Weight lifting calories?

dwiebe85
dwiebe85 Posts: 123
in Fitness and Exercise
So I know that calories burned from weight lifting is not accurate on a heart rate monitor. But i'd like to be able to plug in something to MFP to show that I worked out. Does anyone have recommendations?
«1

Replies

  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Go to cardio exercise then strength training and put in how long you exercised. Remember it may not be accurate though because there are so many variables
  • dwiebe85
    dwiebe85 Posts: 123
    i know there's so many variables, but i was just wondering what people thought i could put in for it.
  • Ari112233
    Ari112233 Posts: 91 Member
    So I know that calories burned from weight lifting is not accurate on a heart rate monitor. But i'd like to be able to plug in something to MFP to show that I worked out. Does anyone have recommendations?

    Why not? I had not heard that and have been posting weight lifting calories. Am I overstating burn?
  • samcat2000
    samcat2000 Posts: 106 Member
    Been wondering the same thing about 1 hr of reformer pilates. I think this app tells me I'm burning about 179 cal for one hour...just not sure if that's accurate but am using this number because don't know what else to put in. I am often thinking now though "dig a little deeper and burn a couple of extra calories!"
  • jaz050465
    jaz050465 Posts: 3,508 Member
    Use the MFP calculator.
  • envy09
    envy09 Posts: 353 Member
    So I know that calories burned from weight lifting is not accurate on a heart rate monitor. But i'd like to be able to plug in something to MFP to show that I worked out. Does anyone have recommendations?

    Why not? I had not heard that and have been posting weight lifting calories. Am I overstating burn?

    Most likely. A HRM measures how hard you are working by using your heart rate; both cardio and weight lifting elevate your heart rate. However, when you do cardio, you're using your whole body, unlike with weight training. Thus, the HRM overestimates your burn because it counts as if you were doing cardio.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Use the MFP estimate for strength training, and it's low, or may seem low, and correctly so.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    So I know that calories burned from weight lifting is not accurate on a heart rate monitor. But i'd like to be able to plug in something to MFP to show that I worked out. Does anyone have recommendations?

    Why not? I had not heard that and have been posting weight lifting calories. Am I overstating burn?

    Real burn is probably 1/4 to 1/3 what the HRM says.

    HRM calorie burn formula is for aerobic steady-state exercise, meaning 3-5 min of same HR.

    Lifting is anaerobic and no where near steady state.

    Plus totally different energy burn mechanism that has nothing to do with delivery of oxygen to burn fuel, which is why the HR increases for aerobic activity.
  • dwiebe85
    dwiebe85 Posts: 123
    so i can possibly add 1/3 of what the HRM says?
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    so i can possibly add 1/3 of what the HRM says?

    I'll bet that is might close to what MFP would give you too. Sure.
  • dwiebe85
    dwiebe85 Posts: 123
    but no one knows for sure?
  • kapoorpk
    kapoorpk Posts: 244 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!
  • Mighty_Rabite
    Mighty_Rabite Posts: 581 Member
    I just enter it as cardiovascular activity under strength training. The number is WAY lower than cardio (even when I chop 20% from my cardio calories it takes me 20 minutes or less to burn what I do in an hour of weight training), but if you're tracking and want to stay on track.. I'd rather estimate low burns myself!
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    do you really need to log it in MFP? I never log my work outs..I just post them to show what I did for day....
  • envy09
    envy09 Posts: 353 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    If you read my above post, you'll see why you're wrong.
  • poptastic
    poptastic Posts: 151 Member
    I don't bother tracking the lifting part of my workout, only the cardio. If you want to keep a record, why not just keep a note for yourself of how the weights are increasing or how many reps you're doing. In terms of calories, I just see the burn as a bonus.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    Well, it's hardly absent just because you don't chose to go educate yourself. So just because you don't know what true calorie burn is based on (amount of oxygen used), and trying to tie that to HR, is merely an estimate, read up and be surprised.

    Polar funded study linked on this page, read through it and see when the formula's are correct for usage, as we've all stated steady-state (3-5 min same HR) aerobic between light exercise level (90 bpm) and up to anaerobic threshold level (150-160).

