Weight training = no calories burned?

SkiDoo189
SkiDoo189 Posts: 11 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a bad knee and I'm only able to do upper body weight training. When tracking my weight training (i.e.: ab crunches, bicep curls etc) it doesn't show that I burn any calories. Does anyone have an idea of how many calories you burn when doing strength training? I sweat, so I know I'm burning some calories.

Replies

  • Atlantique
    Atlantique Posts: 2,484 Member
    I think MFP lists it under "Cardio".
  • EmpressOfJudgment
    EmpressOfJudgment Posts: 1,162 Member
    I don't count my strength training calories because they aren't really substantial. I wore my heart rate monitor a couple of times, just to see what I was burning, and it only came to about 50-60 calories for about 45 minutes.
  • greeneyed84
    greeneyed84 Posts: 427 Member
    It depends on what you're doing. For 20 minutes i usually burned around 150 calories and i do count it, i have my HRM on. Without one it's gonna be hard to figure it out
  • Bearface115
    Bearface115 Posts: 574 Member
    I don't count my strength training calories because they aren't really substantial. I wore my heart rate monitor a couple of times, just to see what I was burning, and it only came to about 50-60 calories for about 45 minutes.

    My HRM said minewas 256 cals and i did it for 55 mins and i f=did it in a group exercise class! so it kinda is benifitial, plus weight training BURNS FAT! its good stuff!
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    You might be able to find circuit training or weight training in the list of exercises. Strength training doesn't burn a lot of calories.

    I get about 250 for 70 minutes of any P90X weight DVD with abwork.

    BUT - weight training will increase your metabolism for a higher daily burn (I see an increase the next day too.)
  • jdg1mfp
    jdg1mfp Posts: 103
    Strength training calories are variable based on the effort of the individual.
    MFP will give you minor credit under cardio.
    I wore a heart rate monitor once during one of my weight training sessions and I was 500+ calories after 40 minutes.
    Its all about how hard you are working.
  • RunChinni
    RunChinni Posts: 149 Member
    Weight training doesn't make you burn calories immediately. It burns calories over a 24 hour period, if I am not wrong and it burns twice the amount of calories than cardio does.

    http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/cardio-vs-strength-training-workouts

    Hope this helps. I found a lot of improvement in my body from the time I started adding weight training to my routine and not just doing cardio.
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
    I wear a HRM during strenght training and it is always under 200 for a 30-minute session. Its does not burn many calories during the actual activity but will help to burn fat when you are not exercising.
  • Seginns
    Seginns Posts: 39
    I read somewhere that a good rule of thumb is 5 to 8 calories per minute if you are using heavy enough weights.
  • EHuntRN
    EHuntRN Posts: 320 Member
    its listed under cardio...and I would count it...
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    I count mine, but I do a body sculpting class. When I'm taking the class I burn about 265 in 60 minutes and when I'm teaching it's more like 350. I do have to say, however, most of my calories (which comes when my hr rises) comes from the lower body work . . . the upper body work doesn't get my hr up high enough for a good solid burn.
  • Angiebug1969
    Angiebug1969 Posts: 152
    Well said! You can pull it up under "Strength Training" in the MFP Exercise Database... enter your weight and it will give you a nominal number of calories possibly burned...

    BUT... that is definitely dependent upon the effort involved. :)
  • EmpressOfJudgment
    EmpressOfJudgment Posts: 1,162 Member
    Jesus. I'm sweating during my training. Maybe I'm broken. Or my HRM is broken.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
    My strength training routine takes about 50 minutes and burns between 130 and 160 calories depending on whether I'm working my upper or lower body - I am pretty short and not yet strong enough to be working with substantial weights, so you can regard that as the lower end of the scale. Obviously, leaving one minute between sets, half of that time is spent doing nothing! :D
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Also, regardless of the number of calories showing up on my HRM, I can definitely see the toning results. As I see my definition coming out I feel more and more powerful every day.
  • mrkleen73
    mrkleen73 Posts: 6
    Obviously weight training burns calories and if taking short rest periods with high intensity it burns more calories than you will burn on an elliptical or treadmill doing 45 minutes of steady state cardio. Not to mention the increase in metabolism. Not being rude but it is simply silly to think that an activity you are putting 3 times more energy into performing than cardio or aerobic activity would not be burning a substantial amount of energy.

