LIAR!

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RUNNINxRIOT
RUNNINxRIOT Posts: 32 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I've been using my Wahoo Fitness HR monitor during workouts. I think it's pretty good when I go out for a run. A 40 minute run should burn around 500 to 600 cals if it's fairly intense at points, and that's what the Wahoo reflects....

I also use it for weight training. Now, when I'm lifting weights for 45 minutes to an hour, it'll say that I'm burning like 500 calories. Granted, the weights are heavy and my HR goes up; but there is a lot of resting time in between (sometimes up to 4 minutes between sets). How is it possible that I could be burning that much when I'm not moving? Is the HR monitor inaccurate, or do people indeed burn lots of calories when lifting? I've always heard that you don't really burn calories when just strength training (no blended cardio), so who's the liar here? My HR monitor? -Or everyone I've read or listened to?
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Replies

  • jezama77
    jezama77 Posts: 138 Member
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    I have seen many people post that HRM are only to be used to determine calorie burn for cardio...
  • Viva81Diva
    Viva81Diva Posts: 148
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    I've been using my HRM for the past week, and noticed that is seems to be fairly accurate whether I am doing cardio or wt. Last week, I only burned a little over 115 calories with 15 minutes of TapouT ab exercises. Tonight, right after doing about 45 minutes of TapouT Cardio (which burned about 500), I did the same ab workout dvd and it read that I burned over 300. That's pretty accurate, given that my heart rate has been staying elevated for almost 10 minutes after working out to TxT. If you find that it is accurate during the cardio, and even while at rest (or sitting), then it is fairly accurate during a weight training session.
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    HRMs do not work for strength training. They are only intended for use to measure cardio.
  • Viva81Diva
    Viva81Diva Posts: 148
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    Personally, I don't see how it would be inaccurate during a weight training session if it measures heart rate. Your heart does still pump while training, just as it does with cardio, only at different speeds. It isn't measuring oxygen, so it cannot differentiate between an anaerobic and aerobic activity.
  • mccbabe1
    mccbabe1 Posts: 737 Member
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    Personally, I don't see how it would be inaccurate during a weight training session if it measures heart rate. Your heart does still pump while training, just as it does with cardio, only at different speeds. It isn't measuring oxygen, so it cannot differentiate between an anaerobic and aerobic activity.

    bump.. exactly... calories burned is calories burned... i do an hour long "body pump' class at the gym... weights/lt cardio.. and i track those cals burned!!
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    by all means use one just don't go eating those calories back and wonder why you aren't losing weight.

    some reading for you

    http://www.sparkpeople.com/community/ask_the_experts.asp?q=75
  • RUNNINxRIOT
    RUNNINxRIOT Posts: 32 Member
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    Thanks for the responses.. It does sound like there's some disagreement even here, so let me ask this:

    How much should body indeed be burning when doing a strength-only session with periods of rest? I tend to agree that if the heart is beating, then calories are theoretically being burned; so why would it be any different than a cardio session? I'm not saying that I think it's correct, but it does sound more logical. Is there a reason for the difference?

    -And Madds, is there a way to correct track your strength-training cals aside from a monitor?
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Not that I'm aware of, I suppose there is but probably to technical for me. Most people I spoke to don't track strength training apart from reps and weights.

    I edited my post above with a link.
  • Viva81Diva
    Viva81Diva Posts: 148
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    Every person burns calories at a different rate. It depends on your lifestyle: what you do daily, how much lean muscle you have, how much you consume and WHAT you put into your body, and your chemistry. To answer your question on how much you burn, try using different HRMs to measure how many calories you burn per minute at rest. The closer in number they are, that is a measure of what you burn. To figure out what you burn when your heart rate is elevated, you can always do a fit test. Use the HRM(s) at rest, then by doing 5 minutes of stepping, again at 5 minutes sitting after stepping, and then see how much you burn 10 minutes later, or when your heart rate returns to normal.

    A device is a device and not any machine/device is 100% true. Some are more accurate than others, but it's best not to solely rely on them. (Not saying you would :) It's just a way to help determine a measure.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Personally, I don't see how it would be inaccurate during a weight training session if it measures heart rate. Your heart does still pump while training, just as it does with cardio, only at different speeds. It isn't measuring oxygen, so it cannot differentiate between an anaerobic and aerobic activity.

    Your last sentence (correct) refuted your first sentence (incorrect).
  • adrienne_ut1
    adrienne_ut1 Posts: 14 Member
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    My personal trainer told me that intense weightlifting can burn just as many, if not more, calories than cardio so I wouldn't assume it's an extremely inflated number. I also use a HRM and personally I don't burn as many calories with weight lifting as I do cardio (for example, 45 minutes of intense cardio I burn between 500-550 calories and 45 minutes of weight lifting usually burns about 300 calories for me) but I do not lift heavy (yet) so I wouldn't say that my weight lifting routine is intense.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    The HRM is likely to way overestimate calories burnt while lifting weights I suspect.

    However, I believ lifting can continue to burn calories for something like 39 hours after you stop, as your body recovers and repairs. So in the grand scheme of things it may actually equal out a bit.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    HRMs do not work for strength training. They are only intended for use to measure cardio.

