How many calories does weightlifting burn?

kdiamond

There's really no good way to measure that outside of a laboratory, and even in a properly equipped lab it's not an easy thing to do. Part of the problem with lifting is that you'll continue to burn calories even after you are done, mostly by the body repairing the muscle fibers and recovering from the workout itself. A HRM won't capture that burn, since those are focused on cardio and are based mainly on your heart rate, which will be at normal levels even though you are burning more calories recovering from lifting.

Personally, I switched to the TDEE - % method when I switched to weight training. Don't have to "eat back" the exercise calories with that method.

^^^^ This exactly!

SlinkyAndHerAmazingBunsOfSteel

Bump for later

timbrom

There's really no good way to measure that outside of a laboratory, and even in a properly equipped lab it's not an easy thing to do. Part of the problem with lifting is that you'll continue to burn calories even after you are done, mostly by the body repairing the muscle fibers and recovering from the workout itself. A HRM won't capture that burn, since those are focused on cardio and are based mainly on your heart rate, which will be at normal levels even though you are burning more calories recovering from lifting.

Personally, I switched to the TDEE - % method when I switched to weight training. Don't have to "eat back" the exercise calories with that method.

EPOC doesn't really consume a lot of calories. Also EPOC exists for aerobic exercise as well. It's not exclusive to anaerobic exercise.

It can hit a few hundred calories after a heavy lifting session. I'd define that as a lot of calories. It does exist for aerobic exercise as well, but to much less extent.

tsimblist

Here is a calculator that I dug up. Gives some approximates for weightlifting.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/calories.htm

I am contemplating using the weight lifting options which give a higher burn than the MFP cardio strength training option.

DMoone78

I tend to use this. http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/weight-loss/caloric-needs-calculator/. Of course it's not 100% accurate as it doesn't calculate repetitions and intensity. But it at least gives a baseline and that's all I need.

erickirb

It is listed under "cardio", in your exercise journal.

It is, but doesn't tell you how many calories are burned.

How do I convert data from my HRM to calories burned?

Your HRM doesn't give you cals burned? What brand and model is it?

That said HRM's will be wildly inaccurate for cals burned from strength training as your HR is elevated for a different reason than the calculation in the HRM assumes it is. In other words, don't use cals burned from a HRM during strength training.

That blog post that gets quoted over and over here is a prime example of useless bro-science and is mostly a steaming pile of conjecture and speculative drivel.

Just out of curiosity, why does your HR go up then when lifting weights?

Actually it is true. HRM's assume a certain oxygen uptake and it uses % of max HR as an estimate. But in reality it has very little to do with effort and oxygen uptake. Even if it were accurate the oxygen uptake only occurs in a correlated manner to % of max HR during steady state cardio, so HRM's will be way off for anything other than steady state cardio. If the HRM does not allow you to manually change V02Max and Max HR then it will be even more inaccurate, even during steady state cardio.

erickirb

You shouldnt use a HRM for lifting.

And why is that?

See my early and later post. It has to do with why HR is elevated and oxygen uptake that doesn't occur during lifting, but is built into the HRM's calculation.

bcattoes

The only way to know is to get a HRM.

I suspect the calories burned as MFP shoes for weight lifting are a little low

The calories MFP gives for weight lifting seem very low to me. But I'm not sure a HRM is going to be any more accurate. HRM are meant to measure calories burned during aerobic activity.

morielia

WeightTraining.com's PRO membership will give you estimated calories burnt based on your sets/reps/weight, etc. But, as people have said, you have to take it with a grain of salt. There's a billion factors involved.

erickirb

Just out of curiosity, why does your HR go up then when lifting weights?

Azdak sums it up better than I could:

"There is a mistaken belief among many people--repeated even by many "experts" on bodybuilding websites--that ANY increase in heart rate reflects aerobic conditioning and an increase in caloric expenditure. This is not true. The primary reason is that the increase in heart rate that occurs with strength training results from a different physiologic mechanism than it does during aerobic exercise.

The increased heart rate that occurs with aerobic exercise is the result of the need for increased cardiac output--the heart must pump more blood to meet the energy demand of the activity. Heart rate increases because of a VOLUME load.

The increased heart rate that occurs with strength training is the result of changes in intrathoracic pressure and an increase in afterload stress. There is no corresponding increase in cardiac output, and thus only a modest increase in oxygen uptake. Heart rate increases because of a PRESSURE load.

