Calories burned lifting weights?

workhardplayhard

Does anyone have knowledge of how to quantitate the calories used when lifting weights? I am trying to shed about 6lbs in the near future but have recently had knee surgery and thus will not being doing any cardio. I typically will lift free weights doing back and pecks one day, biceps and triceps another day, legs another etc......but using this site I like to be able to know how many calories I am burning calories as to be able to stay under my calorie goal for the day. When adding cardio in you get extra calories for that day.....I really need those extra calories!!!! I want to know how much more calories I can ingest when just lifting weights?

Thanks in advance.

workhardplayhard

njean888

i wear an HRM to calculate what I'm burning. Of course my burn is way lower than on a cardio day, but still i know exactly what I burn thus what I can eat.

Azdak

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

njean888

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

ShaneT99

I can't explain why, but based on what I've read heart rate monitors don't work well for weight lifting. Most of the manufacturers websites something to this effect if you read the fine print. As for counting calories, there are simply too many variables to determine exactly how many calories you burn while lifting weights. I agree with Azdak. If you want to eat those calories then I'd just assign a number to your weight workouts. I enter strength training into the cardiovascular workout on MFP and it spits out a number. That's close enough for my needs.

End6ame

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

If you are doing large compound muscle movements like squats, power cleans and deadlifts then an HRM result should be faily accurate, but for isolation/machine exercises it will be useless.

dobergfell

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

As I understand it, HRMs are really only effective when your heartrate is sufficiently elevated (when doing a cardio exercise). If you sit on the couch and continue to wear your HRM it will show you burning calories but those are not workout calories. There is always an overlap with RMR.

Azdak

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

If you are doing large compound muscle movements like squats, power cleans and deadlifts then an HRM result should be faily accurate, but for isolation/machine exercises it will be useless.

My understanding is that if an HRM is "accurate", it is only by coincidence. It's not that those exercises don't burn calories (and they may burn quite a few), it's just that the HRM cannot capture that data. What an HRM measures (the aerobic portion), even assuming that the HRM can capture the aerobic portion of a strength exercise (doubtful), is only a small part of the actual energy expended. The studies I have seen looked at the VO2 of relatively heavy squats (2-4RM) as being equivalent to a mild stroll.

A professor at Univ of Southern Maine, CB West, has done some interesting work in the past few years trying to develop/validate a method to estimate the total energy expenditure for resistance exercises. In a 2009 study, he estimated that the aerobic portion of a 1 set to failure bench press at 70% to 80% 1RM was around 10% of the TEE (vs the anerobic portion and the EPOC). Would squats be higher? possibly, but not enough to use an HRM. (Now if you are talking about body weight, dynamic squats, that might be a different story, but I don't think that's the topic here).

Obviously, I haven't seen every research study done, so if you have different data, I am always interested--this is one of my favorite subjects. Most studies I have seen on weight lifting or circuit training show an exaggerated HR response compared to VO2 and an uncoupling of the usual relationship between HR and VO2. (e.g. 85--90% of HRmax heart rates vs 35%-50% VO2 max). Given the way most HRMs are set up, I can't imagine how they could capture that data.

Azdak

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

Well, what you are describing is something a little different than a straight weightlifting session, but the general concept still holds true. Not all increased heart rates are created the same. Increased heart rate is only an indirect estimate (and an estimate of an estimate at that) of calories expended. And that estimate is only valid under certain exercise conditions and for certain types of exercise. The HRM manufacturers don't mention this because they are making tons o' $$$$ off those little numbers on the watch display, but the truth is that those little numbers aren't nearly as accurate as many people think.

People say I write too long, but if you have the time, this explains things in more detail:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698

KimBickel

Paste this link:

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

KimBickel

End6ame

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

If you are doing large compound muscle movements like squats, power cleans and deadlifts then an HRM result should be faily accurate, but for isolation/machine exercises it will be useless.

