Calories burned in crossfit

thistimesucess
thistimesucess Posts: 169 Member
edited October 25 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm starting a crossfit boot camp this week and am not sure on how to record the calories burned. Does anyone have some idea of the calories burned during crossfit or suggestions on what I can record it under. I was thinking of using circuit training general.
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Replies

  • MallyPie
    MallyPie Posts: 81
    I highly recommend a heart rate monitor that can also track your calories. My trainer explains to me that while doing crossfit, you want to make sure your heart rate stays elevated. I track mine using that and just called it something I would know.

    Good luck! It has done wonders for me in 2 months. I have lost over 10 inches. I just started losing weight, but I can feel how much stronger I am getting.
  • labelleariane
    labelleariane Posts: 25 Member
    I just started (Jan 2) crossfit. It s feel good. It helped a lot with my running. I m a newbie and my trainer downsized exercice for me.
  • Health_Gal
    Health_Gal Posts: 715 Member
    While I'm sure there are some reasonable trainers that work within the Crossfit system, Crossfit is know for being extreme and pushing participants to force their bodies to go beyond safe levels of exercise.

    Crossfit has nothing that a good trainer can't give you, so why pay extra for it?
  • aswearingen22
    aswearingen22 Posts: 271 Member
    While I'm sure there are some reasonable trainers that work within the Crossfit system, Crossfit is know for being extreme and pushing participants to force their bodies to go beyond safe levels of exercise.

    Crossfit has nothing that a good trainer can't give you, so why pay extra for it?

    I listened to a Jillian Micheal's podcast a few weeks ago where she didn't have a lot of nice things to say about Crossfit. She said there is no licensing requirements for the "box" owners and some out there are doing downright dangerous things and people are getting hurt. She said there's no reason to lift such extreme amounts of weight, that your own body weight used in exercises is plenty, and helps avoid injury. She said that Crossfit basically makes you better at the 20 exercises they perform, but you're not a better athlete. She said Bob Harper used to be in amazing shape, but now he's a huge crossfit guy (and owns a "box" she said), and she had him do a circuit the other day and he was winded within a few minutes (but hugely defensive about it, she said CF has a cult like following and she was going to get hate mail!). I have neighbors that do it and love it and think it's crazy I run 12 miles at a time, to each their own I guess?;)
  • ubermensch13
    ubermensch13 Posts: 824 Member
    I've been doing crossfit for over 4 months, and perhaps I found a good group of trainers, but I've never been pushed past my limits once. I usually log them as circuit training for the WOD. I've had no injuries, and have seen no injuries suffered since I've been participating. People need to use their best judgement with any program, if you think it is dangerous, lift lighter.
  • Health_Gal
    Health_Gal Posts: 715 Member
    Crossfit might start people out fairly slow and easy to get them to buy into the program, but watch out when they put you in the "regular class" where things get a LOT tougher FAST! I know people that tried Crossfit, and would never go back or recommend it to others. Also, Crossfit is usually MUCH more expensive than other gyms in the area.

    This is a really good and informative article you might want to read before you get any more involved with that program.

    Getting Fit, Even If It Kills You

    http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/22/fashion/thursdaystyles/22Fitness.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
  • jla8375
    jla8375 Posts: 1 Member
    WOW, a general question on how to enter a workout and you get blasted with opinions of what you should be doing instead. I have also wondered this, hence the reason I looked it up as well and found this thread. I had started entering it as Calesthenics, vigorous effort and then the time that the actual WOD took. I am guessing I was underestimating how much I burned but thought it was a great place to start.
    FYI: I started Crossfit back in Sept 2012, am still loving it, currently am 4 months pregnant have a great time at my box, I am never pushed past my limits (which are clearly lower now) and I think everyone should just find something that makes them happy and eager to keep moving. Plain and simple!
  • pinkibone
    pinkibone Posts: 1
    well said!
  • glowhoney
    glowhoney Posts: 1 Member
    Hi
    I use circuit training as an approximation.

