Calories Burned from Weight Training

countrygirl7mels

I always log my cardio because MFP tells me how many calories I burn doing it. I am wondering if there is any way to determine an estimate of how many calories I burn lifting weights? I usually lift for about 30 minutes at a time, and I don't take very long rest periods between sets. I do try to push myself, so I am not lifting really slow (I would say I am at a moderate pace). I know that weight lifting does not burn as many calories as aerobic exercise, but I am sure it burns some!

yogagirl100

I don't know how to log it, I guess it would just be the same way as you would log cardio? I've read that weight training does burn calories, and keeps burning them after you finish your workout for a while... can't remember why though

countrygirl7mels

http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/weight_lifting

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

I found these websites today that have calculators. They gave me about the same reslut. For 30 minutes of general lifting (not vigerous) I burn about 100 calories.

FrnkLft

MFP has a calculator under "Cardiovasular" when you choose exercise for your diary. I'd say it's pretty accurate if you're lifting steadily for 30 min.

SaintGiff

I log mine under Cardiovascular. If you put in Strength Training it comes up, and then you put in the amount of time. I'm not sure on the calorie burn, though. It would seem very different for each person and each type of training. Weight training is all about intensity, so you can do the same workout on three different days and burn three very different amounts of calories each time. If you're looking for specifics you need a HRM. Otherwise, just go with the estimate from MFP and figure it balances out over time.

FrnkLft

I log mine under Cardiovascular. If you put in Strength Training it comes up, and then you put in the amount of time. I'm not sure on the calorie burn, though. It would seem very different for each person and each type of training. Weight training is all about intensity, so you can do the same workout on three different days and burn three very different amounts of calories each time. If you're looking for specifics you need a HRM. Otherwise, just go with the estimate from MFP and figure it balances out over time.

Hey Saint you've got the right idea man. But just need to interject here, HRM are not designed for calorie burn durring any other activity except for walking/jogging/running. It won't give you a very helpful number if you use it for weight lifting.

If it comes up accurately, it'd be more lucky than anything else.

SaintGiff

Very true. Plus, none of these calorie estimates factor in after burn. It's all guess work, but if you're an obsessive logger then you have to sort of hold your nose and go with what's available.

countrygirl7mels

I tried using the strength training in the cardio log on MFP (I didn't even think to try to do that because cardio and strength training are listed separate on the log). It says I burn 97 calories for 30 minutes of strength training. That is pretty close to the other calculators I found on the internet. I just wanted a estimate and I think that works good enough for me! Thanks!

FromHereOnOut

I've been wondering the same thing, because I'm all about eating back those exercise calories. I usually log it as strength training but only put the number of minutes I was lifting (not including rests). It's a rough estimate based on averages, but for example today I was working at the gym for an hour, but I logged 33minutes, to estimate the amount of time I was actually lifting (I counted the sets and applied time to each).

What does everyone else do? Log the whole time of the workout incl rests, or subtract out the rest periods?

SaintGiff

I've been wondering the same thing, because I'm all about eating back those exercise calories. I usually log it as strength training but only put the number of minutes I was lifting (not including rests). It's a rough estimate based on averages, but for example today I was working at the gym for an hour, but I logged 33minutes, to estimate the amount of time I was actually lifting (I counted the sets and applied time to each).

What does everyone else do? Log the whole time of the workout incl rests, or subtract out the rest periods?

That's actually a great question. As punishment for asking such a great question you will have to read an answer that is way longer than you had hoped.

It really depends on how you work out. If, for instance, you are one of those people who takes a 3 to 5 minute break ( Man, I hate those people ) between each set, then you should probably only log about half of the time.

If you are a "3 sets of 10" person, meaning that you're not taking every, or nearly every set to failure, then definitely don't log your full time.

If, however, you're taking most of your sets to failure and giving yourself a reasonable amount of recovery time then you should log the whole time. When you go to failure your body is still in overload when you put down the weights. Your body literally just failed. Even if you're not sucking wind your heart rate is still elevated and your internal systems are still in "Oh ****" mode. So long as you start your next set with maybe 60 to 90 seconds it's the equivalent of doing intervals. You're maxing out, failing, recovering, and then maxing out again.

That's my take anyway.

FromHereOnOut

I've been wondering the same thing, because I'm all about eating back those exercise calories. I usually log it as strength training but only put the number of minutes I was lifting (not including rests). It's a rough estimate based on averages, but for example today I was working at the gym for an hour, but I logged 33minutes, to estimate the amount of time I was actually lifting (I counted the sets and applied time to each).

What does everyone else do? Log the whole time of the workout incl rests, or subtract out the rest periods?

That's actually a great question. As punishment for asking such a great question you will have to read an answer that is way longer than you had hoped.

It really depends on how you work out. If, for instance, you are one of those people who takes a 3 to 5 minute break ( Man, I hate those people ) between each set, then you should probably only log about half of the time.

If you are a "3 sets of 10" person, meaning that you're not taking every, or nearly every set to failure, then definitely don't log your full time.

If, however, you're taking most of your sets to failure and giving yourself a reasonable amount of recovery time then you should log the whole time. When you go to failure your body is still in overload when you put down the weights. Your body literally just failed. Even if you're not sucking wind your heart rate is still elevated and your internal systems are still in "Oh ****" mode. So long as you start your next set with maybe 60 to 90 seconds it's the equivalent of doing intervals. You're maxing out, failing, recovering, and then maxing out again.

That's my take anyway.

Thank you for the long, dreadful answer. Just kidding. ;-) EXACTLY, what I needed to know. I time all of my rests. I do machines and start with warm-up set, to get the movement going & check the settings, then do 3 sets of 12, 8, 6, but I always go to failure or leave no more than 1 rep in the tank. If I feel like I chose my weight wrong or once I get going on the last set, I feel like I can go longer (like for some reason being able to crank out 8-10 on my last rep which shoulda been 6), I add a 4th set and try for 4. No real rest after warm-up, no more than a minute after set 1, and anywhere from 1min to 1 1/2, sometimes 2min for the later sets. If anything, sometimes my rests are shorter (not longer), because I'm on a very tight schedule to go pick-up my kid afterwards.

That'd mean I could log an hour instead of half. I'm reluctant, mainly because I already let myself go over my calories and I don't need any more wiggle room. But it's nice to know that at least some (or maybe even all) of my daily "oopsies" calories are wiped out by the other half of my workout that didn't get logged.

Thanks!