Calories for lifting, log all time or just active time?

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stumblinthrulife
stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
This isn't the usual "how do enter them?" thread.

I'm wondering what assumptions are made in the calculations. Are any rest periods taken into account? I 'lift' for 45 minutes, but at least half of that time is sat around with my thumb metaphorically up my bum in between sets. Should I log that as 45 minutes, or 22.5 minutes?

It won't make a big difference at the end of the day, but I like to know how things work.

Replies

  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
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    Bump, I want to know, too.
  • mallen404
    mallen404 Posts: 266 Member
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    cardio- strength training. if not moving much and taking a lot of breaks between reps

    Cardio- circuit if you are moving the whole time.

    my personal opinion.. lol.
  • reverendzor
    reverendzor Posts: 27 Member
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    I always wondered this myself, though I eventually stopped logging exercise calories burned.
  • judykat7
    judykat7 Posts: 576 Member
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    I log the total minutes. My heart rate doesn't drop between sets so even with my thumb in place I think I am still burning. Could be wrong, I am pretty new.
  • RepsnSets
    RepsnSets Posts: 805 Member
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    I rest 60 seconds per set and 90 seconds Never longer than that. when Im moving onto another exercise. I leave my HRM going the whole time (I know its not an accurate count) I also eat an extra 500 calories on lifting days.
  • mgsimon
    mgsimon Posts: 18
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    If this is important to you (as it was to me) invest in a Heart Rate monitor watch. That way, you can start the monitor before you start lifting. See the average heart rate or how often you were in which heart rate zones, and mark that down. Many gyms will have the VO2 max test as well which tells you your own calorie burn at different heart rate levels instead of estimating. I think I spent a total of $200 on the watch and the tests and I feel much more confident about the exercise burn calories I"m putting down. Results are good and averaging 2 lb a week. If you are going to lift, you might as well try to keep up the pace and make it a bit of a cardio work out or do some jumping jacks or stairs in between sets to keep up your heart rate. You don't say if you are only trying to lose weight or get fit/stronger or both. I'm focused on losing weight more than building muscle, but both are important.
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
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    I just log the time I was lifting in the gym including rest. MFP gives me about 220 cals per hour for Strength training so it is not much. I have been doing this for over a year and it seems to work out fine. The people that "keep their heart rate up" should be logging under circuit training to get a more accurate calorie count.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
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    I don't remember which website I used but I've tried to run the calculation on how much I burned, based on rest periods. It was far higher than what MFP estimates no matter which calculation I used.

    I'm pretty sure rest periods are calculated into MFP's calculations.
  • chubby_checkers
    chubby_checkers Posts: 2,354 Member
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    I just log the time I was lifting in the gym including rest.

    This is what I do. I don't eat calories back so it doesn't really matter. I just like the numbers.
  • turtlefitnessdad
    turtlefitnessdad Posts: 585 Member
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    half the minutes there is what i do, but i don't eat my calories back anyway so no biggie.
  • YoungDoc2B
    YoungDoc2B Posts: 1,593 Member
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    Just log the time you were in the gym lifting. Don't overcomplicate it
  • Weebs628
    Weebs628 Posts: 574 Member
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    I log the total time to make things easier.
  • Melo1966
    Melo1966 Posts: 881 Member
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    cardio- strength training. if not moving much and taking a lot of breaks between reps

    Cardio- circuit if you are moving the whole time.

    my personal opinion.. lol.

    This is good.
    It sounds like you should log it as strength training with the entire 45 mins.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
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    Just log the time you were in the gym lifting. Don't overcomplicate it

    It's not a matter of wanting to over-complicate. I just like to know how things work. Frankly it won't make any difference to how I eat/workout.
  • redchevy54
    redchevy54 Posts: 42 Member
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    I had the same question so I decided to do exercises between sets using a different muscle group. So I will go from bench to curls and back to bench. I seem to get a lot more done and keep my heart rate up. Another thing I have done is do 100 jumps on a jump rope between sets to keep burning the whole time.

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