No calorie burn for weight lifting?!

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wonderwoman234
wonderwoman234 Posts: 551 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just did an hour of intensive strength training/circuit training followed by 20 minutes of walking on an incline. The weight training was way more tiring than the walking. How come we don't burn any calories for weight lifting? Seems odd.

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  • Leadfoot_Lewis
    Leadfoot_Lewis Posts: 1,623 Member
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    How come we don't burn any calories for weight lifting? Seems odd.

    Who said we don't?

    A calorie is a unit of energy. Do you need energy to weight lift? Yes.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    I assume you're logging it under Strength Training which is for tracking only vs under cardio which will show calories. Of course how accurate those calories are is questionable at best...
  • TLC7613
    TLC7613 Posts: 86 Member
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    You do burn calories lifting weights. I take a calls at my gym called Bodypump and the MFP app says it burns 500 something calories for the 60 minutes
  • enigmaneo
    enigmaneo Posts: 61 Member
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    Basically there is no good way to estimate it. I just usually know I have a few more calories in my mind on days I lift.
  • jos05
    jos05 Posts: 263 Member
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    If I do intense weight training... and I mean... hard work! No slacking off... I usually log it as circuit training! But I usually take off 5-10 mins because I know there will be times I am taking breaks between sets, etc. But that is how I calculate my weight training time.

    There's also another one listed under cardio... strength training... I use this one if I am only doing free weights and for any time under 20 mins.
  • saradord
    saradord Posts: 129
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    You do burn calories lifting weights. I take a calls at my gym called Bodypump and the MFP app says it burns 500 something calories for the 60 minutes
    Love Body pump!!!
  • wonderwoman234
    wonderwoman234 Posts: 551 Member
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    LOL I know I burn calories when I lift. :) What I meant to ask is why myfitnesspal does not give credit (calorie wise) when you log in your weight lifting. I'll log in in exercise and see what it shows.

    Thanks for all the answers!
  • TLC7613
    TLC7613 Posts: 86 Member
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    ME TOO! Today will be my 2nd time taking it this week and i'm honestly a little nervous about how it's gunna go. I'm SO SORE and stiff!!
  • pastrychefoz
    pastrychefoz Posts: 22
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    If I do intense weight training... and I mean... hard work! No slacking off... I usually log it as circuit training! But I usually take off 5-10 mins because I know there will be times I am taking breaks between sets, etc. But that is how I calculate my weight training time.

    +1

    I use the circuit training cals, and take off 1/3 the time to give me the calories burned. I also use a HRM monitor and yes my heart is pumping when I squat or press and I try to keep it moving not sitting down for to long or updating Facebook while I am working out.

    I guess the other part of the equation is that when you are doing weights you are going to get a carry over burn where your body is still burning calories after the actual exercise to repair muscle.

    I'm sure one of the lifters could elaborate on the science behind it but that works for me
    :drinker:
  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,268 Member
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    Log it as cardio and it will... I weightlift at least twice a week and log approx minutes
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    There's a section in your diary, under Cardio, where you can add strength training.
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
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    Your calorie burn with a weight routine is all over the place. It's going to vary widely depending on your intensity, what you're doing, how big you are, etc.

    I usually just estimate a weights workout somewhere around 200 calories. I know it's lower some days, heavier on others, but that seems to average out about right.
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
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    Your calorie burn with a weight routine is all over the place. It's going to vary widely depending on your intensity, what you're doing, how big you are, etc.

    I usually just estimate a weights workout somewhere around 200 calories. I know it's lower some days, heavier on others, but that seems to average out about right.

    Yeah, and lifting intensively yields me around 300-400 calories actually. I find that the cardio > strength training feature on here is relatively conservative.
  • akd06004
    akd06004 Posts: 13 Member
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    if you really want an accurate measure of calories burned I would suggest purchasing a heart rate monitor with chest strap that tracks heart rate and calories burned. I use a Polar FT4 and find it very motivating to see my results at the end of a workout... about 60 bucks on Amazon!
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    if you really want an accurate measure of calories burned I would suggest purchasing a heart rate monitor with chest strap that tracks heart rate and calories burned. I use a Polar FT4 and find it very motivating to see my results at the end of a workout... about 60 bucks on Amazon!

    HRM works for cardio but isn't accurate for weight lifting though.
  • LoudNF
    LoudNF Posts: 4 Member
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    There is no real way to track how many calories are burned during a lifting session as there are to many variables to take into account such as body type, size, experience etc. Another thing to remember is that weight training causes trauma to the muscles in the form of micro tears. The body then repairs the muscles by making them stronger, but this whole process requires calories, so you will continue to burn after the workout.

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