Calories per work out

jmac4263

What's a good number of calories to burn per work out? How do u track calories burned? If you burn 500 or more HOW?!?

middlehaitch

I work out for the health benefits, not to burn calories for weight loss.

That being said, I have always eaten back my exercise calories. I need the fuel so I can perform well doing my everyday activities as well as in the gym. I just use MFP to track my burn.

Everyone burns a different amount of calories per activity depending on their height, weight, and intensity.

A typical hour class that includes both cardio and resistance work usually burns 200 cals for me, I am short and light so my calorie burn is low, someone else could burn 300 cals doing the exact same thing.

Find something you like doing (or mix it up for variety, I do), do it for the health benefits, and eat back the calories.

You will have to monitor the calories you eat back. Maybe start with 75 or 50% and adjust up or down so you are losing at the amount you entered into MFP (with logging on point using a food scale preferably)

Cheers, h.

Ps I would have to be in the gym about 2.5-3 hr or walk well over 10 miles to burn 500 cals, that isn't going to happen

sardelsa

I don't think there is a good/best number. It will depend on your goals. My goal is to get the job done, I don't even bother with thinking about calorie burns.

jmac4263

I was just curious in general what people burn I was not eating back calories as I was wanting to lose weight. My goal this week has been to burn between. 300 and 400 in an hour session

Djproulx

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jmac4263 wrote: »

What's a good number of calories to burn per work out? How do u track calories burned? If you burn 500 or more HOW?!?

OP, I agree with the previous posts responding to your questions. People burn different amounts of calories based on a number of factors and that there isn't a specific "good" calorie burn number, so I don't get too focused on that measurement.

I"ll answer your questions using my training data to provide context. First, my workouts are almost all cardio based, given my focus on endurance sports. My daily calorie expenditures vary based on time spent, intensity and type of workout performed (e.g. 45 minutes of swimming burns less than 45 minutes of running) Secondly, in my case calorie burn information comes from my Garmin HR monitor (chest strap type). Finally, to answer your question of "HOW?" I exceed the 500 calorie mark on many of my training days since my training duration is often significant, particularly on the weekend days during the build up to a race. For example, my 8/22-8/27 calorie expenditures were 738, 990, 592, 606, 2120 and 1233. Four of these days were 2/day training sessions.

This information gets automatically uploaded to MFP from my Garmin. The calorie burn information is pretty irrelevant by itself. The only real value to me is to compare the totals to the amount of liquid fuel I am consuming during my workout to be sure I'm offsetting roughly 50% of the calories expended. I do this to maintain my ability to push hard during the workout, NOT for weight loss. (I base my regular daily calorie/macro allotment from an eating plan that was put together for me by a registered dietician.)

So, like other posters above, I consume enough food/fuel to support my activities. My weight remained largely unchanged (178-182) during racing season, since I needed to consume enough fuel to allow me to reach my desired fitness level.

TeaBea

jmac4263 wrote: »

I was just curious in general what people burn I was not eating back calories as I was wanting to lose weight. My goal this week has been to burn between. 300 and 400 in an hour session

A couple things - the way this website works is you get a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. Then when you log exercise, you earn additional calories. Most people start by eating back 50% because calorie burns can be inflated.

The reason you don't want to increase the deficit too much is larger deficits make it harder for your body to support existing lean muscle mass. If you want a lower body fat %, you keep the deficit in check.

Largest calorie burns are going to be cardio. That's great for your heart and lungs, but many people want overall fitness. Strength training is good for your bones and also helps you keep more lean muscle.....but it's not a big calorie burner.

This is why exercise for health & fitness is more important than calorie burns.

middlehaitch

Your deficit is already built into your MFP calories. It expects you to eat back your exercise calories.
You need them for fuel.

Losing too fast is not healthy.

Cheers, h.

Oops, caught in much better cross posts.

Cbean08

If my goal is to burn calories, then I do cardio. And when I get tired of doing that, I find a way to do more cardio. Sometimes I'll run 4 miles outside, then get on an elliptical for 30 minutes and then finish off with a rowing machine.

Or, take a spin class and then do another cool down on the treadmill, walking quickly at an incline.

NorthCascades

jmac4263 wrote: »

What's a good number of calories to burn per work out? How do u track calories burned? If you burn 500 or more HOW?!?

By being 240 pounds. I don't know what you weigh but maybe if you eat a pint of iced cream after every meal for a year, it'll increase your calorie burns.

The other answer is time. Go for a day hike, watch the calories add up as the hours march by. I love riding a bike (outdoors in the good scenery) and will go for a few hours at a time. Again it adds up. Doing something for a long time can get you big calorie burns, but it only works in the long term if you find something you enjoy.

There's nothing wrong with exercising for calories. If you go hiking with the goal of eating an entire pizza when you're done, you get pretty pictures and maybe improved fitness as side effects.

TavistockToad

jmac4263 wrote: »

If you burn 500 or more HOW?!?

i would have to run 5 miles plus to burn 500 cals....

steveko89

I average 600 calories/~1 hour of weightlifting or roughly 450 cal/5k running per my Polar H7 HR monitor.

However, I am not a proponent of exercising with the sole intent to create a deficit; exercise for fitness/enjoyment, optimize nutrition to manipulate your weight. Does that mean you need to eat sufficient calories to support whatever active pursuits you're making? absolutely. Though, I don't like eating back all your "earned" exercise calories. 1) measuring/tracking calorie burns are an inexact science 2) I've tried eating back all my exercise calories and saw very little change on the scale, this led me to look into tracking my actual TDEE with daily weight and calorie logging and determined exercise had less of an impact on TDEE than MFP would suggest 3) I think it creates a negative psychology and associated with food for many with the "well I worked out so I deserve a treat/more calories" mindset. Be an adult, exercise because it's good for you and/or should be something you enjoy.