    And on the subject of crossfit generally...
    In the 2 months I have been going to crossfit my fitness has improved significantly and my weight is going down. I scale everything, I've never felt pushed, never been injured, in fact my mobility and strength have increased so I feel less prone to injury and in fact the knee pain that has plagued me for years has decreased. I hope to reach a point where I have no pain at all.
    The trainers are great. Technique is paramount at every session I attend. I never had so much advice and encouragement in any gym I ever attended before, even from the other participants, they actually talk to you, instead of hogging the machines and ignoring everyone around them..
    I have found it extremely rewarding in a short space of time.
    So I say... don't be put off by hearsay.

    Cheers
    Josephine
  • nashai01
    nashai01 Posts: 536 Member
    I have a Polar Heart Rate Monitor. I have it on during my entire crossfit session. I used to use it in the reg gym and the calories burned appeared to be accurate. However the owner of the crossfit box I go to informed me that you actually burn more calories after you finish a crossfit workout. I put in MFP the number off of my heart rate monitor but I think I actually burn more. I log it in my workouts as interval training inluding crossfit. Hope this helps
  • xunleashed
    xunleashed Posts: 82 Member
    Talk about turning a question about calories into an all out bashing of CF.

    And for those who say box owners do NOT need a license...in order to be certified by Crossfit, the actual organization, you have to have the owner/trainers complete the level 1 certification course.

    Everything can be scaled, so there is no going past the point of being "safe"

    As far as calories...get a HRM.
  • fakeittomakeit
    fakeittomakeit Posts: 48 Member
    I just joined my local crossfit gym and love it!!! I feel like I have more results after two weeks of xfit as opposed to months of a weight training program I was doing at the Y, on my own. The coaches are ridiculously supportive, as are the other xfitters. If my form is not right for a lift, I have to keep practicing until I get it right before weights are added. I sweat more after 15 min of a hard wod than I did after running 5 or more miles. I have NEVER been encouraged to lift more weight, in fact I've wanted to do much more and been told no, that it may cause an injury. If someone is being pressured to do something that is clearly wrong, they should not do it. The box I go to is extremely reasonable, cost wise, and I am so happy to have found a program that is the right fit for me. It's clear that posters bashing the program have something personal at stake. I have no idea how to track calories burned, but I know that I'm inspired to eat better.
  • MikeInAZ
    MikeInAZ Posts: 483 Member
    For the 1 Millionth time. Get a Polar FT4 or FT7 heart rate monitor! Amazon is your best best for price.

    Pink FT4 $65 + Free Shipping

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M1P85O/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005M1P85O&linkCode=as2&tag=digimedidire-20
  • aernest825
    aernest825 Posts: 4 Member
    i have never done crossfit, but i would probably list it as calisthenics.
  • hlumpkins10
    hlumpkins10 Posts: 2
    it's hard to figure out how many calories you actually burn from your crossfit workout. I usually put down circuit training and then the time the WOD took me, but your body keeps burning calories well after you have completed the workout.
  • moxette
    moxette Posts: 104 Member
    I don't crossfit, but I have used a heart rate monitor and played with net versus gross calories... lactate threshold versus max heart rate and through it all I have found that this little chart seems to be perfectly accurate if you aren't up for buying a heart rate monitor.

    HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU BURN IN YOUR WORKOUTS?

    Moderate Intensity:
    100-150lbs 6 calories per minute
    150-200lbs 8 calories per minute
    200-250lbs 10 calories per minute
    250-300lbs 12 calories per minute

    High Intensity
    100-150lbs 9 calories per minute
    150-200lbs 11 calories per minute
    200-250lbs 13 calories per minute
    250-300lbs 15 calories per minute

    MODERATE: is the intensity you can sustain for a workout lasting 15-60 minutes.
    HIGH: is sprints, burpees, pushups, pullups, anything where you are moving through a larger area of space.

    Most crossfit workouts are about 20-30% percent high and 70-80% moderate.
  • toporifico
    toporifico Posts: 12 Member
    People who haven't even tried Crossfit really need to stop bashing it. If you're a newbie to working out then maybe you should ease into exercise first, but nobody at the Crossfit box puts a gun to your head and forces you to do anything. They don't want you to get hurt anymore than you do. A bad trainer is a bad trainer no matter who they work for, period. Ultimately YOU are responsible if YOU push past YOUR limits and get injured!! In my experience, it's hands down the most effective workout program I've ever done and I've tried just about EVERYTHING!!

