how to add lifting weight accurately??

twonkieone

have been here a month and use the generic :lifting weights: default that mfp provides which has me at :110: calories in half an hour. so today i thought i'd try to input them all individually with weight/sets/reps to see where i'd end up. after i put in the curls/triceps/leg lifts/squats that i do i was already up to 150 calories and i wasn't even halfway done. any advice on what is best to use? also - having a hell of a time finding them on the site ... no matter what i'm calling the inner/outer thigh using the cable machine i can't find it .. same w/ doing leg lifts with resistance bands. appreciate!

almcginn

Hey there. I actually don't use the generic activities to gage my calories burned. I use a heart rate monitor, and I make the calories on MFP match the calories burned using the monitor. A HRM is one of the best investments you can make when it comes to fitness!

jstandfield

I use my MOTOACTV and the hrm to get my calories burned while working out,then I enter my weightlifting in MFP under cardio and make the numbers match

wellbert

Heart rate monitors -do not- work accurately for weights. They calculate your heart rate as if you were running/jogging/cycling, which is an entirely different caloric burn entirely.

Just use 'strength training' on the site. It's all a guess anyway.

jacksonpt

While this is a highly debated topic on MFP, I don't believe strength training burns significant cals. If you're looking to burn cals, you should be doing cardio. Lifting has numerous benefits, but calorie burns aren't one of them.

So, IMO... if you want to burn cals, do cardio and log the cals burned. If you want to get stronger or change how you look, lift and don't worry about those cals.

mmapags

While this is a highly debated topic on MFP, I don't believe strength training burns significant cals. If you're looking to burn cals, you should be doing cardio. Lifting has numerous benefits, but calorie burns aren't one of them.

So, IMO... if you want to burn cals, do cardio and log the cals burned. If you want to get stronger or change how you look, lift and don't worry about those cals.

I would partially agree with you. Cardio has a higher burn during that strength. Strength has a great EPOC or afterburn. That is part of how you change the way you look. It's help burn more fat at rest for a period after you are done with your workout.

Sarauk2sf

IMO - use the generic one for lifting as it seems a little conservative but not overly so. While lifting does burn calories, they are very hard to estimate and weight lifting should not really be looked at for calorie burn but for body recomposition.

ETA: suggestion - ditch the inner/outer thigh stuff and do squats and lunges.

jacksonpt

While this is a highly debated topic on MFP, I don't believe strength training burns significant cals. If you're looking to burn cals, you should be doing cardio. Lifting has numerous benefits, but calorie burns aren't one of them.

So, IMO... if you want to burn cals, do cardio and log the cals burned. If you want to get stronger or change how you look, lift and don't worry about those cals.

I would partially agree with you. Cardio has a higher burn during that strength. Strength has a great EPOC or afterburn. That is part of how you change the way you look. It's help burn more fat at rest for a period after you are done with your workout.

Yes, the EPOC for lifting is greater than that for cardio, but everything I've read suggests its still relatively low, max of 100-150cals in the 24 hours post workout. So say you burn 100 cals lifting for 45 minutes. The EPOC is another 100. That's still only 200 cals. A goof 45 minute cardio session will be double that, not including EPOC.

I think a lot of people have heard about the afterburn of lifting and assume it's going to be something significant. It's not. And that's why I say if you want to burn cals for your deficit, do cardio. If you want to change how you look or get stronger, lift.

californiagirl2012

I just add mine in the cardio section for the time I workout. I ignore exercise calories anyway so the exercise log is just to track time spent exercising for me. Exercise calories are highly over rated. You can't exercise away eating too much food. I learned this the hard way most of my life running marathon after marathon (and lifting) and not being able to lose weight and in fact continued to gain year after year. And I don't pig out, binge, snack mindlessly, eat out of boredom, etc, but the portion sizes are too big for a small person like me. (well I wasn't small when I weighed over 170 lbs at 51'0"!)

Anyway I found what worked for me was separating out the two things:

Eat less to lose weight
Exercise to maintain or build lean body mass
end of story.

Well, it did work for me. I am the fittest, leanest, strongest, and most muscular I've ever been in my life at age 51 and I'm healthy and don't get sick and have long endurance. Doesn't feel like starvation mode to me. Can you build muscle like I did while supposedly being in starvation mode?