    NOT TRUE! Drives me nuts when people spout this broscience. But the fact is most lifters don't wear HRMs because they aren't needed, not that they don't work for lifting.

    I easily burn 400-600 calories during strength training. Just because you aren't moving during rest periods doesn't mean your muscles aren't burning calories.

    Example... yesterday I did 10 minutes @ level 8 on the elliptical as a warm-up. Only burned like 90 calories (even though the machine said I burned nearly twice that). The rest of my workout was just my bi/tri split. 78 minutes of total exercise time I burned 502 calories. 37 minutes of that 78 was rest periods between sets. So if you get 'technical' I only exercised 41 minutes, but again rest periods still count. All rest periods are for is to allow your glycogen to replenish. I personally pace (or step) during my rest periods just to keep my HR going and not get cold.

    Personally I use a FIT armband for my workouts and it is 90+% accurate. I can even tie an HRM to it if needed. I've found from personal experience that cardio is called cardio for a reason. It works your heart, lungs, and circulatory system... period.

    If you are a lifter, get a monitor that tracks the mETs your body produces during exercise. HR is not an accurate measurement of muscle usage. Look into the FIT or Up bands.
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
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    You can use hrms for lifting. I think the ones with the fitness test are better for lifting; Polar. The FT80 lets you download weight training workouts. I don't have that one.

    I do watch my heart rate when lifting. When I lift heavier/less reps (lower cal/higher fat burn) and when higher reps/less weight/less rest (more cal burn/less fat burn/more like cardio) <
    (Eta: per hrm readings)

    It's a great tool to monitor intensity.
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    My personal trainer told me that intense weightlifting can burn just as many, if not more, calories than cardio so I wouldn't assume it's an extremely inflated number. I also use a HRM and personally I don't burn as many calories with weight lifting as I do cardio (for example, 45 minutes of intense cardio I burn between 500-550 calories and 45 minutes of weight lifting usually burns about 300 calories for me) but I do not lift heavy (yet) so I wouldn't say that my weight lifting routine is intense.

    Your trainer is correct. However to get those high caloric burn lifting sessions your intensity and timing have to be spot on. That's the problem with most HRMs, they aren't designed for lifters, therefore they give inaccurate readings. There ARE HRMs that are designed for total fitness (cardio and lifting) but they are on the high end of the scale and therefore cost more. Plus most people are under the broscience that HRMs are only for cardio so they buy the ones that are cheaper and only designed for running/cardio.

    Trust me, you start pushing/pulling heavy weights... you burn a ton of calories. My personal preference is to burn my calories via lifting rather than spend hours of my life running in place on a treadmill. :bigsmile:
  • Mads1997
    Mads1997 Posts: 1,494 Member
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    HRMs do not work for strength training. They are only intended for use to measure cardio.

    NOT TRUE! Drives me nuts when people spout this broscience. But the fact is most lifters don't wear HRMs because they aren't needed, not that they don't work for lifting.

    I easily burn 400-600 calories during strength training. Just because you aren't moving during rest periods doesn't mean your muscles aren't burning calories.

    Example... yesterday I did 10 minutes @ level 8 on the elliptical as a warm-up. Only burned like 90 calories (even though the machine said I burned nearly twice that). The rest of my workout was just my bi/tri split. 78 minutes of total exercise time I burned 502 calories. 37 minutes of that 78 was rest periods between sets. So if you get 'technical' I only exercised 41 minutes, but again rest periods still count. All rest periods are for is to allow your glycogen to replenish. I personally pace (or step) during my rest periods just to keep my HR going and not get cold.

    Personally I use a FIT armband for my workouts and it is 90+% accurate. I can even tie an HRM to it if needed. I've found from personal experience that cardio is called cardio for a reason. It works your heart, lungs, and circulatory system... period.

    If you are a lifter, get a monitor that tracks the mETs your body produces during exercise. HR is not an accurate measurement of muscle usage. Look into the FIT or Up bands.

    Did you even read the link. As i said dont eat back your exercise cals and complain that you cant lose weight.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    It has to do with VO2. Here's a pretty good blog Adzak did on it.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    You can use hrms for lifting. I think the ones with the fitness test are better for lifting; Polar. The FT80 lets you download weight training workouts. I don't have that one.

    I do watch my heart rate when lifting. When I lift heavier/less reps (lower cal/higher fat burn) and when higher reps/less weight/less rest (more cal burn/less fat burn/more like cardio).

    It's a great tool to monitor intensity.


    I agree, most people don't track HR or calories during lifting (I personally do) and don't see the benefits of lifting. Most people don't know HOW to lift (as you described above) for their goals. There's so much more to lifting than picking things up and putting them down. :glasses:
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    Did you even read the link. As i said dont eat back your exercise cals and complain that you cant lose weight.

    I wasn't responding to that post...

    I was responding to your post about HRMs being useless for lifting. Did YOU read?
  • wswilliams67
    wswilliams67 Posts: 938 Member
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    It has to do with VO2. Here's a pretty good blog Adzak did on it.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/hrms-cannot-count-calories-during-strength-training-17698

    His article is accurate for MOST HRMs... not all. There are newer models out.

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