Best way to determine calories burned during weightlifting?

charliemcbride

Hi everyone-

I joined a gym a couple of months ago and I don't know how to accurately gauge calories expended during the workout. Can some please point me in the right direction? Thanks.

LJSmith1989

Bump

Rockstar_JILL

I don't have a heart rate monitor, YET, but I would like to know how approximate this as well.

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Heart rate monitors don't work for weightlifting. The equations used to related heart rate to calories are only valid for cardio.

MFP's estimate (under cardio) isn't bad. Just use that, and maybe round down a bit.

rduhlir

I believe general rule is to add 200-300 on lifting days. Don't quote me on that.

(I don't trust HRM during weight lifting)

stephyy4632

HRM don`t work for weight lifting

I personaly add 300 cals for days that I lift and I lift heavy

DavPul

Best not to worry about it. It's not that many, it's difficult to accurately gauge and burning calories isn't the primary reason to lift weights.

charliemcbride

Thanks everyone. I'll pass on the HRM.

Ely82010

Best not to worry about it. It's not that many, it's difficult to accurately gauge and burning calories isn't the primary reason to lift weights.

I respectfully disagree with that. If we are suppose to log everything in our food diary, no matter what we eat, then it is fair that we also count all the calories burned exercising.

It is true that for me the calories burned doing strength training are not much because I am a small person; around 150 for 60 minutes, but I don't burn much more than that doing Pilates or Yoga, either. So if I don't log them because "it is not that many," then I will have no calories to report, and since my cardio is limited, I would be unable to eat more than 1200 calories a day. So I log everything, and I eat more!

DopeItUp

I use MFP's builtin calculation for strength training and it seems to be quite accurate for me. I get about 300 calories an hour but I am a large man so adjust accordingly.

DavPul

Best not to worry about it. It's not that many, it's difficult to accurately gauge and burning calories isn't the primary reason to lift weights.

I respectfully disagree with that. If we are suppose to log everything in our food diary, no matter what we eat, then it is fair that we also count all the calories burned exercising.

It is true that for me the calories burned doing strength training are not much because I am a small person; around 150 for 60 minutes, but I don't burn much more than that doing Pilates or Yoga, either. So if I don't log them because "it is not that many," then I will have no calories to report, and since my cardio is limited, I would be unable to eat more than 1200 calories a day. So I log everything, and I eat more!

I bet you could eat more than 1200 whether you logged exercise calories or not. But sure, give yourself 200-300 calories for strength training if you want to. My point was more that trying to accurately count each individual session is way more trouble than it's worth

falcon367

Well, this might be an unpopular opinion, but take it for what its worth, an opinion.

I use a HRM during strength training to gauge both a calorie burn and my rest time between sets.

Today was a strength training day on P90X for me ... Shoulders & Arms to be exact. Like always, I wear a HRM to get an idea of the intensity of my workout. I warmed up as usual, stretched and dove in. For me, it's not uncommon to see elevated HR's as I finish the set. I then, allow my HR to settle back in between 130-140 before starting another set, (or P90X exercise in this case).

The harder you work, the higher the HR. And while some say HRM's are not accurate for a weight training burn, I disagree. The way most HRM's calculate calories burned is based on the inputs when you set it up and the average HR for the duration of time you've activated the monitor. Seems to me, whether you're lifting, running, playing football or washing the car, an elevated HR is what burns calories and they all apply to what we are looking for here.

That being said, many weight lifters looking for gains are also in a calorie surplus, so calories burned are a non factor to them ... in fact, calories burned just means they have to eat more. My $.02.

jzammetti

I use a HRM during strength training to gauge both a calorie burn and my rest time between sets.



The harder you work, the higher the HR. And while some say HRM's are not accurate for a weight training burn, I disagree.

I also disagree. Why do people keep saying that? Is there science to back it up that I haven't seen yet? My HRM does not say it is only good for cardio workouts...

DavPul

I use a HRM during strength training to gauge both a calorie burn and my rest time between sets.



The harder you work, the higher the HR. And while some say HRM's are not accurate for a weight training burn, I disagree.

I also disagree. Why do people keep saying that? Is there science to back it up that I haven't seen yet? My HRM does not say it is only good for cardio workouts...

yes. there is a ton of science to back it up, you just haven't bothered to look. and i'm betting your hrm doesn't even say it's good for cardio workouts.

tell me the brand and i'll copy and paste the owner's manual info here. i'm betting the calorie calculator portion of the owners manual is like 2/3rds of the way into the manual and listed as "Oh by the way, you can also use this for calorie counting if you want".

