Why does strength training not counted in fitness log?

babzog
babzog Posts: 19
in Fitness and Exercise
Oops... had to adjust subject for length and didn't proof before posting, so please forgive bad grammar there.

It's only cardio that's tracked and has the calories burned added to the log ... all strength training exercises seem to be ignored. How do we account for 50 min of strength training as far as calories burned?

Replies

  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    There are two options to choose from when logging exercise; cardio and strength.
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    Search for Strength Training in the cardiovascular section. It's there. I know because I used it last night.

    However, the burn given is relatively small and doesn't account for afterburn.
  • greeneyedKat
    greeneyedKat Posts: 88
    I was wondering the same thing...mfp lets you track it under cardio for some reason....try putting it in there
  • SuperSexyDork
    SuperSexyDork Posts: 1,669 Member
    I was wondering the same thing...mfp lets you track it under cardio for some reason....try putting it in there

    But you could also track each individual exercise by reps and weight under the strength portion.

    I used to but then realized I was keeping double records that I don't need because I'd already logged it in my notebook.
  • babzog
    babzog Posts: 19
    I was wondering the same thing...mfp lets you track it under cardio for some reason....try putting it in there

    But you could also track each individual exercise by reps and weight under the strength portion.

    I used to but then realized I was keeping double records that I don't need because I'd already logged it in my notebook.

    You can log it there, but the calories burned are not tracked anywhere I can find. I do a bit of cardio of warm up then hit the weights for nearly an hour. I do a true cardio workout 1-2x a week and weight training 3x a week, yet mfp would only think I'm doing limited exercise since it only appears to consider cardio as being a workout that can burn calories. Unless I'm missing something...
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
    "Strength Training" is an option under the cardio list so you can select it like any other cardio program.
  • RiverManUK
    RiverManUK Posts: 35 Member

    ... I do a bit of cardio of warm up then hit the weights for nearly an hour. ...
    That's probably why MFP doesn't calculate calories burnt for weight training. Everybody's idea of weight training is different.
    I recently joined a gym and explained to my instructor what my goals were; to lose the spare tyre, tone up, and be ski fit. To that aim my weights program is more like a circuit. I do pairs of exercises and go from one set to the next with the minimum of gap. By doing this my heart rate remains elevated.
    Compare this to what many people do when weight training. They do one exercise, so many reps - pause - another set - pause again, etc. Each pause allowing their heart rate to drop.
    I am not saying the latter way to weight train is wrong, it no doubt works for say strength training. But it doesn't burn as many calories per minute as a program does that keeps your heart rate elevated.
    So with that in mind I enter my weight training under cardio as circuit training.
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
    >But it doesn't burn as many calories per minute as a program does that keeps your heart rate elevated.

    This is false. you're using a different energy system in the body that doesn't use heart rate to burn calories. heart rate is a poor measure of calories burned while doing strength training.

    And if your goal is athletic performance like in skiing, you should be doing some sort of strength training as part of your routine. your trainer isn't a good one if he is not able to recognize this.
  • dualcollision
    dualcollision Posts: 87 Member
    People Say Strength Training isn't cardio, but I tend to disagree. If you Do strength training right and don't take super long breaks. It's like interval training and can work your cardio a little. Some people even start off doing hard stuff. and lower weights slowly on each exercise and never stop for 30-40 mins, making it cardio.

    Now, with that being said, It can be a cardio option. but It's still not as good as a nice walk/job/cycle would be.
  • HeelsAndBoxingGloves
    HeelsAndBoxingGloves Posts: 916 Member
    "Strength Training" is an option under the cardio list so you can select it like any other cardio program.

    ^^this.
  • lasooch
    lasooch Posts: 10
    >But it doesn't burn as many calories per minute as a program does that keeps your heart rate elevated.

    This is false. you're using a different energy system in the body that doesn't use heart rate to burn calories. heart rate is a poor measure of calories burned while doing strength training.

    And if your goal is athletic performance like in skiing, you should be doing some sort of strength training as part of your routine. your trainer isn't a good one if he is not able to recognize this.

    I've learned in my journeys that personal trainers at gyms are worthless most of the time.
  • NatsukoG
    NatsukoG Posts: 104
    I usually just log my strength training as circuit training under cardio.
  • Jynus
    Jynus Posts: 519 Member
    People Say Strength Training isn't cardio, but I tend to disagree. If you Do strength training right and don't take super long breaks. It's like interval training and can work your cardio a little. Some people even start off doing hard stuff. and lower weights slowly on each exercise and never stop for 30-40 mins, making it cardio.

    Now, with that being said, It can be a cardio option. but It's still not as good as a nice walk/job/cycle would be.
    The body has different energy systems that power muscles. one of them is cardio, which powers the muscles to do cardio. another is ATP-CP, which powers the muscles to do strength training. you can't do both at the same times. you're either doing maximal load work, or you're doing cardio.
  • elperrogigante
    elperrogigante Posts: 17
    You have to add the strength training as a cardio activity to get credit for the calories burned. What I did was to log the sets and reps in the Strength Training section then just generic "strength training" in the cardio section.

    The problem with using the strength training section to determine calories burned is that it doesn't capture the TIME spent lifting which is the only way to easily calculate the calories burned.

    Here's another calories burned calculator that includes several activities that may help if MFP doesn't have the correct exercise: http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calculator.cgi
  • RiverManUK
    RiverManUK Posts: 35 Member
    >But it doesn't burn as many calories per minute as a program does that keeps your heart rate elevated.

    This is false. you're using a different energy system in the body that doesn't use heart rate to burn calories. heart rate is a poor measure of calories burned while doing strength training.

    And if your goal is athletic performance like in skiing, you should be doing some sort of strength training as part of your routine. your trainer isn't a good one if he is not able to recognize this.

    I don't see how it can be false, it's simple maths. I am talking about calories burned per minute, not calories burned per workout.

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