????no calories burned during weight lifting????

gailygail99
gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
edited September 24 in Fitness and Exercise
i just recently decided that i wanted to try and increase my upper body strength. i have been doing bicep curls, lateral lifts and some tricep extensions. (only using a 2lb weight for now for 3 sets, 10reps/set)

when im on the treadmill and log it in i see the calories burned in mfp. but for strength it shows no calories. is that true?? do u burn NO calories when lifting weights?? i mean im not doing it for that reason anyway, but i thought it would at least show a few...

thanks for any help and advice with the arm work, as i am a beginner!! :huh:

Replies

  • Ginnyland
    Ginnyland Posts: 4
    Hey Girl!

    I am surprised as well that there are no calories burned by working with weights! However, I have read in multiple places and exercise hints that working with weights burns fat and it also helps you tone (which is all of our goals, I believe)! So, keep up the good work and stick with it because I truely believe that you will love the outcome you will get!!

    Good Luck and Keep up the Good work!
  • sarahnicolexoxo
    sarahnicolexoxo Posts: 230
    You can log strength training under cardio but, to know exactly how many calories you burn, you need to wear a HRM.
  • SheehyCFC
    SheehyCFC Posts: 529 Member
    sarahnicole is right - if you log it in the "weight training" section - it doesnt count calories... it just tracks your exercise. but you can put strength training in cardio. be warned, it is not always accurate though (because it varies on size and intensity!)
  • Ben2118
    Ben2118 Posts: 571 Member
    You burn loads of cals during resistance training, you have to log it under the cardio section under "resistance training/weight lifting", its a basic X amount burned per hour calculation so not 100% accurate, getting a HRM would be the best way but MFP's figures will give you a general idea.

    Hope this helps

    Ben.
  • mandijo
    mandijo Posts: 618 Member
    You do burn calories. It isn't a huge amount, but everyone burns differently when doing weights- depending on what you are doing. The only way to really know is wear and HRM, but know that lifting weights helps you in others ways. Building muscle helps lower your body fat and increase your muscle making you burn more calories in the long run!
  • Losing2Live69
    Losing2Live69 Posts: 743 Member
    Here is a website I use that lists many things that aren' on here.

    http://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm
  • miovlb6
    miovlb6 Posts: 339 Member
    From http://www.myfitnesspal.com/faq

    Q. Doesn't strength training burn calories? Why don't you show any calories burned for strength training?

    A. Estimating the calories burned from strength training is very difficult because it depends on a variety of factors: how much weight you lifted per repetition, how vigorously you performed that exercise, how much rest you took between sets, etc. Because of this, we do not automatically calculate how many calories you burned from strength training exercises.

    However, if you'd like, you can add "Strength training" as a cardio exercise to get a rough estimate of how many calories you burned. Please be aware though that this is definitely a rough estimate and can be fairly inaccurate.
  • cbs1974
    cbs1974 Posts: 98 Member
    i can't beleive you dont burn a large amount of calories weight training!!! (besides the amount you burn after while your body is repairing your muscles)
    i know its not 100% accurate i think its miles out in my case!
    i really need to get a hrm!!

    but for instance i did 30 mins weights on machines and pullys a few days ago and it came up at say 80 cals
    only having say 1 min rest between sets

    my heart was going like the clappers i was breathing heavy basicly totally knacked

    and for the same amount on say a rowing machine which i get off a little short of brath with less heart beat you get around 300!!
  • gailygail99
    gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
    Hey Girl!

    I am surprised as well that there are no calories burned by working with weights! However, I have read in multiple places and exercise hints that working with weights burns fat and it also helps you tone (which is all of our goals, I believe)! So, keep up the good work and stick with it because I truely believe that you will love the outcome you will get!!

    Good Luck and Keep up the Good work!

    Hey!! yeah i was a little shocked!! but i agree, the more muscle, the more fat ur body can burn. its kind of fun i think. makes me feel strong, although i am just using little baby weights for now! haha :happy: good luck to u too!!
  • slimyfishy
    slimyfishy Posts: 114 Member
    ahcoble: You Rock! Thanks for posting that link!

    As for strength training, I HEAR YA! I'm an avid cardio junkie, but am a bag of Jello when it comes to my upper body. I bought ChaLEAN recently (the Turbo Jam lady). This program encourages using weights and doing circuit training. She insists that using weights will burn tons more calories in the long run (especially when sleeping, etc.). I've only been doing the program for a week, but I already feel stronger.

    The way I see it, it is all a combination. We have to burn the calories, eat right, and tone our muscles. I'm still looking for my magical combination to take off this 40+lbs. If someone else finds it before me, could you let me know? ;oD
  • gailygail99
    gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
    thanks to all that replied! i did not know u could put it under cardio, but since it isnt accurate, i will keep it under strength, unless i get a heart monitor. i dont want to think that i burned calories that i really didnt. again, thanks to everyone, and good luck to us all!! happy lifting!! :bigsmile:
  • Purcellio
    Purcellio Posts: 5
    You certainly do burn calories while lifting weights! I wear a calorimeter called a body bugg which is much more accurate than a hear rate monitor (www.bodybugg.com) and I consistently burn at last 200 calories for a 45 min workout session with weights. !lso, weights inrease lean body muscle which burns fat and calories all day long, fat doesn't burn a lot of calories. So for overall weight loss, toning and increasing your metabolism, you should incorporate a strength training program that can be setup as a circuit with cardio for a kick *kitten* workout!
  • gailygail99
    gailygail99 Posts: 582 Member
    thanks so much! i will check out that website!!
This discussion has been closed.

Categories