    There's definitely truth to the fact that high intensity training elevates your metabolism to where you are burning calories for up to 24-36 hours AFTER exertion. That being said, I still wanted a baseline number to enter into the app to figure cals burned. I found this site which seems to have pretty decent info specific to Crossfit.

    http://www.mycaloriesburned.com/crossfit-calories-burned/

    Crossfit Calories Burned – Slow Pace
    If you weigh roughly 130 pounds: 207 calories burned doing crossfit per hour
    If you weigh roughly 155 pounds: 246 calories burned per hour
    If you weigh roughly 180 pounds: 286 calories burned per hour
    If you weigh roughly 205 pounds: 326 calories burned per hour

    Crossfit Calories Burned – Fast Pace
    If you weigh roughly 130 pounds: 472 calories burned doing crossfit per hour
    If you weigh roughly 155 pounds: 563 calories burned per hour
    If you weigh roughly 180 pounds: 654 calories burned per hour
    If you weigh roughly 205 pounds: 745 calories burned per hour
  • Camille8318
    Camille8318 Posts: 1 Member
    I appreciate you writing this. I recently joined a crossfit gym and was amazed at how much they cater to your own abilities. Maybe it's not like that at every gym, but my gym actually has "beginner" classes. I've been going for over a month now, and I still attend the beginner classes. It's at my pace, and I don't feel like the people around me are intimidating or anything. They put the "goal" up on the board for weights, but they never force us to make those weights. Everything is to our own ability. Everything is scale-able. On that note, I think that they best way to calculate how many calories you're burning is to wear a heart rate monitor. It's the only way to really get a true estimate of what you're burning! :o)
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    Lol@jillian's opinion on anything exercise related. 30DS is how Olympic athletes prepare, I guess.

    Re: exercise calories, every day is different, plus there is more time spent learning than training, typically. You can mark it down as circuit training, but it can get iffy depending on the wod.

    An hrm would do you about zero good, Btw.
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    Personally, I am not a fan of Crossfit. It is very expensive, and the exercise routines are too extreme for most people.

    While it's true they can "scale down" the workout, who wants to be in a gym where the majority of participants are mancho tough guys, and you are just wanting to get in a reasonable workout? Crossfit would make most people feel like a first grader trying to compete with college kids. Because of the extreme nature of the workouts, Crossfit participants tend to have more injuries than people involved with more reasonable workout programs. And if you get injured, your exercise options will be very limited until you heal.

    For the vast majority of the population that wants to get fit, there are much better options out there than Crossift. Check out thee YMCA and other local gyms that offer group classes and personal trainers.

    If you already paid the membership fee at a Crossfit gym, I hope they will give you a refund if you change your mind!

    Any time I have ever looked up a thread regarding Crossfit you are there bashing it!! If you don't think Crossfit is for you, cool, don't do Crossfit. Why are you making it your MFP mission to find every thread related to Crossfit and complain that it is unsafe?? We are all adults who make our own decisions about what type of workouts we want to participate in. YOU go join the YMCA, let the people who want to do Crossfit do Crossfit!!!
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    I dunno, like 5?
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Personally, I am not a fan of Crossfit. It is very expensive, and the exercise routines are too extreme for most people.

    While it's true they can "scale down" the workout, who wants to be in a gym where the majority of participants are mancho tough guys, and you are just wanting to get in a reasonable workout? Crossfit would make most people feel like a first grader trying to compete with college kids. Because of the extreme nature of the workouts, Crossfit participants tend to have more injuries than people involved with more reasonable workout programs. And if you get injured, your exercise options will be very limited until you heal.

    For the vast majority of the population that wants to get fit, there are much better options out there than Crossift. Check out thee YMCA and other local gyms that offer group classes and personal trainers.