Duck_Puddle

I don’t think there’s a good number. I workout to be healthy, faster, stronger, have more flexibility and endurance, etc. My calorie burns are whatever they are and range from 120 (for some weightlifting or light yoga) up to over 2000 (for a 4+ hour run).

Weight loss is a matter of calorie balance. You don’t need to burn a ton of calories in a workout to lose weight. But you need to make sure you earn fewer calories than you burn overall. Working out can help maintain a calorie deficit by giving you a bit more leeway (this seems to be more important if you’re a shorter, older, less active woman who has a relatively low TDEE to begin with) but it doesn’t have to be a lot and working out purely to burn calories isn’t the most enjoyable thing in the world.

Whatever workout is good is the one you enjoy and will continue to do and that helps you achieve whatever your health and fitness goals may be. So whatever calories are good are the ones that go with the “good” (for you) workout.

cwolfman13

I don't worry about arbitrary calories burned per workout...I follow a varied cycling training program designed to increase my fitness capacity in various aspects of cycling. I have shorter rides that burn less calories...long rides that burn more calories...hill repeats and such...it's a nice bonus, but that's not why I ride. Depending on the ride I can burn anywhere between 250 - 1,000+ calories...

sijomial

jmac4263 wrote: »

I was just curious in general what people burn I was not eating back calories as I was wanting to lose weight. My goal this week has been to burn between. 300 and 400 in an hour session

You aren't understanding how this app works if you think you have to avoid eating back exercise calories to lose weight.

500 cals/hour is my long distance, multi hour, cycling rate.

apullum

Eat your exercise calories.

A 500 calorie burn would be pretty reasonable for many people if they did an hour or so of moderate to strenuous exercise, but it depends on a lot of things--weight, activity, etc. An hour of running burns 400 calories for me, and that's much lower than many people would burn. I'm in maintenance and I'm very short, so my maintenance weight is lower than a taller person's might be, and I don't burn as many calories doing the same activity. When I weighed more, I would easily burn 500 or more calories on the same run.

busyPK

For ME I burn 400-500 calories regularly with an intense 1 hour spin class or jogging for 5-6 miles. Again, this is specific to me and if you are lighter/smaller you'll tend to burn less calories or if you do less intense exercise for shorter time you'll burn less. As most everyone has said, eat those exercise calories back. Your MFP goal already has your deficit calculated so if you exercise you get to eat those back and still be at a deficit.

GrumpyHeadmistress

I get about 520-540 calories from 70-75 mins of hard core swimming.

ritzvin

jmac4263 wrote: »

What's a good number of calories to burn per work out?

Whatever the calorie burn for whatever you are enjoying/training at is. If training for a race, there will be long run days, shorter run days, etc. If cycling with a group, it will be whatever the course is. etc. Pick something you enjoy (if you do something solely for the calorie burn and watch for a countdown for a set number of calories, you'll likely not enjoy it).

jmac4263 wrote: »

How do u track calories burned?

Garmin, Strava give an estimate on runs.

jmac4263 wrote: »

If you burn 500 or more HOW?!?

~500 calories at my weight:
7 mile run.
or a shorter trail run/orienteering meet.
or hours of hiking.
or ~1.5 hrs-ish (I think-didn't check) of cycling
or a 5 mile run + a few hours of dancing.

Calorie burns will be greater for the same activity if a person is heavier.

AnnPT77

When I weighed 180-some pounds, I got about 350-425 calories from my spin class. (I've been very active for a long time, including roughly a decade while still obese.)

Now that I weigh 120-something, I get maybe 250-325 calories from the same spin class, at roughly the same intensity.

Rowing (on-water or machine) has changed proportionately in about the same way. Today's row was worth around 280 calories for a row that (per a GPS) involved about 48 minutes of boat movement, and 7.41km distance, approximately evenly split distance-wise between steady-state and steady-state/high-aerobic intervals (10 strokes hard, 10 strokes SS, 20 strokes hard, 10 strokes SS - repeat for around 3500 meters).

For thin me, 500 calorie workouts are about duration, because - despite being pretty fit for a li'l ol' lady - I can't maintain a constant post-aerobic intensity for long enough to get to 500 calories. 20 mile bike ride, more or less, would probably do it, or a couple hours SS on-water row.

Calorie estimates above are all based on a heart rate monitor (HRM) that knows my actual max and resting heart rate (not age estimated heart rates). I use the HRM for steady-state and all-aerobic interval work, figuring that's close to what it's good for. HRM and rowing machine (after body weight adjustment) calorie estimates tend to be within spitting distance of each other.

HRM estimates for weight training will be seriously over-estimated, because the HR increase is more about strain than calorie-burning work, so I don't have much confidence in how I quantify those, but I'd guess maybe a couple of calories per minute, at my size.

The best workout for weight loss is always the one you enjoy most, because you'll actually do that workout. A theoretically great workout you won't do is completely unproductive.

If your workout objectives are about fitness or athletic goals instead, then a well-designed structured program targeted at those goals is a good thing . . . but again, only if you enjoy it (or its results) enough that you'll actually do the workouts.

pomegranatecloud

Focus on finding something that you like and will want to do regularly rather than something that burns a certain amount of calories. That said I easily burn 500+ calories when running over an hour or swimming.

TimothyFish

Typically, I burn 1000+. Yesterday, I burned over 3,300 while out on a bicycle ride.