Calories burned w/ Strength Training

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DamoniqueW
DamoniqueW Posts: 147 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I'm seeing all of these less cardio, more strength or weight training threads and research but no where have I seen how many calories are actually burned with strength training. For instance, I use the Workout Trainer app on my phone and it tells me the calories burned. But, when I log my strength training on MFP it does not subtract from my calories. This is where I'm confused. Any advise would be great. Thanks :)

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  • MrsH2132012
    MrsH2132012 Posts: 67 Member
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    Only cardio logs subtract calories, there is weight lifting/training under cardio but it is very low
    you're better off getting a HRM to get a better #

    I was burning average of 400 per session (HRM) and the cardio weight lifting says 200 . I create my own cardio entry for my lifting sessions (going without my HRM for now as a test)
  • Just_Scott
    Just_Scott Posts: 1,766 Member
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    In the space where it says machine gun, cross it out, and write in pizza oven. "Hey that'd be great for movie night" said Colonel Blake--oh sorry, wrong thread.
  • ash8184
    ash8184 Posts: 701 Member
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    Definitely go with a HRM.

    On a related note, it isn't necessarily about the calories burned during strength training itself as the after-effects. I'd highly recommend you read "The New Rules of Lifting for Women" - the author explains that muscle burns more over time than fat, and that strength training/heavy lifting in particular has a residual calorie-burning impact (therefore, it boosts metabolism).
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
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    You can log it under Cardio, but don't expect a high amount of burn. It's also hard to estimate and there are many variables to how many calories a person will burn in a session.

    Lastly, HRM's are not accurate for strength training. They work for cardio-style exercise only.
  • GetSoda
    GetSoda Posts: 1,267 Member
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    HRM is highly inaccurate for strength training.
  • phjorg1
    phjorg1 Posts: 642 Member
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    dont go with a hrm for strength training. its 100% innaccurate because strength training does not use oxygen to power the muscles.
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    You can log it under Cardio, but don't expect a high amount of burn. It's also hard to estimate and there are many variables to how many calories a person will burn in a session.

    Lastly, HRM's are not accurate for strength training. They work for cardio-style exercise only.

    This. One of the reasons strength training is touted so much is because it helps you to retain lean body mass. This is turn helps mitigate SOME of the adaptive thermogenesis that will occur due to dieting (AKA, your basal metabolic rate will drop just from dieting; the more muscle mass you have, the higher your BMR). And a lot of people just really hate steady state cardio, so they decide to not do it.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    Generally, many of us only count cardio for calorie burn since it is cardio that you maintain your increased cardio over a period of time. Of course, weight training does also burn more calories than sitting in the old lazy-boy... However, I treat that as a bonus or more accurately as a buffer against inaccuracies in intake and over-estimates of cardio values. Seems to average out most of the time for me; however, as always, the most accurate way to determine caloric burn is a quality HRM.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    So I'm seeing all of these less cardio, more strength or weight training threads and research but no where have I seen how many calories are actually burned with strength training. For instance, I use the Workout Trainer app on my phone and it tells me the calories burned. But, when I log my strength training on MFP it does not subtract from my calories. This is where I'm confused. Any advise would be great. Thanks :)

    There are about 1,000,000 reasons to exercise beyond just calorie burn. You don't burn a ton of calories lifting...but your body does release hormones that aid in burning of fat...you also get stronger and you maintain lean body mass which in turn allows your base metabolism to work faster at rest. You also burn an unknown number of calories over the following 48-72 hours after a "good" lifting session as your muscles repair themselves.

    Any good fitness plan is going to have elements of both cardio (weight lifting for your heart and cardiovascular system) and resistance training. It also helps immensely to set actual fitness goals rather than obsessing about calorie burn.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    It's important to remember:

    There is a BIG difference between BURNING calories and COUNTING calories burned.

    The fact that there is no effective way to accurately measure calories burned during resistance training DOES NOT mean there are not a lot of calories being burned.

    The direct calorie burn (as measured by oxygen uptake, or VO2) is low, but that is only one component of energy expenditure during resistance exercise. Factors like the non-aerobic metabolic pathways and elevated post-exercise oxygen consumption (neither of which can really be measured outside of a lab) contribute more to energy expenditure during exercise than does VO2.
  • DamoniqueW
    DamoniqueW Posts: 147 Member
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    Thanks everyone for all of the info. I'll just make sure I keep my strength training and cardio routines going. Can't go wrong with both, neither in excess.
  • OfficerDLA
    OfficerDLA Posts: 5 Member
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    If you do cardio before strength training your calorie count will be a lot higher. Per my HRM, in a 55 min Body Pump class I've burned 150-200 calories. When I did cardio before the strength class, I burned 437 calories. Cardio gets your heart rate up and the blood flowing through your body. You're better off getting a HRM, make sure it has a chest strap because they are the most accurate.
  • DamoniqueW
    DamoniqueW Posts: 147 Member
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    If you do cardio before strength training your calorie count will be a lot higher. Per my HRM, in a 55 min Body Pump class I've burned 150-200 calories. When I did cardio before the strength class, I burned 437 calories. Cardio gets your heart rate up and the blood flowing through your body. You're better off getting a HRM, make sure it has a chest strap because they are the most accurate.

    Awesome! Thanks :)

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