Sarauk2sf

Doesn't feel like starvation mode to me. Can you build muscle like I did while supposedly being in starvation mode?

With all due respect - what does that have to do with the OP?

mmapags

Doesn't feel like starvation mode to me. Can you build muscle like I did while supposedly being in starvation mode?

With all due respect - what does that have to do with the OP?

Agree! Starvation mode???

jstandfield

Heart rate monitors -do not- work accurately for weights. They calculate your heart rate as if you were running/jogging/cycling, which is an entirely different caloric burn entirely.

Just use 'strength training' on the site. It's all a guess anyway.

My HRM and MOTOACTV have a setting for a weightlifting session.

twonkieone

guess i need a hrm ... never used one and don't want to spend a bazillion dollars on one so i've put off getting one....

Jynus

While this is a highly debated topic on MFP, I don't believe strength training burns significant cals. If you're looking to burn cals, you should be doing cardio. Lifting has numerous benefits, but calorie burns aren't one of them.

So, IMO... if you want to burn cals, do cardio and log the cals burned. If you want to get stronger or change how you look, lift and don't worry about those cals.

I would partially agree with you. Cardio has a higher burn during that strength. Strength has a great EPOC or afterburn. That is part of how you change the way you look. It's help burn more fat at rest for a period after you are done with your workout.

Yes, the EPOC for lifting is greater than that for cardio, but everything I've read suggests its still relatively low, max of 100-150cals in the 24 hours post workout. So say you burn 100 cals lifting for 45 minutes. The EPOC is another 100. That's still only 200 cals. A goof 45 minute cardio session will be double that, not including EPOC.

I think a lot of people have heard about the afterburn of lifting and assume it's going to be something significant. It's not. And that's why I say if you want to burn cals for your deficit, do cardio. If you want to change how you look or get stronger, lift.

Ask people who lift heavy and are actively trying to gain weight. a few hours a week adds an absolutely insane amount of calories needed per day. I could lose weight on 3k calories a day with 6 hours weight training a week. I could gain weight on that when not training.

The afterburn needed to repair tissue when trained properly is off the chart. same principle as burn victims, ask anyone what their caloric requirement is. Rebuilding tissue is VERY energy intensive.

almcginn

While this is a highly debated topic on MFP, I don't believe strength training burns significant cals. If you're looking to burn cals, you should be doing cardio. Lifting has numerous benefits, but calorie burns aren't one of them.

So, IMO... if you want to burn cals, do cardio and log the cals burned. If you want to get stronger or change how you look, lift and don't worry about those cals.

I would partially agree with you. Cardio has a higher burn during that strength. Strength has a great EPOC or afterburn. That is part of how you change the way you look. It's help burn more fat at rest for a period after you are done with your workout.

Yes, the EPOC for lifting is greater than that for cardio, but everything I've read suggests its still relatively low, max of 100-150cals in the 24 hours post workout. So say you burn 100 cals lifting for 45 minutes. The EPOC is another 100. That's still only 200 cals. A goof 45 minute cardio session will be double that, not including EPOC.

I think a lot of people have heard about the afterburn of lifting and assume it's going to be something significant. It's not. And that's why I say if you want to burn cals for your deficit, do cardio. If you want to change how you look or get stronger, lift.

Ask people who lift heavy and are actively trying to gain weight. a few hours a week adds an absolutely insane amount of calories needed per day. I could lose weight on 3k calories a day with 6 hours weight training a week. I could gain weight on that when not training.

The afterburn needed to repair tissue when trained properly is off the chart. same principle as burn victims, ask anyone what their caloric requirement is. Rebuilding tissue is VERY energy intensive.

Totally agree.

The poster who said the HRM doesn't work for weightlifting isn't necessarily correct. It's math: the calorie total is the integral of your heart rate over time (aka area under the curve) in excess of your resting heart rate. Here's a typical weights + cardio routine of mine:



You do burn a good amount of calories weightlifting, but not as much, per se, as cardio. However, like the previous poster said, it takes a lot of energy/recovery to rebuild muscle. You're doing your body a disservice if you do strictly cardio and no form of weightlifting, even if it is just for toning vice size.