Calorie burn for weight lifting

iRebel

Is the MFP burn estimation over the top? It says 100 calories for 30 minuets. I lift heavy, (well, heavy for me) But it sounds kinda high.

Thanks

iRebel

anyone???

Jynus

Impossible to tell, anywhere from a couple dozen to a couple thousand calories.

As a general rule, the more intense (heavy) and more compound based your workout is, the more calories you burn, and the more calories you afterburn as your body then goes about repair said tissue that you just worked. So if you're lifting 5-10lbs dumbbells and doing things like standing on a bosu ball, or doing arm workouts, your calorie burn isn't going to any better than going for a walk.

If instead, you toss on your bodyweight onto a barbell, and squat yourself into the ground *kitten* to grass, and then follow it up with deadlifts at your bodyweight, an then follow it up with bench press at just under your bodyweight, then ya, an hour of that will easily burn 1k+ calories. If you take that to the elite level, like powerlifters do, a 2 hour workout and your at a few thousand extra calories burned per day. (elite level powerlifters eat an ungodly amount of food, like 10k calories a day, it's what their body requires)

So honestly there is no way to tell... but to answer your question at 100 calories being over the top, when you factor in that good lifters can burn thousands of calories in their strength training, 100 isn't that over the top at all.

iRebel

Impossible to tell, anywhere from a couple dozen to a couple thousand calories.

As a general rule, the more intense (heavy) and more compound based your workout is, the more calories you burn, and the more calories you afterburn as your body then goes about repair said tissue that you just worked. So if you're lifting 5-10lbs dumbbells and doing things like standing on a bosu ball, or doing arm workouts, your calorie burn isn't going to any better than going for a walk.

If instead, you toss on your bodyweight onto a barbell, and squat yourself into the ground *kitten* to grass, and then follow it up with deadlifts at your bodyweight, an then follow it up with bench press at just under your bodyweight, then ya, an hour of that will easily burn 1k+ calories. If you take that to the elite level, like powerlifters do, a 2 hour workout and your at a few thousand extra calories burned per day. (elite level powerlifters eat an ungodly amount of food, like 10k calories a day, it's what their body requires)

So honestly there is no way to tell... but to answer your question at 100 calories being over the top, when you factor in that good lifters can burn thousands of calories in their strength training, 100 isn't that over the top at all.

Thank you!

Jynus

you're welcome. I can say this though, at a level where you're untrained, or doing things is a rep range of 15+, a heart rate monitor will be somewhat accurate and calories burned will be comparable to what you would do at said level of cardio. It isn't until you start getting a base of strength and going to maximal efforts (failure at a compound movement in under 12 reps) that heart rate monitors really start being inaccurate.