Fitness Blender Strength Workouts

littlebear0121
littlebear0121 Posts: 1,073 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi-
I've recently started MFP for weight loss. I just want to confirm that I should not enter in a 30-minute Fitness Blender Strength Workout to the cardio/calories section since it is strength training. They do include a calorie burn estimate in their videos, but I am ignoring this for now.

Replies

  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    MFP is designed to allow you to eat back what you expend in exercise. Your calorie target accounts for weight loss already, so if you're not compensating for additional expenditure then you're not using the service as designed.

    To account for the calories expended, log it under cardio. I appreciate that's not strictly correct, but the MFP strength log doesn't account for calorie expenditure.

    That said, estimating calories expended in strength training is quite difficult, largely because it's not a great deal. Some would suggest only eating back half of your expenditure, to compensate for that difficulty.

    Personally, for 30 minutes of strength work, I'd assume about 200 calories expended, so it's worth accounting for.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    littlebear0121 wrote: »
    Hi-
    I've recently started MFP for weight loss. I just want to confirm that I should not enter in a 30-minute Fitness Blender Strength Workout to the cardio/calories section since it is strength training. They do include a calorie burn estimate in their videos, but I am ignoring this for now.

    Nope - you've got that wrong, as many do.
    Your calorie goal is for a non exercise day only. Strength training is exercise, just a fairly low calorie burn.

    If it's a fast paced routine with short or no rests between sets then "circuit training" might be a better choice as a category.
    If it has the more typical 2 to 4 minutes rest/recovery between sets (traditional strength training you could maybe call it) the picking "strength training" under the CV diary is fine.
  • littlebear0121
    littlebear0121 Posts: 1,073 Member
    Thank you both. Is there anywhere that I can find a decent energy expenditure for 30 minutes of circuit training (little rest between sets) for my weight? FB has calorie expenditure estimates, but I am guessing they're too high.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    littlebear0121 wrote: »
    Thank you both. Is there anywhere that I can find a decent energy expenditure for 30 minutes of circuit training (little rest between sets) for my weight? FB has calorie expenditure estimates, but I am guessing they're too high.

    Just search for circuit training in the CV part of your exercise diary and you will find "circuit training, general" listed as an option.
    It's based on METS and your body weight but (IMHO) seems rather generous unless you are working really intensely and shifting a lot of weights.

    You might find a lot of estimates found on various web sites source their estimates from The Compendium of Physical Activities.
    Some on the other hand probably just use estimates from their "Dept of Marketing and Outrageous Exaggeration" though! ;)
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    I use the UA Record app (it syncs with MFP) and enter my exercise in there. It has a section for Class - Exercise Videos, and uses my height and weight to estimate my calories burned. Works great for other things like walks, runs, yoga, sports, etc.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    I’ve been using FB’s bodyweight workouts all winter and find that the low end of their estimates usually matches up to what my Apple Watch gives me, and I’ve been losing as expected since October using the watch. If you want to be conservative, you could try eating back 75% of their low end estimate for a few weeks and see how that does you.
  • littlebear0121
    littlebear0121 Posts: 1,073 Member
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    I’ve been using FB’s bodyweight workouts all winter and find that the low end of their estimates usually matches up to what my Apple Watch gives me, and I’ve been losing as expected since October using the watch. If you want to be conservative, you could try eating back 75% of their low end estimate for a few weeks and see how that does you.

    MegaMooseE... I'm going to try this. I've been entering in the low end of their estimates. I think I'm eating too few calories, so I'll see how my weight loss is this week and maybe adjust.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
    littlebear0121 wrote: »
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    I’ve been using FB’s bodyweight workouts all winter and find that the low end of their estimates usually matches up to what my Apple Watch gives me, and I’ve been losing as expected since October using the watch. If you want to be conservative, you could try eating back 75% of their low end estimate for a few weeks and see how that does you.

    MegaMooseE... I'm going to try this. I've been entering in the low end of their estimates. I think I'm eating too few calories, so I'll see how my weight loss is this week and maybe adjust.

    Good plan - it's always best to go from your own numbers and stay flexible. Good luck!

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