Strength Training

SLLRunner

Along with cardiovascular five days a week and walking on the weekends, I do weight training using free weights and the machines. I notice that MFP has a category to add weight lifting below cardiovascular, but this morning I noticed that strength training (weight lifting, weight training) is included under cardiovascular. I entered that I did 30 minutes of strength training and it said I burned 110 calories.

Common sense tells me that 110 calories for strength training might be a tad high because MFP's exercise estimations are a bit high anyway. Of course, I don't know so I'm coming to those MFP experts who have been around awhile and asking, "Should strength training be under cardiovascular and is 110 calories even close to accurate for 30 minutes?"

ChrisLindsay9

Common sense tells me that 110 calories for strength training might be a tad high because MFP's exercise estimations are a bit high anyway. Of course, I don't know so I'm coming to those MFP experts who have been around awhile and asking, "Should strength training be under cardiovascular and is 110 calories even close to accurate for 30 minutes?"

It might be a tad high. My understanding is that MFP bases the calculation off the age and weight you list in your profile (and if you're updating your weight regularly), and use a variety of formulas that you can find online and in other books. Because there are so many variables about the workout that MFP can't really know, it's essentially an estimate ... and it's built for adjusting as one sees fit based on the results over time.

For example, I typically will record that I worked out for 60-70 minutes but will overwrite the calories burned MFP calculates, and instead, enter about 3/4 or 1/2 (depending on the intensity of the workout) of the amount. I had to play around with this for a bit, but it seems to be relatively accurate for me, because my bodyweight has essentially remained the same.

Cre8veLifeR

((from an article on Livestrong)

According to information posted at health resource website Nutristrategy.com, a moderate weight lifting workout will burn about 177 calories per hour for a 130 pound person and 259 calories for a 190 pound person doing the same workout.

Also, According to Harvard-based nutrition and health writer Walter Willett, a the more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns. Muscle requires more energy when at rest than fat does, meaning that as your weight lifting routine packs muscle onto your body, your metabolism will burn hotter even while sleeping or watching television. This can build a positive spiral, where you burn more calories with each visit to the gym as your increased muscle mass demands more calories.

Lifting weights + cardio = awesomeness!

SLLRunner

Thanks to both of you. I don't eat all my exercise use calories back due to possible estimation errors, so I don't think I would gain even if MFP is off.

cafeaulait7

It probably depends on whether you do the more circuit kind of weight lifting, too. I do mine so that I don't have actual rest periods; I switch sides to rest between sets for one side, for instance. I use the MFP burn rate for regular weight lifting for that (the one you mentioned), because the rates for circuit sounded way too high.

If I do slow weights at all, I put that under pilates or yoga. That's just how I work it out to seem more accurate

fh1951

when i started on mfp i used the database calorie burn rates for all my workouts. after a while i read some posts about heart rate monitors. finally i couldn't stand the suspense of not more accurately knowing my own calorie burns. i got my own hrm and now i'm enlightened.

SLLRunner

It probably depends on whether you do the more circuit kind of weight lifting, too. I do mine so that I don't have actual rest periods; I switch sides to rest between sets for one side, for instance. I use the MFP burn rate for regular weight lifting for that (the one you mentioned), because the rates for circuit sounded way too high.

If I do slow weights at all, I put that under pilates or yoga. That's just how I work it out to seem more accurate

I have a five second rest between reps, and I go from machine to machine quickly, and then do the reps with weights without more than a five second rest period. It takes me about 30 minutes to do upper and lower body with four sets of 12, 10, 8, 4 reps (with each rep I up the weight), and then do some sets with weights.

SLLRunner

when i started on mfp i used the database calorie burn rates for all my workouts. after a while i read some posts about heart rate monitors. finally i couldn't stand the suspense of not more accurately knowing my own calorie burns. i got my own hrm and now i'm enlightened.

I've hear such good things about the heart rate monitor and I have thought of getting one. Maybe for Christmas when I get my bonus. I would love to known with accuracy what I'm burning throughout my day instead of just guessing. I run too, and it would be interesting to have an accurate calorie count of that.

Is it every uncomfortable wearing the chest strap for the heart rate monitor?

billsica

You're not going to want to wear a HRM all day, that would just be annoying. Also the battery on mine wouldn't last that long.

HRM also would not work well at all for weight lifting. It's designed for cardio, not the stress you put on your muscles.

I have a polar Bluetooth HRM that sucks down $30 watch batteries every other week. So I don't use it anymore. Honestly I just use my smart phone with GPS and for runs it was close enough for me.

OH, and for lifting, I put 60 min beast mode with 1 to 69 calorie burned.. Or at most go over a protein shakes worth.

SLLRunner

You're not going to want to wear a HRM all day, that would just be annoying. Also the battery on mine wouldn't last that long.

HRM also would not work well at all for weight lifting. It's designed for cardio, not the stress you put on your muscles.

I have a polar Bluetooth HRM that sucks down $30 watch batteries every other week. So I don't use it anymore. Honestly I just use my smart phone with GPS and for runs it was close enough for me.

Thank you for sharing this! I've been sitting off the fence about a heart rate monitor, but I've just stepped off and decided I don't want one. I use my GPS on my Iphone and I think it's fairly accurate, accept I think it calculates calories a bit high.

OH, and for lifting, I put 60 min beast mode with 1 to 69 calorie burned.. Or at most go over a protein shakes worth.

Well, MFP had me the calorie burn at about 110 for one half hour of strength training, so I simply cut it in half.

I have been maintaining for several weeks now, which most likely means I am either underestimating calories eaten or overestimating calories burned. Well, I know for sure I have not been overestimating calories consumed because I measure and read packages, so it has to be an overestimation of calories burned. I could not eat back all my exercise calories if I tried.