    Heart rate alone is not a good guide of calories burned. Someone with excellent cardiovascular system will recover much more quickly and have a lower working heart rate but that does not mean they are burning less calories than someone who is out of shape the same body weight laboring to do the same intensity of work. As a matter of fact they probably have more lean body mass so more muscle to burn extra calories.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    I don't count my strength training calories because they aren't really substantial. I wore my heart rate monitor a couple of times, just to see what I was burning, and it only came to about 50-60 calories for about 45 minutes.
    Depends on how you are working out. If you are doing Metabollic Resistance Calories, you will burn WAY more calories than cardio through EPOC (afterburn) for up to 48 hours after your workout. Plus you will build muscle, which in turn will burn even more calories in the long run.
    That being said, I don't count mine either, even though I do Metabolic Resistance Training.
  • cedarghost
    cedarghost Posts: 621 Member
    Obviously weight training burns calories and if taking short rest periods with high intensity it burns more calories than you will burn on an elliptical or treadmill doing 45 minutes of steady state cardio. Not to mention the increase in metabolism. Not being rude but it is simply silly to think that an activity you are putting 3 times more energy into performing than cardio or aerobic activity would not be burning a substantial amount of energy.

    Heart rate alone is not a good guide of calories burned. Someone with excellent cardiovascular system will recover much more quickly and have a lower working heart rate but that does not mean they are burning less calories than someone who is out of shape the same body weight laboring to do the same intensity of work. As a matter of fact they probably have more lean body mass so more muscle to burn extra calories.
    We must have posted at the same time, but this is wha I was trying to say. Well said.......
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    You'll have to use a HRM to measure calories burned while lifting. It varies too much from person to person to be obtained from a database.
  • Cranktastic
    Cranktastic Posts: 1,517 Member
    I wore my HRM and did 15 minutes cardio and about 45 minutes give or take of Strength training...Stronglifts workout A, Squat, Bench, Barbell row...5 set of 5

    said i burned 525 calories...i enter it manually under cardio here. I like making my own category...Heh..but they do have one for strength training.

    Hope this helps, and you bet i EAT those calories.
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    I don't count my strength training calories because they aren't really substantial. I wore my heart rate monitor a couple of times, just to see what I was burning, and it only came to about 50-60 calories for about 45 minutes.

    What was your routine and how heavy did you lift?
  • Lift_hard_eat_big
    Lift_hard_eat_big Posts: 2,278 Member
    Lifting weights is a form of work. Work required energy. Calories provide the body with energy, so yes, lifting burns calories.
  • fantasiaosei
    fantasiaosei Posts: 1
    Remember more muscle = more calories burned! I suffered a horrible knee injury 4 yrs ago along with child birth and a hypothyroid. BC I was stuck on a couch for a yr without being able to walk.. I packed on the pounds horribly. I do deep water resistance training for my leg... it is a great workout for your whole body especially legs. The high resistance and low impact has done wonders for me... I am now able to hit the gym and do weights. I have done the cardio and found that I would lose weight but plateau lots. So then I hit the weights and dropped 10 lbs in 6 days... no BS.
    Good luck!
  • teddabod
    teddabod Posts: 222 Member
    Thank you for this thread. I've been wondering about the cals on my strength training and how to track it here. You folks rock.
  • autumnsquirrel
    autumnsquirrel Posts: 258 Member
    I have been mulling this one over, as well. I do an hour of weight training a few times a week and, according to my HRM, burn between 54 and 100 calories. I work very hard, too. I supplement with cardio--jogging, elliptical, etc., because seeing low numbers on the HRM makes me feel like I didn't do much.
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