Are the Calorie burns accurate for weight lifting?

Leanbean65

When I weight lift for 1 hr I get a calorie burn value of 180, when I walk for an hour I get 285.

I'm 5'4" and 132 lbs.

The weight lifting feels way harder than the walking, why the lower calorie burn?

pinktoesjb

MFP burns are very rough guesstimates at best, and the effort from weight lifting isn't that much while you do it, it's the after effects and repair which make the difference.

If you are doing a lot of weights and less cardio I suggest you research TDEE as a way to estimate your calorie goals. try http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Leanbean65

Thanks, that tool s very helpful!

erickirb

No not accurate, but most of lifting time is spent resting, unless you are doing circuits so enter that if you don't take breaks. That said, cals burned should not be the reason you lift! That is just a small side effect of what strength training does for you.

sbarella

I've been using MFP's estimate for a while and losing at the predicted rate. I know it's kind of a random number but it works for me somehow. Lots of people use the TDEE method and are very happy with it. Find what works for you!

5stringjeff

They are fairly accurate. I actually went and googled this, and came across a Harvard study from 2003(?) that showed the average calorie burn for weight lifting for people at various weights. When I compared those figures to what MFP gives you for weight lifting calorie burns, they were within 5-10% of each other. For purposes of counting exercise calories, I use the MFP defaults, and it works out all right.
Like Eric said, much of your time lifting is spent resting between sets, so doing cardio for, say, 30 minutes, will burn more calories than lifting for 30 minutes.

Shropshire1959

People love to see high numbers in their energy burns and low ones in their consumption :-p

Trying to get accurate numbers is a thankless task ... different websites and apps give different numbers for the same activities .. It's a bugger!

So, what can we do about it?

Well using the same data sources consistently is a good place to start ... research on the web for data from sport specific sites (look to professional cycling or running sites for data about these. But even this isn't all that accurate .....

For example even with a HRM, Strava and Endomondo give me different burn numbers for my running (.. double bugger!) - so I tend to average the results of the 2.


The only REAL Answer is to find a plan .... stick to it for a month and see what it does FOR YOU...... If you are losing - the plan was good..... if not, it wasn't so adjust the plan and repeat.

Leanbean65

I know weight lifting is more about increasing lean body mass than just burning calories, I just want to make sure I'm tracking things as well as possible so that I can meet my weight loss goals. So far so good.

Any thought on the "metabolic effect" of weight lifting?

i.e. that your metabolism is increased for several hours after weight training? Not sure how you would measure this though

erickirb

I know weight lifting is more about increasing lean body mass than just burning calories, I just want to make sure I'm tracking things as well as possible so that I can meet my weight loss goals. So far so good.

Any thought on the "metabolic effect" of weight lifting?

i.e. that your metabolism is increased for several hours after weight training? Not sure how you would measure this though

There is that effect but is not that much. Another way to account for it would be to change your activity level from Sedentary to light active and put in cals burned from strength training as 1.

lisalsd1

I just use the calories burned during lifting as an estimate. I'm 5'3, 125lbs, and MFP estimates that I burn something like 150 calories during an hour of "moderate" lifting. What does "moderate" mean? I feel like moderate is a relative term.

The MFP estimate is probably on the low side; but it's better to underestimate than overestimate. I don't even try to estimate any metabolic effect. I think you, again, run the risk of overestimating.

leggup

Nah. I only give myself 10-50 calories for a heavy lifting session because much of weight lifting is resting.

Chevy_Quest

No not accurate, but most of lifting time is spent resting, unless you are doing circuits so enter that if you don't take breaks. That said, cals burned should not be the reason you lift! That is just a small side effect of what strength training does for you.

This ^^ QFT -
Well put! :drinker:

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