How many calories burned from weight training?

monikker
monikker Posts: 322 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Just added some sets on MFP from my workout today, but the program doesn't account for calories burned while lifting, only from cardio. I know it's not a ton but I'm trying to gain so I want to try to account for those calories I burned. Maybe 5 calories per set?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    I use the "bodyweight" entry for my strength training. I would use the same for weightlifting. It is based on time rather than the number of sets. The calories might seem high but your body uses energy while your muscles recover from lifting so you aren't only burning while actually doing the lifts.
  • neil929
    neil929 Posts: 9
    The best way to determine your calorie burn whilst lifting is to invest in a heart rate monitor. I personally use a polar ft7 and it works really well but it is still only useful as a guide line and not 100% accurate. As an example yesterday my HRM gave me 578 calories for 90 mins of weight lifting. This was a heavy back and biceps session though with 5 sets on each lift and 60 second rest periods so it was quite an intense session.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    The best way to determine your calorie burn whilst lifting is to invest in a heart rate monitor. I personally use a polar ft7 and it works really well but it is still only useful as a guide line and not 100% accurate. As an example yesterday my HRM gave me 578 calories for 90 mins of weight lifting. This was a heavy back and biceps session though with 5 sets on each lift and 60 second rest periods so it was quite an intense session.

    HRMs are only accurate for cardio. They're not accurate for lifting.
  • dyhorse
    dyhorse Posts: 4 Member
    I found this to be helpful. http://www.answerfitness.com/296/how-many-calories-are-burned-weight-liftin/
  • cliffshaw
    cliffshaw Posts: 14
    For myself I've tried to keep it simple, I don't even bother figuring out how many calories I burn when I work out. I lift weights as well as cardio and the intensity varies depending on the day and the workout. Then there is the activity at work and at home that varies day to day as well. My goal has been to gain about half a pound a week until I get my weight back up where I want it. It took about two months to find a calorie level that works for me. I just kept raising the calorie level until I found the right level for me. Again, for me this has been much easier than trying to figure out how many calories I burn at the gym, doing yard work, etc., and then figuring out how many to add back in.

    Hope this helps.
  • chloeealicee
    chloeealicee Posts: 204 Member
    There is a 'Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)' option you can add in your cardio section
  • neil929
    neil929 Posts: 9
    The best way to determine your calorie burn whilst lifting is to invest in a heart rate monitor. I personally use a polar ft7 and it works really well but it is still only useful as a guide line and not 100% accurate. As an example yesterday my HRM gave me 578 calories for 90 mins of weight lifting. This was a heavy back and biceps session though with 5 sets on each lift and 60 second rest periods so it was quite an intense session.

    HRMs are only accurate for cardio. They're not accurate for lifting.

    And that is the reason I said it was useful as a guide and not 100% accurate
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    Any time I've added calories for weight training my scale goes up. I don't even bother and deliberately set the calories burned to 0.1 per session.
  • monikker
    monikker Posts: 322 Member
    Yes, I want to add on the scale a little bit. So I assume I need to eat back the calories plus more than I would on non-workout days.
  • monikker
    monikker Posts: 322 Member
    @chloe where is that? I can't find it in the cardio section. What do I click on?
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    @chloe where is that? I can't find it in the cardio section. What do I click on?

    Click on the Exercise Tab
    Under Cardiovascular Click Add Exercise
    In the search box type Strength

    It should be the only option that comes up

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