cardio vs strength

irismoon

I have a question about the exercise posting that you can do here (I'm a newbie here). Why doesn't the strength training tell you calories burned? What is the point of putting anything there if it doesn't do calories? Does it have another use? When I add exercise to it, does that mean I need to post it under my cardio also, so that it will list the calories burned?

jennylynn84

Hello!

The reason that there is no calories burned available for strength training is that it varies so severely. It really depends on how many reps you do, how many sets, how long of breaks in between. And MFP says there are just too many variables to calculate. I guess they allow you to post it because you have daily and weekly goals for the amount of time you've worked out (in addition to calories burned). One week I was coming in under my allotted time and I was really concerned my workouts were too short, when I remembered that I do a good half hour of strength training twice a week and since I don't enter it in (like you, I kind of don't care to enter it) the time hadn't been added to my minutes of workout and it only LOOKED like I was coming in under.

So I guess it's to keep track of your times, but apparently there's not really a way to successfully accurately count the number of calories burned in a simple enough formula.

Cassaaaaandra

But under cardio you can add strength training and it can ballpark it for you. But it is true that strength training calories burned is different for everyone - and even varies by what muscles you are working. The muscles in your legs are large muscles and when you do strength training for your legs you will burn more calories than say if you train your biceps and triceps in your arms.

pannellkat

Ditto, what they said

You can use it as a tracking tool to log your strength training minutes, reps and sets and what machines you used etc. It is helpful for me in that aspect. I never log calories burned from strength training because I just simply do not know.