full body strength training. But in all honesty, you could almost make up a set calorie burn and just use that (150-200 calories/hour would probably be placeholder). Weight training is not a caloric burn like cardiovascular. If you're wanting to know how much you can eat, then you'll probably want to include cardio after your weight training sessions. The good news is that muscle burns more calories than fat, so over time, the extra lean muscle you build will mean you can (and should) eat more.

If you want to log your exercises, then you pick the exercises from the database or custom make your own. For an explanation of the terms: A set is the number of repetitions (or "reps") in which you perform continuously without a break. So for example, many people usually will perform 3-4 sets of 8 to 10 reps on exercises. This means you'll perform 8-10 reps continuously, and then take a short rest of 45-60 seconds, and then perform another 8-10 reps continuously, and then after a short rest of 45-60 seconds, perform another 8-10 reps continuously. That would be three distinct sets. If you perform a fourth, you can give yourself a slightly longer break if needed. When performing reps, the number should be somewhere between 6 and 15. Any fewer, and you should decrease the weight/resistance. Any more, and you should increase the weight/resistance. The sweet spot is around 8 to 10 (and the last two reps should be noticeably more challenging to complete than the first two).

Personally, I find this second feature to be cumbersome, so I just use a notebook. That way I can keep track of the exercises, weights, sets, reps ... and bring it with me to the gym and have it be quickly accessible (rather than fiddle around with my phone to look it up, heh!)

If you need help in labeling certain exercises, when I first started, I explored bodybuilding.com/exercises and found a database of all sorts of exercises that I was doing (or could do) ... and got the names of the exercises.

I think it's awesome that you're incorporating weight training into your fitness program. I think you'll find it both fun and beneficial. Good luck!