Weight lifting in database

I'm very new to Myfitness pal and am looking for entries for specific weight lifting exercise. Perhaps I'm not searching correctly, but the only ones I've found are arm curls and tricep pull-downs. Advice out there? I wouldn't know what to put for calories.

Replies

  • mousepaws22
    mousepaws22 Posts: 380 Member
    If you look under cardiovascular exercise it's in there as Strength training (weight lifting, weight training).
  • timd50
    timd50 Posts: 19 Member
    MyFitnessPal does not allow you to enter calories burned by specific exercises because there's just too much variation based on workout load, how much you can lift, how fast/slow you lift, weight, age, yada yada. You can find a generic "weight training" in Cardiovascular Exercises and enter your total time spent lifting for an estimate of how much you burned, but its guesswork.
  • will010574
    will010574 Posts: 761 Member
    The MFP weight lifting exercises and calories are way off. I use a HRM and log the calories burned based on that. As for exercises I had to enter most of my own, so I stopped entering by exercise and just log weight lifting and the number of calories burnt based on my HRM.
  • LesaDave
    LesaDave Posts: 1,480 Member
    Go to exercise-cardio (yea, I know, doesn't make sense)-strength training.

    Hope you find it OK.

    And...welcome to MFP!!
  • I have similar questions about strength training & calorie counts. I use 1 or 2 pound weights when I walk and do arm exercises. How many calories does that burn beyond the walking? It would be nice to have light calorie counts on doing light weight lifting in the database..
  • I am brand new here also, so my answer may not help much, but I am also lifting weights as part of my weight loss program.

    In the Cardio data base there is an entry for Strength Training (weight lifting). The calorie count for this exercise is very low. This is probably because so much of the calories burned during weight lifting depends on the weight you are lifting, and your own body weight--also there is also a lot of down-time in between sets and rotations, during which you may or may not burn calories. I've found the best thing to do is wear a heart-rate monitor while lifting weights, one that counts calories burned as well as your heartrate. Then you can enter the actual number of calories YOU burned during YOUR weight-training session. When I watch my heart rate monitor during a weight workout, I see that I burn a very high number of calories while lifting, and even some while resting, but I myself lift heavy. When I lift light, the calorie burn is less, and if very light, it is almost like yoga--very few calories burned at all, though the muscle stretch and toning feels great! A good weight session will include all these kinds of exercises, so your calorie burn is probably very specific to you, and varies with each exercise.

    This site is great because it lets you enter your own calories burned for any exercise you do. If you wear a heart rate monitor that counts calories (Polar brand monitors are supposed to have the best /most truthful calories-burned calculator) you can enter your exact calories burned for any exercise you do.

    Tracking in the Strength Section does not really track calories, but shows you your progress in terms of sets, and weight (if you add 2 pounds to your lifts each week, say, in a month you will be lifting heavier, or perhaps you will be doing more reps or more sets. It tracks the increase in your personal muscle strength, which can be very exciting!

    I wish you luck! And good for you for lifting weights!!!! It's empowering! Cheers!
    D.
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
    HRM's are not accurate for lifting weights... Just saying. HRM's calculate calories burned based upon oxygen uptake. Strength training does not use oxygen. No oxygen means no accurate calorie burn calculations.

    that said, light lifting of greater than 20 reps and you're not doing weight lifting, you're doing cardio. so your HRM will indeed be accurate.