My understanding is that if an HRM is "accurate", it is only by coincidence. It's not that those exercises don't burn calories (and they may burn quite a few), it's just that the HRM cannot capture that data. What an HRM measures (the aerobic portion), even assuming that the HRM can capture the aerobic portion of a strength exercise (doubtful), is only a small part of the actual energy expended. The studies I have seen looked at the VO2 of relatively heavy squats (2-4RM) as being equivalent to a mild stroll.

A professor at Univ of Southern Maine, CB West, has done some interesting work in the past few years trying to develop/validate a method to estimate the total energy expenditure for resistance exercises. In a 2009 study, he estimated that the aerobic portion of a 1 set to failure bench press at 70% to 80% 1RM was around 10% of the TEE (vs the anerobic portion and the EPOC). Would squats be higher? possibly, but not enough to use an HRM. (Now if you are talking about body weight, dynamic squats, that might be a different story, but I don't think that's the topic here).

Obviously, I haven't seen every research study done, so if you have different data, I am always interested--this is one of my favorite subjects. Most studies I have seen on weight lifting or circuit training show an exaggerated HR response compared to VO2 and an uncoupling of the usual relationship between HR and VO2. (e.g. 85--90% of HRmax heart rates vs 35%-50% VO2 max). Given the way most HRMs are set up, I can't imagine how they could capture that data.

This is very interesting, I will have to read into this more.

Azdak

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

If you are doing large compound muscle movements like squats, power cleans and deadlifts then an HRM result should be faily accurate, but for isolation/machine exercises it will be useless.

My understanding is that if an HRM is "accurate", it is only by coincidence. It's not that those exercises don't burn calories (and they may burn quite a few), it's just that the HRM cannot capture that data. What an HRM measures (the aerobic portion), even assuming that the HRM can capture the aerobic portion of a strength exercise (doubtful), is only a small part of the actual energy expended. The studies I have seen looked at the VO2 of relatively heavy squats (2-4RM) as being equivalent to a mild stroll.

A professor at Univ of Southern Maine, CB West, has done some interesting work in the past few years trying to develop/validate a method to estimate the total energy expenditure for resistance exercises. In a 2009 study, he estimated that the aerobic portion of a 1 set to failure bench press at 70% to 80% 1RM was around 10% of the TEE (vs the anerobic portion and the EPOC). Would squats be higher? possibly, but not enough to use an HRM. (Now if you are talking about body weight, dynamic squats, that might be a different story, but I don't think that's the topic here).

Obviously, I haven't seen every research study done, so if you have different data, I am always interested--this is one of my favorite subjects. Most studies I have seen on weight lifting or circuit training show an exaggerated HR response compared to VO2 and an uncoupling of the usual relationship between HR and VO2. (e.g. 85--90% of HRmax heart rates vs 35%-50% VO2 max). Given the way most HRMs are set up, I can't imagine how they could capture that data.

This is very interesting, I will have to read into this more.

Here is the title of one of his articles (the one I described):
AEROBIC, ANAEROBIC, AND EXCESS POSTEXERCISE
OXYGEN CONSUMPTION ENERGY EXPENDITURE OF
MUSCULAR ENDURANCE AND STRENGTH: 1-SET OF
BENCH PRESS TO MUSCULAR FATIGUE

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, vol 25, number 4, April 2011

I am drawing some of my conclusions by looking at the raw data he reported.

maurilax

If i drink a cup of coffee, or smoke some crack, my heart rate will go up. does that mean i dont have to work out?

If you are just talking about weights, there is no way to calculate calories burned during strength training. HRMs are useless. Even using a metabolic cart only measures part of what is going on--the aerobic part, which is usually pretty small. If you feel the need to replace some of the calories, I would just pick a number--say 200-300 and just go with that and see what the results are.

If you are going to be laid up awhile, you might also consider more dynamic movements involving mostly upper body.

Okay so the 318 calories I just burned doing an upper body/ lower body weighlifting class, was my HRM making it up? As long as your heartrate increases why on earth would you say an HRM is useless.

jessie580

If i drink a cup of coffee, or smoke some crack, my heart rate will go up. does that mean i dont have to work out?

well. duh.

ninerbuff

Too many variables. Intensity, duration, rest time....................put it this way, work hard, work smart, and guess between 250-350 calories an hour.