    And as you probably know, lifting and intervals is by nature an anaerobic effort if done correctly and hardly steady-state.

    www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm

    Plus read up on not only invalid times, but what can also cause problems during valid times.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    Well, it's hardly absent just because you don't chose to go educate yourself. So just because you don't know what true calorie burn is based on (amount of oxygen used), and trying to tie that to HR, is merely an estimate, read up and be surprised.

    Polar funded study linked on this page, read through it and see when the formula's are correct for usage, as we've all stated steady-state (3-5 min same HR) aerobic between light exercise level (90 bpm) and up to anaerobic threshold level (150-160).

    And as you probably know, lifting and intervals is by nature an anaerobic effort if done correctly and hardly steady-state.

    www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm

    Plus read up on not only invalid times, but what can also cause problems during valid times.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn

    Those that say a HRM is useless are correct. Some additional info on this:
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698

    If one wishes, in the light of this info to still insist on the accuracy of an HRM for strength training it reminds me of the saying, "some would rather curse the darkness than light a lamp". Bottom line is in an anaerobic activity, heart rate is immaterial relative to energy burned.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    You can try something like this http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php. I used to use that back when I was anal about counting exercise calories.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    No. Here is why.

    HRM estimates calories based on a an equation that considers oxygen consumption in the oxygen driven energy system. In this system (called "aerobic") the amount of oxygen delivered is a function of blood flow and therefore the HR is a good estimator of oxygen consumption and calories burned.
    During resistance training the change in HR is also a function of other pysiological events (Vasala response, neural recruitment, even short lived molecules like ephineprine (adrenaline)) - this HR change is not a function of oxygen consumption. On the other hand, the energy system being used is first the glycogen storage - then a mix of aerobic and anerobic systems. The glycogen storage system - while it does not raise HR, is incredibly efficient. So you get a burn from a non HR raising event and one could think that this would count - except it is only a 30-45 second burn. Negligeable.

    tl;dr - count resistance training at 1/3-1/2 of what the HRM says depending on how intense it feels to you.

    There is research and tables somewhere on the internetz if you don't believe me.
  • Feisty_Red
    Feisty_Red Posts: 982 Member
    I just input and create my own lifting exercises under the cardio section of exercises... but I just put 1 calorie in the amount burned..
  • keepinup1003
    keepinup1003 Posts: 2
    Ok, hate to dredge this up but what if you're doing weight lifting circuits with cardio bursts?

    For instance, a superset:

    Lat pulldowns
    Deadlift, power clean, back squat
    1 min run on treadmill at 10% incline, 5.5 mph

    And you do that superset 3 times. I can't figure out, in a non-freak way, the strength and cardio portions to figure out calorie burn.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Ok, hate to dredge this up but what if you're doing weight lifting circuits with cardio bursts?

    For instance, a superset:

    Lat pulldowns
    Deadlift, power clean, back squat
    1 min run on treadmill at 10% incline, 5.5 mph

    And you do that superset 3 times. I can't figure out, in a non-freak way, the strength and cardio portions to figure out calorie burn.

    So normal rests during the lifting portions, and the cardio is only 1 min? Not enough cardio to worry about.

    But for other stuff.

    From an article somewhere out there on a body building site and others.

    Step 1
    Weigh yourself before each weight lifting session. The number of calories you burn partially depends on your weight.
    Step 2
    Time the number of minutes you lifted weights. This includes the time spent resting between repetitions.
    Step 3
    Determine the intensity value of your weight training. A bodybuilding level of effort is vigorous and burns 0.055 calories per pound per minute. Circuit training with weights burns 0.042 calories per pound per minute. Strength training with free weights burns 0.039 calories per pound per minute. Lighter weight lifting with moderate effort burns 0.028 calories per pound per minute.
    Step 4
    Calculate the number of calories burned. First, multiply your weight by the number of minutes you exercised. For example, if you weigh 140 lbs. and lifted weights for 35 minutes, the formula would be 140 x 35 = 4900. Then multiply this number by the intensity value to get the number of calories burned. If you were circuit training, the formula would be 4900 x 0.042 = 206 calories burned.
  • kapoorpk
    kapoorpk Posts: 244 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    If you read my above post, you'll see why you're wrong.