The are called HEART rate monitors, not CALORIE burn monitors. Why do you think the legal dept at Polar won't let them be called CBMs?

BusyRaeNOTBusty

Found these in about 30 seconds on google:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698

http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75

jzammetti

I use a HRM during strength training to gauge both a calorie burn and my rest time between sets.



The harder you work, the higher the HR. And while some say HRM's are not accurate for a weight training burn, I disagree.

I also disagree. Why do people keep saying that? Is there science to back it up that I haven't seen yet? My HRM does not say it is only good for cardio workouts...

yes. there is a ton of science to back it up, you just haven't bothered to look. and i'm betting your hrm doesn't even say it's good for cardio workouts.

tell me the brand and i'll copy and paste the owner's manual info here. i'm betting the calorie calculator portion of the owners manual is like 2/3rds of the way into the manual and listed as "Oh by the way, you can also use this for calorie counting if you want".

The are called HEART rate monitors, not CALORIE burn monitors. Why do you think the legal dept at Polar won't let them be called CBMs?

I read the entire manual and it does not say it is good for anything other than heart rate training - so why does it count calories? lol Oh well, what I am doing is working so I am not going to worry about it. Google searches bring up lots of stuff from webistes like this one, but no scientific info.

Can you point me to the tons of science to back it up please? I am a curious girl...

dixiewhiskey

Someone had posted a study about how HRM are not designed for weight lifting and followed by someone else griping about how people should just not care about calorie counting and having to know their burn blah blah..

I get in a sweat doing barbells, squats, deadlifts, etc.. I usually don't count it but at that same time, all HRMs are not 100% accurate and neither are MFP calculations. If people want to use it, who cares.. I won't all the time cause all of the pausing and continuing, just slows me down

Azdak

Well, this might be an unpopular opinion, but take it for what its worth, an opinion.

I use a HRM during strength training to gauge both a calorie burn and my rest time between sets.

Today was a strength training day on P90X for me ... Shoulders & Arms to be exact. Like always, I wear a HRM to get an idea of the intensity of my workout. I warmed up as usual, stretched and dove in. For me, it's not uncommon to see elevated HR's as I finish the set. I then, allow my HR to settle back in between 130-140 before starting another set, (or P90X exercise in this case).

The harder you work, the higher the HR. And while some say HRM's are not accurate for a weight training burn, I disagree. The way most HRM's calculate calories burned is based on the inputs when you set it up and the average HR for the duration of time you've activated the monitor. Seems to me, whether you're lifting, running, playing football or washing the car, an elevated HR is what burns calories and they all apply to what we are looking for here.

That being said, many weight lifters looking for gains are also in a calorie surplus, so calories burned are a non factor to them ... in fact, calories burned just means they have to eat more. My $.02.

As the saying goes, you can choose your own opinions but not your own facts. The assertion that HRMs cannot be used to accurately estimate calories during strength training is not an opinion. It is just a basic fact of exercise physiology.

Earlier a link was posted that provides more detail, if you are interested. (not the sparkpeople link--that has the correct conclusion but the wrong reasoning).

DavPul

yes. there is a ton of science to back it up, you just haven't bothered to look. and i'm betting your hrm doesn't even say it's good for cardio workouts.

tell me the brand and i'll copy and paste the owner's manual info here. i'm betting the calorie calculator portion of the owners manual is like 2/3rds of the way into the manual and listed as "Oh by the way, you can also use this for calorie counting if you want".

The are called HEART rate monitors, not CALORIE burn monitors. Why do you think the legal dept at Polar won't let them be called CBMs?

I read the entire manual and it does not say it is good for anything other than heart rate training - so why does it count calories? lol Oh well, what I am doing is working so I am not going to worry about it. Google searches bring up lots of stuff from webistes like this one, but no scientific info.

Can you point me to the tons of science to back it up please? I am a curious girl...

i'm too much of a broscience meathead to post links to science, but I am glad you took a look at your owner's manual and noticed that even the manufacturer takes a big Captain May I step backwards when the subject of burned calories from exercise comes up. They just aren't as accurate as people believe and the kicker is that it isn't the manufacturers promoting them for calorie counting purposes, it's individuals telling other individuals.

The manufacturers aren't trying to stop it because they know the majority of their sales come from people that want to use the HRMs for their off-label use as calorie counters. There is big money in misinformation.

falcon367

I appreciate being corrected, although from what I've read in the past, without knowing your VO2 Max, and since I'm guessing many HRM's don't ask for that as a user input, its all a guessing game anyway. Appreciate the info peeps.