So, unlike aerobic exercise, the increased heart rate during strength training DOES NOT reflect either an increase in oxygen uptake or a significant increase in caloric expenditure. Moving quickly from machine to machine to keep the heart rate elevated does not change this fact. It is still a pressure load, not a volume load."

phjorg1

There is zero way to calculate calories burned while strength training directly. Only indirectly through consistent meal tracking and consistent exercise sced and measuring weight gain.loss over time. The only real rule is the more volume and intensity, the more you burn, even with equal time. Someone who is untrained lifting their 5 rep max will burn a pale shadow compared to someone who is advanced strength level lifting their 5 rep max. this is somewhat correlated by anyone who is strong and actively trying to gain weight even with no other activity. It's a monster pain in the *kitten* trying to eat enough food.

tkbuc

I guess then I'll track only the 30min cardio I do (~400cal) and not be concerned with tracking the 30min of weights that I am doing.

socioseguro

The only way to know is to get a HRM.

I suspect the calories burned as MFP shoes for weight lifting are a little low

I concur with this answer.

calories burned while weighlifting has too many variables. If you use an HRM you will have a more accurate reading.
I use Polar FT60

Good luck in your journey

Escape_Artist

See my early and later post. It has to do with why HR is elevated and oxygen uptake that doesn't occur during lifting, but is built into the HRM's calculation.

Makes perfect sense, I was wondering because someone at work mentionned today that it is actually dangerous to wear a HRM because they could get a shock from the battery. :laugh:

I was just really hoping that wasn't the reason that was said here rofl

DopeItUp

The only way to know is to get a HRM.

I suspect the calories burned as MFP shoes for weight lifting are a little low

I concur with this answer.

calories burned while weighlifting has too many variables. If you use an HRM you will have a more accurate reading.
I use Polar FT60

Good luck in your journey

Wrong, I use a FT60 too and it overestimates my caloric burn during weight lifting by at least a factor of 300%. It typically shows 1200-1400 when I am really burning 400-500.

DopeItUp

When I do a segment of weight lifting I noticed you can log what you did (ie barbell lifts/# of reps, etc) but it doesn't tell you cals burned (this is in the strength section of your diary)... so I time my whole entire workout and put it under circuit training (in the cardio section) to 'somewhat' measure my cals burned...
Honestly I don't know how truly accurate it is - but at least it gives me an idea...

Anyone know of a better way?

Enter in "strength training" under cardio. Circuit training is going to give you an exaggerated number unless that's actually what you're doing (continuous light weights with little/no rest).

erickirb

The only way to know is to get a HRM.

I suspect the calories burned as MFP shoes for weight lifting are a little low

I concur with this answer.

calories burned while weighlifting has too many variables. If you use an HRM you will have a more accurate reading.
I use Polar FT60

Good luck in your journey

No the Polar FT60 will not be accurate for non-steady state cardio, probably overestimate by a wide margin.

socioseguro

The only way to know is to get a HRM.

I suspect the calories burned as MFP shoes for weight lifting are a little low

I concur with this answer.

calories burned while weighlifting has too many variables. If you use an HRM you will have a more accurate reading.
I use Polar FT60

Good luck in your journey

Wrong, I use a FT60 too and it overestimates my caloric burn during weight lifting by at least a factor of 300%. It typically shows 1200-1400 when I am really burning 400-500.

I respect that your FT60 is giving you incorrect data.
I have configured mine for my "maximum heart rate" and I have chosen 3 zones for workout. I also update my body weight every month.

I usually burn 150-200 per 45 minute session. I am happy with that.

Good luck in your journey

GetSoda

A good starting point:
10 calories per minute while actually lifting at 80% of maximal.
0 while resting between sets.

Set of heavy squats for example:

Time to do 3 sets of 5: 30-45 seconds
rest time: 3 minutes x 5 = 9 minutes
total burn: 5-10 calories.

cwolfman13

It is listed under "cardio", in your exercise journal.

It is, but doesn't tell you how many calories are burned.

How do I convert data from my HRM to calories burned?

Your HRM doesn't give you cals burned? What brand and model is it?

That said HRM's will be wildly inaccurate for cals burned from strength training as your HR is elevated for a different reason than the calculation in the HRM assumes it is. In other words, don't use cals burned from a HRM during strength training.

That blog post that gets quoted over and over here is a prime example of useless bro-science and is mostly a steaming pile of conjecture and speculative drivel.

Just out of curiosity, why does your HR go up then when lifting weights?

You HR has nothing to do with how many calories you burn. Your HRM simply uses a formula that utilizes your HR as a reasonable measure of VO2 max to determine calories burned. The formula assumes an aerobic event as an aerobic event is a good measure of VO2 max...an anaerobic event like weight lifting is a really ****ty measure of VO2 max. Therefore the further away from an aerobic event you are, the less accurate a HRM is for estimating calories burned.

When I was first getting started with all of this and very ignorant, I wore my HRM all day to see how many calories I burn...I had a very high RHR at the time...around 110...my HRM told me I burned almost 6000 calories in about 8 hours which is utter and complete bull****. Moral of the story...a HRM is only RELATIVELY accurate for an aerobic event...even then, it can be off by as much as 20-30%.