    If you already paid the membership fee at a Crossfit gym, I hope they will give you a refund if you change your mind!

    Any time I have ever looked up a thread regarding Crossfit you are there bashing it!! If you don't think Crossfit is for you, cool, don't do Crossfit. Why are you making it your MFP mission to find every thread related to Crossfit and complain that it is unsafe?? We are all adults who make our own decisions about what type of workouts we want to participate in. YOU go join the YMCA, let the people who want to do Crossfit do Crossfit!!!

    Have you gotten your welcome "crossfit is evil" PM from that poster yet?

    OP - HRMs won't be accurate either. A great explanation of why
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1044313-this-is-why-hrms-have-limited-use-for-tracking-calories

    You could log it as circuit training.
  • CakeFit21
    CakeFit21 Posts: 2,521 Member
    I dunno, like 5?

    at least.
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    Damn Dav, I followed you here and it's an old thread.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    i got duped
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Lol@jillian's opinion on anything exercise related. 30DS is how Olympic athletes prepare, I guess.

    Re: exercise calories, every day is different, plus there is more time spent learning than training, typically. You can mark it down as circuit training, but it can get iffy depending on the wod.

    An hrm would do you about zero good, Btw.

    ^this

    And some of the strength/drill work and even the warm-ups sometimes are not an immaterial calorie burn. And the WODs could easily vary by a factor of 3-5.

    Example:

    Tomorrow's WOD:

    Single, AMRAP in 8mins of:
    3 Hang Squat Cleans (#135/95)
    6 Toes to Bar
    9 Push-Ups (scale up ring push-ups)

    2min rest

    In teams of 2, complete AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
    5 C2B/Pull-Ups/ring rows
    10 Burpees over barbell
    (One person working at a time, complete full round)

    3 min rest

    In teams of 4 complete AMRAP in 15 minutes of:
    25m Prowler Push(#180/90) + 50m Sprint
    (One person working at a time, complete full round)

    Previous WOD:
    7 min AMRAP 7 wb (20#), 7 burpees)

    Huge difference between these two.


    Edit: the word "yet" didn't belong in that sentence.
  • K_Serz
    K_Serz Posts: 1,299 Member

    OP - HRMs won't be accurate either. A great explanation of why
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1044313-this-is-why-hrms-have-limited-use-for-tracking-calories

    I guess no one in the world gives the HRM companies any credit for being able to develop a device that comes close to measuring this. Hey, it may not be perfect, but what other method can a home user utilize for around $50. Its cheaper than filling up my damn gas tank these days.

    http://www.trifuel.com/training/heart-rate-training/can-a-heart-rate-monitor-really-tell-you-how-many-calories-youve-burnt#.Uec5K234rF0

    (This was 4 years ago. I will make the assumption they have made some progress within the last four years.)
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member

    OP - HRMs won't be accurate either. A great explanation of why
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1044313-this-is-why-hrms-have-limited-use-for-tracking-calories

    I guess no one in the world gives the HRM companies any credit for being able to develop a device that comes close to measuring this. Hey, it may not be perfect, but what other method can a home user utilize for around $50. Its cheaper than filling up my damn gas tank these days.

    http://www.trifuel.com/training/heart-rate-training/can-a-heart-rate-monitor-really-tell-you-how-many-calories-youve-burnt#.Uec5K234rF0

    (This was 4 years ago. I will make the assumption they have made some progress within the last four years.)

    There are models that do but they are extremely pricey. Your average HRM is designed for steady state cardio.
    I dont' see the point of spending even $50 if it isn't really any more accurate than free online calculators.

    ETA - to clarfiy - don't see the point of buying one for calorie estimates, there are other uses for a HRM.
  • hidzlosingit
    hidzlosingit Posts: 3 Member
    I love Cross Fit!!!! There's my 2 cents~~:drinker:
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    I love Cross Fit!!!! There's my 2 cents~~:drinker:

    Making a post like that used to result in receiving a letter from an MFP member enumerating the many terrifying dangers of crossfit. Let us know if you receive one...

    ...(says the guy currently icing his forearm/elbow for a sore tendon. =P)
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