New to circuit training...how do you log it?

curvykim78

I started with my new exercise machine today. I did 45 minutes of lifting, butterflies, curls, rowing, leg presses, etc. I went on to log it into my exercises and all it wanted to know was how may sets I did. I did 3 sets of 8 for each thing, but I did them several times. How can I figure out how to log it correctly? I counted the sets as I did them, but I don't have a total number, just 45 minutes. grrr...I need to figure out how to log it correctly. Any suggestions?? Thanks!!

curvykim78

How do you log yours?

spartacus69

Under cardio, I believe it's 'circuit training - general,' Enter the time in minutes and it will estimate calories for you.

ROBJ3411

I log mine in the cardio under 'circuit training - general'. that will get you a calorie burned and then I use the notes to keep track of progress...

REET420

I log mine as cardio / circuit training in the database. I put how many minutes I exercised for and it calculates my calories for me. You could use a heart rate monitor or one of those fit bit contraptions

navydentalchic

I use a heart rate monitor that tracks calories so I can get a pretty accurate calorie count. I found that when I estimated using the database, I was actually grossly over estimating my calorie bur. MFP estimated I was bruning about 300 for my 20 mintues of jogging when I was actually burning only 190-200.

curvykim78

When I tried to log it, it only asked how many reps of each set I did, not the total minutes.

curvykim78

When I tried to log it, it only asked how many reps of each set I did, not the total minutes.

I just found it...It says 427 calories for a 45 minute workout. That sounds too high I think. Any thoughts? I'm 5 ft 4 and 157 pounds...

twinmom01

When I tried to log it, it only asked how many reps of each set I did, not the total minutes.

I just found it...It says 427 calories for a 45 minute workout. That sounds too high I think. Any thoughts? I'm 5 ft 4 and 157 pounds...

ummm I would say YES...way too high...

I don't eat back my exercise calories so I am not exacting in my numbers but i use a general of 1 calorie per rep....the calorie burn is going to fluctuate based on hwo high your heart rate, your overall effort, etc...

I have used my HRM and done a full strength training workout and it worked out to about 1 calorie a rep for me.

So if you are doing 3 x 8 for 10 different exercises = 240 calories burned.

ROBJ3411

It's a good workout so the calorie burn doesn't look out of whack.

curvykim78

lol no help here...One person says one thing and someone else says something different...I'm still confused!~

waldo56

I use a heart rate monitor that tracks calories so I can get a pretty accurate calorie count. I found that when I estimated using the database, I was actually grossly over estimating my calorie bur. MFP estimated I was bruning about 300 for my 20 mintues of jogging when I was actually burning only 190-200.

Your HRM only measures aerobic calorie burn and EPOC. Most of the calorie burn of strength training is anaerobic while you are performing the activity; recovery from strength training is not EPOC and does not have an aerobic component; it lasts much longer and is much stronger than EPOC.

In short, HRM's grossly underestimate the calorie burn of weight training.

crobl

Try using a calorie calculator - I use this one -> http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc when I feel like something on here is a little off

waldo56

When I tried to log it, it only asked how many reps of each set I did, not the total minutes.

I just found it...It says 427 calories for a 45 minute workout. That sounds too high I think. Any thoughts? I'm 5 ft 4 and 157 pounds...

ummm I would say YES...way too high...

I don't eat back my exercise calories so I am not exacting in my numbers but i use a general of 1 calorie per rep....the calorie burn is going to fluctuate based on hwo high your heart rate, your overall effort, etc...

I have used my HRM and done a full strength training workout and it worked out to about 1 calorie a rep for me.

So if you are doing 3 x 8 for 10 different exercises = 240 calories burned.

It is probably low actually.

Your HRM does not meausure strength training accurately at all. Strength training calorie burn has nothing to do with heart rate.

Think about it, how tired do you get from 45 minutes of hard running and how sore do you get? I don't mean out of breath tired, I mean 15-30 minutes later how run down are you. What about the next day or the next day. Now compare this to 45 minutes of strength training. It tires you out at least as much, plus in the coming days it makes you way more sore. It is only logical to conclude that it burns MORE calories than running an equivalent amount of time.

I use the circuit training entry plus assume that my BMR rises by 600 cal/day for the next 2-3 days for each strength training session (cannot stack the BMR rise though). The numbers for the BMR rise are from my data, I keep very detailed records and can calculate the difference.

robharlan

I have this had this same question. I can only say what works for me...I eat when I am hungry, but I eat clean. I workout as hard as I can for 45-60 minutes per workout. I workout 3 days per week (because my circuit is whole body compound lifts and I need time to recover) I do about 10 min of medium cardio just to get the blood pumping. By the end of my workout I am breathing heavy, sweaty and feel tired, It's the greatest feeling ever! Remember this, everyone has their own opinion and they vary greatly. What works for some doesn't always work for all. The key point I am making is " what you get out of something is directly proportional to what you put in"

waldo56

lol no help here...One person says one thing and someone else says something different...I'm still confused!~

Science doesn't even know how many calories strength training burns. It is ridiculously hard to measure through any means other than inference from weight loss/gain results. It requires blood sampling and muscle tissue sampling as the exercise is performed and immeditely thereafter plus a way to estimate the protein turnover in the body vs. a no lifting baseline.

curvykim78

I was just trying to get a better guess of where it would fall at on my calorie level. Sometimes I eat the caloires back and sometimes I don't. I would like to be able to keep an accurate log as well but this is confusing me. It was mentioned before that circuit training involves cardio as well, but I wasn't doing jumping jacks or anything of the sort. I wonder if I'd be better off logging it as weight lifting then??

waldo56

I was just trying to get a better guess of where it would fall at on my calorie level. Sometimes I eat the caloires back and sometimes I don't. I would like to be able to keep an accurate log as well but this is confusing me. It was mentioned before that circuit training involves cardio as well, but I wasn't doing jumping jacks or anything of the sort. I wonder if I'd be better off logging it as weight lifting then??

That weight lifting entry is ridiculously low. It is useful if you go to the gym and do a set of crunches and two sets of curls with light weights and 15 minutes of recovery between each set.

The circuit training entry is just fine for general strength training. It is very, very low if you are actually circuit training and using speed to add a cardio element. Actual circuit training should be about 2x as high as the circuit training entry (actual circuit training as in go exercise to exercise with no breaks, only stopping at the end of each circuit to catch your breath a bit before you start the next circuit; you should be operating over your VO2 max and Lactate Threshold, it is about as hard as the human body can possibly work for 5-30 minutes, if you can sustain it for more than 30 minutes, you aren't working hard enough).