Dumbbells and weight?

longtallted

Hi,

Hopefully a simple question - I wanted to add some dumbbell exercises, starting with flat dumbbell press.

MFP asks for number of reps and weight - should I put in the weight per dumbbell or the total weight? I assume the answer would apply to all dumbbell exercises where you are using 2 at a time.

Thanks!

corpus_validum

It's really up to your personal preference as it has no bearing on any MFP figures. Personally, I enter combined dumbbell weight unless I'm doing a single arm exercise like a concentration (bicep) curl.

longtallted

Oh - good point - I thought it directly drove the number of calories burned. Thanks!

bmontgomery87

Technically the weight lifted would affect cals, but I'm not sure if MFP is able to calculate that.

johnwhitent

I log the weight of the individual dumbbell since this is how I thought trainers refer to it ("Grab your twenty fives.") In a bicep curl each arm is getting a xx pound workout. I thought that everyone did it this way. I'll be watching to see if most people do otherwise. I usually work out alone (P90X) so I may be delusional. But as it has been pointed out this is not what drives calories burned in MFP; it is just for one's personal record anyway.

longtallted

A quick research on the web has revealed that weight training burns 340 cal/hour, but intensive weight training can burn double that. I'll count it as 170 / 30 mins or 340 / hour. I'll have to put in the Cardio section as a new exercise for me, but as I go twice a week, I want to make sure I record it.

bmontgomery87

^^agreed.
Theres a huge difference in how people train.

Some people manage to do like 12 sets of light weight in an hour.
Others are on the verge of puking and doing 20 sets of heavy weight in that same hour.

I'd go somewhere in the middle, depending on your style of training.

longtallted

Thanks for all the advice, people.

Also, I stand corrected - no need to add Weight Training to the cardiovascular exercises in MFP as it is already there. It defaults to 162 per half hour, but like bmontgomery87 says - adjust it to how hard and heavy you train and what you're doing. i.e. 30 minutes of squats probably exceeds calories of 30 minutes of bicep/tricep.