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Getting credit for my Strength training

vinnyd
vinnyd Posts: 2
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
How come I get no credit(in terms of caloric intake) for any strength training. My heart rate is up and I am sure that calories are being burned?!?

Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Record it under "cardio".
  • Meg_78
    Meg_78 Posts: 998 Member
    You need to put it in the cardio section (under Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)) if you want the credit for it, the Strength Training section there is more to help you keep track of what you are doing I guess.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    MFP doesn't track it because the amount is totally subjective. It depends on how much weight you lift, which muscles you use, and how much rest you take between sets. Strength training burns calories more from the anaerobic system which is done without oxygen so using a HRM isn't going to be totally accurate either.

    Personally I don't log calories from strength training. If I'm losing too fast then I just add a few more calories on strength training days. If you're not losing then you're adding too many calories. Adjust as necessary. You'll get the feel for it. I would suggest doing something extra like adding an additional protein shake after strength training that you don't normally get. That should help offset the difference.

    Don't do strength for the calorie born. Do it because it makes you awesome!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Be careful with overestimating though. Strength training doesn't burn calories in the same way as cardio.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
    It is fairly subjective but I found early on that this helped me calculate the amount of calorie burn from lifting with relative accuracy. Hope it helps you too.

    http://www.livestrong.com/article/338469-how-to-calculate-calories-burned-weight-lifting/
  • DanaDark
    DanaDark Posts: 2,187 Member
    I see too many people stall due to counting strength training as cardio.

    All the time I see "So and so burned 560 calories doing strength training for 40 minutes!" and BS like that. Most of the time spent strength training is waiting between sets >.>

    Just make sure you get your protein in and leave the calories burned from strength training as a buffer to offset any time you may under estimate what you've ate.
  • vinnyd
    vinnyd Posts: 2
    Thanks all, I think I like the idea of just having it as a buffer
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    I see too many people stall due to counting strength training as cardio.

    All the time I see "So and so burned 560 calories doing strength training for 40 minutes!" and BS like that. Most of the time spent strength training is waiting between sets >.>

    Just make sure you get your protein in and leave the calories burned from strength training as a buffer to offset any time you may under estimate what you've ate.

    But the chemical reaction that creates the energy for strength training is 17x less efficient than the reaction that creates energy for cardio. It is a horribly inefficient use of your fuel. Bad if you are trying to conserve gas, good if you are trying to burn up calories.

    Try gaining weight at a sustained rate over time thinking that strength training hardly burns any calories. Good luck with that.

    If anything the circuit training entry is low for strength training. The weightlifting entry isn't even close.

    There is a reason that people that are bulking eat in the 4000+ calorie/day area. You don't just turn into a blob of fat, you have to overcome the calorie burn of stregth training to actually gain anything.
  • LisaWilson2012
    LisaWilson2012 Posts: 118 Member
    I go to a body building gym full of men. Although their main objective it to body build and gain bulk which is transformed into muscle, they cannot show the muscle and it isn't visible without first burning the fat that covers them! Any of the men in my gym will tell you that weight training burns calories and is an effective way to help with fat loss.

    I agree it should be credited to your account. I use my heart rate monitor when strength training which is significantly hightened during the work out and create my own exercises.
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
    I know my HRM shows at least double the calories burned on a strength training session than MFP gives credit for and that does not account for post burn. EPOC of weight training lasts around 48 hours, cardio is about 30-60 minutes.
  • alyssamiller77
    alyssamiller77 Posts: 891 Member
    I see too many people stall due to counting strength training as cardio.

    All the time I see "So and so burned 560 calories doing strength training for 40 minutes!" and BS like that. Most of the time spent strength training is waiting between sets >.>

    Just make sure you get your protein in and leave the calories burned from strength training as a buffer to offset any time you may under estimate what you've ate.

    You need to come lift with me sometime then. Based on the calculations i posted earlier I burn in the area of 500-600 calories per hour when I lift and based on experience, that's pretty much dead on. Of course when I finish lifting I'm usually a pretty sweaty smelly mess because I don't screw around. I lift heavy, take the necessary breaks between sets and make sure I work to muscle and total body exhaustion.
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