Weight Lifting...why so few calories?

Options
KristenSnider77
KristenSnider77 Posts: 18 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So, when i enter in the weights that i am doing, it doesnt show that i am burnign a whole heck of a lot of calories...why is that? I am sweating up a store and can feel it more than going on the treadmill...an hour of weights is only 200 calories?? but 15 minutes on the Eliptical is 173...
«134

Replies

  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    Options
    Different type of activity, different types muscle use, and differing energy needs during the activity.

    It's also a significantly different activity from running, eliptical, etc.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
    Options
    weight lifting doesn't burn all that many calories...it is really not the purpose of resistance training. You do resistance training so that you look awesome when you've shed the fat...it is a long term investment in your overall body composition (among other things).

    I would add to that, your exercise in general should be done for the purpose of fitness, not how many calories you burn. You don't have to burn any calories through exercise...weight control is largely about energy balance and eating appropriate quantities of food to support your activity level...so the more active you are, the more calories are required to maintain your weight...so suffice it to say that if you exercise regularly you can lose weight at a higher calorie goal.

    Exercise for fitness; diet for weight control.
  • accelerashawn
    accelerashawn Posts: 470 Member
    Options
    The calorie burn for weight training varies too much person to person for this site to make it accurate. To me, it seems like its basing the burn on someone who lifts a couple of times and then talks to his buddy for 20 minutes...lifts a couple more times and then leaves.

    Seriously, it says fishing from a river bank or golfing with a golf cart burns more calories than weight lifting. Not accurate.
  • BenVoiles
    BenVoiles Posts: 17
    Options
    By lifting weights you are building muscle which will help you burn fat. Also, the weight lifting will help assure that most of the weight you lose will be fat and not muscle. There are ways you can make weight training burn more calories but if your already doing a lot of cardio I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep training and has your ability to lift heavier weights and or do more reps, you will use more calories. Do alot of traditional free weight exercises and every month or so switch your rooutine around a little. I gurantee you will be happy with your results.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Options
    Lifting 100 kg (220 pounds) one metre (3 feet) burns about 1 calorie.

    If your average barbell weight is 110 pounds and average distance moved is 18 inches (roughly a bench press "push") you'd need to do 400 reps to burn 100 calories.

    Scale as per your situation....
  • KristenSnider77
    KristenSnider77 Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    I'm doing a combination cardio/weight training to lose weight and get my body back to what it was. I just find that when i go enter in my activities and am proud of what i have accomplished and it says i have hardly burned anything off it is a bit frustrating. Climbing stairs should not be burning more calories than doing chin ups or leg presses, and sitting doing desk work should not burn more than squats...end rant.
  • KristenSnider77
    KristenSnider77 Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    By lifting weights you are building muscle which will help you burn fat. Also, the weight lifting will help assure that most of the weight you lose will be fat and not muscle. There are ways you can make weight training burn more calories but if your already doing a lot of cardio I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep training and has your ability to lift heavier weights and or do more reps, you will use more calories. Do alot of traditional free weight exercises and every month or so switch your rooutine around a little. I gurantee you will be happy with your results.

    Thanks, that was really helpful :) Im in the Foundation stage right now with my trainer, and he has me switching to different machines focusing on different muscle groups. I guess i need to stop relying so much on calorie counting to see results and wait for my one month measurement and weigh in tonight. I just get so anxious and want to shred this extra weight so bad...

    Thanks for all the help and advice!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Options
    weight lifting doesn't burn all that many calories...it is really not the purpose of resistance training. You do resistance training so that you look awesome when you've shed the fat...it is a long term investment in your overall body composition (among other things).


    This.

    Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the game that is MFP. Burning calories becomes like earning points in a video game. But you've got to take a step back and realize that the end goal is not to win the MFP game but to actual improve your health and you appearance. Weight lifting does that even if it doesn't contribute much to the game.
  • april34josey
    april34josey Posts: 10
    Options
    yeah I noticed that as well I am at the point that I only log in my cardio......I have a journal that I take to the gym to record my weight training
  • Laurenloveswaffles
    Laurenloveswaffles Posts: 535 Member
    Options
    weight lifting doesn't burn all that many calories...it is really not the purpose of resistance training. You do resistance training so that you look awesome when you've shed the fat...it is a long term investment in your overall body composition (among other things).


    This.

    Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the game that is MFP. Burning calories becomes like earning points in a video game. But you've got to take a step back and realize that the end goal is not to win the MFP game but to actual improve your health and you appearance. Weight lifting does that even if it doesn't contribute much to the game.

    +1
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Options
    I'm doing a combination cardio/weight training to lose weight and get my body back to what it was. I just find that when i go enter in my activities and am proud of what i have accomplished and it says i have hardly burned anything off it is a bit frustrating. Climbing stairs should not be burning more calories than doing chin ups or leg presses, and sitting doing desk work should not burn more than squats...end rant.