    Ok, thanks for pointing it out. I read up more about it and learned more about it that I wasn't aware of previously. Thanks.
  • kapoorpk
    kapoorpk Posts: 244 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    No. Here is why.

    HRM estimates calories based on a an equation that considers oxygen consumption in the oxygen driven energy system. In this system (called "aerobic") the amount of oxygen delivered is a function of blood flow and therefore the HR is a good estimator of oxygen consumption and calories burned.
    During resistance training the change in HR is also a function of other pysiological events (Vasala response, neural recruitment, even short lived molecules like ephineprine (adrenaline)) - this HR change is not a function of oxygen consumption. On the other hand, the energy system being used is first the glycogen storage - then a mix of aerobic and anerobic systems. The glycogen storage system - while it does not raise HR, is incredibly efficient. So you get a burn from a non HR raising event and one could think that this would count - except it is only a 30-45 second burn. Negligeable.

    tl;dr - count resistance training at 1/3-1/2 of what the HRM says depending on how intense it feels to you.



    There is research and tables somewhere on the internetz if you don't believe me.


    I did research it after I saw these posts and understand what you are pointing out. Thank you.
  • kapoorpk
    kapoorpk Posts: 244 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    Well, it's hardly absent just because you don't chose to go educate yourself. So just because you don't know what true calorie burn is based on (amount of oxygen used), and trying to tie that to HR, is merely an estimate, read up and be surprised.

    Polar funded study linked on this page, read through it and see when the formula's are correct for usage, as we've all stated steady-state (3-5 min same HR) aerobic between light exercise level (90 bpm) and up to anaerobic threshold level (150-160).

    And as you probably know, lifting and intervals is by nature an anaerobic effort if done correctly and hardly steady-state.

    www.braydenwm.com/calburn.htm

    Plus read up on not only invalid times, but what can also cause problems during valid times.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/773451-is-my-hrm-giving-me-incorrect-calorie-burn

    I didn't chose to not educate my self, just never had the need to dig into this further. But, I did look into it now and understand the point. Thanks for the explanation.
  • aj445
    aj445 Posts: 183 Member
    Absent any evidence to the contrary, I do believe the HRM is accurate. It calculates calories burnt based on your heart rate. So, when you lift the heart rate goes up, increasing the burn, when you rest between sets the HR comes down and you burn less calories. Have never heard its inaccurate, might have some margin of error. But then, so does everything else. At least its specific to you and your activity. My vote is with the HRM. Good luck!

    If you read my above post, you'll see why you're wrong.

    you can easily use your whole body in weight training. Depends on your workout.
  • kapoorpk
    kapoorpk Posts: 244 Member
    So, its been enlightening to learn more about HRM inaccuracies in measuring Weight Training calorie burn. Would the calorie burn still be with a high degree of inaccuracy if one lifts moderate to heavy weights with 30 seconds or so of interval between sets, almost making it a circuit training format?
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    So I know that calories burned from weight lifting is not accurate on a heart rate monitor. But i'd like to be able to plug in something to MFP to show that I worked out. Does anyone have recommendations?

    Why not? I had not heard that and have been posting weight lifting calories. Am I overstating burn?

    Extremely inaccurate. My HRM usually shows 1200-1300 calories burned per workout. I log MFP's recommendation of about 400-450 and that puts me on track for expected weight loss. By logging the HRM's amount I wasn't losing weight anymore for several months before I wised up.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    Been wondering the same thing about 1 hr of reformer pilates. I think this app tells me I'm burning about 179 cal for one hour...just not sure if that's accurate but am using this number because don't know what else to put in. I am often thinking now though "dig a little deeper and burn a couple of extra calories!"

    That is about what my fitbit tells me I burn during pilates. The more advanced you are, the more calories you may burn. I just try to make sure I get a good amount of protein afterwards to make up for any calorie burn I may be missing.

Categories