NROLFW did I do it wrong?

meshashesha2012

i go by my HRM. i know it's not accurate but since my workouts have been factored into my TDEE, I dont eat my exercise calories back so it doesnt really matter

erickirb

So for those that lift and keep track on MFP how do you estimate your calories for lifting or do you not track it? I usually go by my HRM but now I see it probably isn't very accurate. For 60 min of heavy lifting it says I burn anywhere from 300-400 cals.

400 is probably too high. Just log strength training on MFP or estimate 3-5 cals/min (180-300/hr).

aj_31

So for those that lift and keep track on MFP how do you estimate your calories for lifting or do you not track it? I usually go by my HRM but now I see it probably isn't very accurate. For 60 min of heavy lifting it says I burn anywhere from 300-400 cals.

400 is probably too high. Just log strength training on MFP or estimate 3-5 cals/min (180-300/hr).

Thanks for the feedback.

TheFunBun

....But when your HRM is inaccurate, it's inaccurate upwards because if you're heavy lifting your heartrate is elevated in spurts, and depending on your health may take longer to come down after, so it gives you a high burn even though you weren't really burning the entire time. I think it just must have gone out of range and displayed a zero for a portion of your workout.

erickirb

....But when your HRM is inaccurate, it's inaccurate upwards because if you're heavy lifting your heartrate is elevated in spurts, and depending on your health may take longer to come down after, so it gives you a high burn even though you weren't really burning the entire time. I think it just must have gone out of range and displayed a zero for a portion of your workout.

The rest has little to do with why it is off, but will make some difference.

The main reason is the calculation in the HRM assumes a certain oxygen uptake based on intensity (intensity is estimate by using your HR). With strength training your elevated HR happens due to different physiological responses then is done with cardio, and the oxygen uptake is not the same as with cardio leaving that portion of the question over estimating the burn based on HR, as the HRM assumes your HR is elevated due to cardio, which requires higher intake of oxygen over a given period of time.

jnh17

I thought about this question at the gym today.

I usually log 330 calories for my new rules workouts. Walking at 4.0 for 5 minutes burns about 25 calories (for me) so 90 calories doing 20 minutes of new rules vs 100 calories for walking for 20 minutes is just not right. My heart rate gets WAY up there during the lifting (step ups/lunges especially). Plus, during the 60 second breaks I walk to the other side of the gym and back. I did stage 2 A1 today and was soaked about 8 minutes in. When I got to the pushups, i finally had to lay a towel down because my hands were slipping.

TheFunBun

Yeah, I use some calculation I found on livestrong for weightlifting calorie burns and found that most of the time it was what my HRM read divided by two, pretty much. So I just use that.

I once used this calculator that you entered in your rest times and set amounts and heart rate, but I can't find it. I would totally use that one all the time, though.

mmapags

Here is a formula that was posted by TrainingwithTonya for calculating burn during strength training. She is a very well educated proffesional trainer.

220 pound person / 2.2 = 100 Kilogram person

Vigorous free weight training = 6 METs

100 x 6 x 0.0175 = 10.5 Calories per minute

60 minute workout = 10.5 x 60 = 630 Calories burned

Note: this is for vigorous training. If the training is not vigorous, use 3 METS.

Also, as others have alluded to, the key benefit of strength training is not the burn while doing it but the Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). This increases metabolism for a period of time following the workout and results in additional calories consumption. Here is an article that explains how that works. http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/epoc.html

susieq101178

I use this formula for calculating my strength-training calories.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/338469-how-to-calculate-calories-burned-weight-lifting/

erickirb

Here is a formula that was posted by TrainingwithTonya for calculating burn during strength training. She is a very well educated proffesional trainer.

220 pound person / 2.2 = 100 Kilogram person

Vigorous free weight training = 6 METs

100 x 6 x 0.0175 = 10.5 Calories per minute

60 minute workout = 10.5 x 60 = 630 Calories burned

Note: this is for vigorous training. If the training is not vigorous, use 3 METS.

Also, as others have alluded to, the key benefit of strength training is not the burn while doing it but the Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). This increases metabolism for a period of time following the workout and results in additional calories consumption. Here is an article that explains how that works. http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/epoc.html

The MET calc may be correct, but how much time are you actually lifting in that 60 min window (20??) should you not use the 20 minutes instead?

aj_31

I use this formula for calculating my strength-training calories.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/338469-how-to-calculate-calories-burned-weight-lifting/

If I use this method then I'm the same as my HRM depending on what my daily weight is. Oh and I eat TDEE -15% but I still like to see what my burn is.

vicmonster

Thanks again for all of the responses. I burned a little more on day 2 but overall have a better understanding of what I should be burning during weightlifting.

Day 2 was yesterday and I thought I'd run 5 miles today. 3 was all I could manage between the soreness and the heat which will likely be the case until I get more used to the heavy lifting.