    If you want to show off your accomplishments (which is fine) there's nothing wrong with posting things weights and reps, and new maxes and such.
  • workout_ninja
    workout_ninja Posts: 524 Member
    Options
    weight lifting doesn't burn all that many calories...it is really not the purpose of resistance training. You do resistance training so that you look awesome when you've shed the fat...it is a long term investment in your overall body composition (among other things).


    This.

    Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the game that is MFP. Burning calories becomes like earning points in a video game. But you've got to take a step back and realize that the end goal is not to win the MFP game but to actual improve your health and you appearance. Weight lifting does that even if it doesn't contribute much to the game.

    :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: i couldnt love this statement more - this is seriously going on my fridge door!!!
  • No_Finish_Line
    No_Finish_Line Posts: 3,661 Member
    Options
    There is probably a little extra calorie burn realized through repairing the muscles that I'm assuming isn't reflected in the calories burned during exercise.
  • Ultium
    Ultium Posts: 7
    Options
    I don't know the exact calorie burn for weight lifting and the experts argue about it all the time. I do know that the person who said 400 reps = 100 calories is very likely wrong.

    That said, the studies show lifting weights alone will cause you to lose more weight than just doing cardio or more than just doing interval training. That is, for the exercise portion you are better with weights than the others (only taking weight loss into account). I dropped 60 pounds in 4 months, of course on a calorie deficit (the main reason), but the primary exercise I do is weights. I only do 20 minutes of cardio two to three times a week and do weights four times a week for about an hour to and hour and fifteen minutes each day.

    My wife has been trying to lose weight off and on for the last ten years and usually got frustrated after 6 or 7 months. She is doing weights with me now and has lost more weight than any other past attempt and she looks so much better than she has after other diet/exercise routines.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Options
    weight lifting doesn't burn all that many calories...it is really not the purpose of resistance training. You do resistance training so that you look awesome when you've shed the fat...it is a long term investment in your overall body composition (among other things).


    This.

    Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the game that is MFP. Burning calories becomes like earning points in a video game. But you've got to take a step back and realize that the end goal is not to win the MFP game but to actual improve your health and you appearance. Weight lifting does that even if it doesn't contribute much to the game.

    Wait, this isn't Food Fantasy League? Damn it.
  • JonathanLepoff
    JonathanLepoff Posts: 46 Member
    Options
    Calories expended is calculated based on heart rate and lifting weights doesn't raise your heart rate that much. Unfortunately I have to tell you that you are not burning 173 calories in 15 minutes on an elliptical. I use a Polar heart rate monitor and it consistently shows about 50% of the calories burned that equipment like elliptical trainers does.
    MFP's estimates are off too
  • ChriJMitch
    ChriJMitch Posts: 70 Member
    Options
    Lifting is complicated to track. When you do cardio, the calories are burned immediately. When you strain your muscles with heavy loads, they tear and need to be rebuilt. The energy you expend doing the lifting is small, but then your body spends lots of calories repairing fibers and building additional ones to prevent future damage. Its not consistent how much your body spends doing this, very hard to track. Also depends on how much "building material", a.k.a. protein, is available to repair with. If you have a team of masons, but no bricks, no work gets done on building that house.

    So yes, it does burn more than you think. Also, muscle requires calorie upkeep. The more muscle you have, the more energy your body expends just sitting trying to nourish your muscle cells. Hence, why bodybuilders eat something along the lines of 4000 calories a day. Having lots of muscle can help you get really ripped, because it will burn up fat all day while you are just sitting at work or on the couch.
  • mayfrayy
    mayfrayy Posts: 198 Member
    Options
    lol at people thinking weightlifting burns a lot of calories.
  • CloudyMao
    CloudyMao Posts: 258 Member
    Options
    You can not tell from this site's tracking alone - you will need something that tracks YOU more accurately - such as a HRM. I see a lot of people using Polar's watch style HRM, and they can more accurately judge how much to eat then to reach their net goal. You can bet it burns more than the tracker will tell you, but it completely depends on you as an individual. Weight lifting seems to differ more drastically between people than cardio.

    Don't forget that the higher your lean muscle mass, the higher your daily energy use (higher metabolism/calorie burn) - and faster, more sustainable, weight loss in the long run.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Options
    With cardio, the calories burned are the actual calories used during the cardio session. In other words, the energy needed to move your body through whatever it is that you're doing.

    With weight lifting the actual energy expenditure during the activity is very small, so you get a lower calorie burn. The benefits from weight lifting come when you're asleep, when your body has to repair, and replenish the glycogen in your muscles. (this is why sleep is an underrated part of any fitness program) This also takes calories but it's a wild guess as to how much, and depends on the person. Which is why it's hard to calculate.

    You'll just have to experiment and see what works for you.

Categories