Tracking Calories burned by strength training?
fatlittlewoman
Posts: 21 Member
hello friendly peeps 
I am trying to figure out how to figure out how many calories I burn through weight training. Is there some way to do this on MFP? thanks for any help!!
I am trying to figure out how to figure out how many calories I burn through weight training. Is there some way to do this on MFP? thanks for any help!!
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Replies
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Nope0
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Nope seconded!!! I don't bother recording any calorie burn through weight training - just record the cardio stuff. x0
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No way to get an accurate count, but you can put in "strength training" in the cardio section for a general estimate of cals burned. Just keep in mind the benefits of strength training is not the calories burned.0
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i record it under cardio as strength training0
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HRM???0
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Nope seconded!!! I don't bother recording any calorie burn through weight training - just record the cardio stuff. x
to get the actual increase in TDEE from weight lifting would require measurements and tests that we just don't have ready access to and the variables of your specific weight training routine are such that any calculator on the internet will be a wild estimate. Reap the benefits of weight training but dont be concerned with the caloric burn.0 -
ashtennisguru wrote: »HRM???
Nope, HRMs estimate burns based on oxygen uptake that only occurs to that level during steady state cardio.0 -
I just add "strength training" which is an option under cardio and put in the minutes I did strength training. I usually shoot low on the time. Keep in mind, just because you are in the gym for an hour doesn't mean you lifted for an hour, it might only be 15 minutes of actual lifting.0
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All my exercising is put through Endomondo and connected with MFP.0
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I've used my Polar FT7 for several similar strength training sessions so I have a pretty good idea of how much I'm burning. I don't take very long breaks and push myself pretty hard, so my heart rate usually goes up to the 160's and drops back down to 120-130 ish between sets. I'm consistently burning >10kcal/min which is quite a bit more than MFP's Cardio -> Strength Training.0
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This is how I did it. I created a "custom" exercise called Weight Training under the Cardiovascular section. I then wear a heart rate monitor while performing my weight lifting session and record the number of calories burned during the session. I then enter the specific exercises in the "Strength Training" section recording the weight, sets and reps performed.0
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djprice_69 wrote: »I've used my Polar FT7 for several similar strength training sessions so I have a pretty good idea of how much I'm burning. I don't take very long breaks and push myself pretty hard, so my heart rate usually goes up to the 160's and drops back down to 120-130 ish between sets. I'm consistently burning >10kcal/min which is quite a bit more than MFP's Cardio -> Strength Training.
Even so you will probably overestimate 25-75% using an HRM as HR has very little to do with actually calories burned, HR is used in cardio as an estimate of exertion to estimate oxygen uptake, anaerobic exercise does not require an increase in oxygen uptake to perform the task in the way cardio does. HRMs are a useless as a dartboard when calculating cals burned from strength training.
Go to Polar's site and read up on it0 -
This is how I did it. I created a "custom" exercise called Weight Training under the Cardiovascular section. I then wear a heart rate monitor while performing my weight lifting session and record the number of calories burned during the session. I then enter the specific exercises in the "Strength Training" section recording the weight, sets and reps performed.
See my earlier posts, this will be way wrong. Maybe take 50% of those cals to get a very rough idea, but may be more or less than that, but def no where near what your HRM says.0 -
djprice_69 wrote: »I've used my Polar FT7 for several similar strength training sessions so I have a pretty good idea of how much I'm burning. I don't take very long breaks and push myself pretty hard, so my heart rate usually goes up to the 160's and drops back down to 120-130 ish between sets. I'm consistently burning >10kcal/min which is quite a bit more than MFP's Cardio -> Strength Training.
Thank you for illustrating the inaccuracies of using a HRM for strength training. HRMs are neither designed nor programmed to accurately calculate caloric burns from lifting. Your HRM takes your heart rate, plugs it into a formula based on steady state cardio, and gives you number. Wearing a HRM on a roller coaster results in it calculating an elevated burn as well ... while you sit there.0 -
This is how I did it. I created a "custom" exercise called Weight Training under the Cardiovascular section. I then wear a heart rate monitor while performing my weight lifting session and record the number of calories burned during the session. I then enter the specific exercises in the "Strength Training" section recording the weight, sets and reps performed.
See my earlier posts, this will be way wrong. Maybe take 50% of those cals to get a very rough idea, but may be more or less than that, but def no where near what your HRM says.
No one else in accommodating the fact you burn calories after weight training to. So with that there is no way to know how many calories you burn like HIIT workouts. Weight train for other reasons then calories burn.
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thanks for all that feedback. My main goal in doing strength training is to fight the muscle loss that comes with age........in mid-40's now.....however, it does seem to me that if I burn for example, 150 calories in a weight training session and I am on a 1200 calorie a day plan, it would be wise to replace some of the calories otherwise I am in a calorie deficit......I haven't gotten to the gym, have a date with a well-respected personal trainer next week so I will ask her thoughts as well.0
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It depends a bit on what kind of strength training you're doing. If it's just lifting weights then the calories burned during the workout aren't really worth logging, and as others have said, just reap the benefits of the strength training without worrying about the calories burned.
If you're doing more plyometrics or a higher intensity circuit-type workout then that's more of an aerobic workout and you will burn more calories during it.
That said, strength training obviously takes some energy and if done right it definitely taxes your body, so you need to make sure you're fueling appropriately for it. If you're doing a strength training workout and finding you're more hungry than usual then have an extra snack or add a bit of extra lean protein to a meal that day and don't worry if it pushes you over your calories for the day by a little bit.0 -
I don't bother. I see it as a "plus"
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