No credit for strength training

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I don't understand why logging an hour and a half of strength training doesn't count toward my calories burned.

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  • cbills65
    cbills65 Posts: 164 Member
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    It will but you have to log it as cardiovascular. I just do a "create an exercise" and put all my strength training in that way in the cardio log so it will count for me. I think people have had the same complaint forever, tho. I really don't get why they haven't done something to fix that.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited May 2015
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    There is no way to calculate the number of calories you burn for strength training. MFP has some stickies somewhere in the forums that talks about this (I will see if I can find it) .. And yes use the cardio section to create you a custom but you can only "guesstimate" what you think you burned.. Just be careful not to eat too many back or over estimate... that would be bad..LOL :):)

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/11170
  • barryplumber
    barryplumber Posts: 401 Member
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    I don't count my strength training calories burned just leave them just incase i make a judgement mistake on my calories in a little. If no mistake was made in calories in then it's just weight lost.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited May 2015
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    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.
  • yasirimam1980
    yasirimam1980 Posts: 1 Member
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    There's a category under cardio called "Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)" that I use. I have no idea how accurate it is...if anything I'd think it under estimates, but it at least puts a value in.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited May 2015
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    SueInAz wrote: »
    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.

    How can you "know" what you can't measure? :smile:

    MFP's estimates aren't random, they are based on METS.
    prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/docs/documents_compendium.pdf

    Still an estimate of course and people's training styles (rest periods, intensity etc.) will vary.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.

    How can you "know" what you can't measure? :smile:

    MFP's estimates aren't random, they are based on METS.
    prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/docs/documents_compendium.pdf

    Still an estimate of course and people's training styles (rest periods, intensity etc.) will vary.

    MFP estimates are based on MET tables, which are mostly based on estimates of wildly varied accuracy. The Compendium sounds a lot more impressive/accurate than it is, at least for the purpose of estimating calories.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    If only there was a help section at the top of every forum page on MFP that answered questions ....

    https://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/11170-why-don-t-you-calculate-calories-burned-for-strength-training-
  • Bakins929
    Bakins929 Posts: 896 Member
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    I usually wear a heart monitor to know for sure...
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    Bakins929 wrote: »
    I usually wear a heart monitor to know for sure...

    How does using a device that does not provide accurate estimates for lifting enable you to be sure?
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited May 2015
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    sijomial wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.

    How can you "know" what you can't measure? :smile:

    MFP's estimates aren't random, they are based on METS.
    prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/docs/documents_compendium.pdf

    Still an estimate of course and people's training styles (rest periods, intensity etc.) will vary.

    I burn 550 calories running for 6 miles/60 minutes. It's not possible that I would burn half that many calories weight lifting for the same time period. My heart rate never gets high for more than a few moments, there are lots of times where I'm standing around and I barely break a sweat. I'd rather far underestimate my calorie burn than overestimate it.
  • cmbauer99
    cmbauer99 Posts: 184 Member
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    SueInAz wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.

    How can you "know" what you can't measure? :smile:

    MFP's estimates aren't random, they are based on METS.
    prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/docs/documents_compendium.pdf

    Still an estimate of course and people's training styles (rest periods, intensity etc.) will vary.

    I burn 550 calories running for 6 miles/60 minutes. It's not possible that I would burn half that many calories weight lifting for the same time period. My heart rate never gets high for more than a few moments, there are lots of times where I'm standing around and I barely break a sweat. I'd rather far underestimate my calorie burn than overestimate it.


    I beg to differ. My heartrate gets quite high when doing 5x5. Lift heavier weights and you are sure to see an increase in Heart rate. When doing heavy lifting you are essential doing HIIT. So calorie burn is pretty damn good when lifting big weights
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    cmbauer99 wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.

    How can you "know" what you can't measure? :smile:

    MFP's estimates aren't random, they are based on METS.
    prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/docs/documents_compendium.pdf

    Still an estimate of course and people's training styles (rest periods, intensity etc.) will vary.

    I burn 550 calories running for 6 miles/60 minutes. It's not possible that I would burn half that many calories weight lifting for the same time period. My heart rate never gets high for more than a few moments, there are lots of times where I'm standing around and I barely break a sweat. I'd rather far underestimate my calorie burn than overestimate it.


    I beg to differ. My heartrate gets quite high when doing 5x5. Lift heavier weights and you are sure to see an increase in Heart rate. When doing heavy lifting you are essential doing HIIT. So calorie burn is pretty damn good when lifting big weights

    There is no relationship between HR and calories burned lifting.
  • cmbauer99
    cmbauer99 Posts: 184 Member
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    cmbauer99 wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.

    How can you "know" what you can't measure? :smile:

    MFP's estimates aren't random, they are based on METS.
    prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/docs/documents_compendium.pdf

    Still an estimate of course and people's training styles (rest periods, intensity etc.) will vary.

    I burn 550 calories running for 6 miles/60 minutes. It's not possible that I would burn half that many calories weight lifting for the same time period. My heart rate never gets high for more than a few moments, there are lots of times where I'm standing around and I barely break a sweat. I'd rather far underestimate my calorie burn than overestimate it.


    I beg to differ. My heartrate gets quite high when doing 5x5. Lift heavier weights and you are sure to see an increase in Heart rate. When doing heavy lifting you are essential doing HIIT. So calorie burn is pretty damn good when lifting big weights

    There is no relationship between HR and calories burned lifting.

    I guess what I am saying is this

    "Lifting weights burns calories. Your body burns energy to lift weights. The heavier the weights, the higher the intensity and the more calories you burn. Especially if you do full body exercises like Squats. This is why lifters can eat more than average people without getting fat."

    Go here http://stronglifts.com/5x5/ and read about 5x5 and losing fat and burning calories

  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
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    cmbauer99 wrote: »
    cmbauer99 wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    sijomial wrote: »
    SueInAz wrote: »
    There is an option for strength/weight training but it's really overinflated. For many lifters, much of the 90 minutes spent lifting is resting between sets. How is MFP going to accurately calculate a calorie burn if it doesn't know how long you actually spent lifting, how much effort you exerted while you were lifting, etc.?

    MFP wants to give me nearly 300 calories for an hour of lifting and I know it's not anywhere near close. I usually log 90 calories for that much time, if I log it at all.

    How can you "know" what you can't measure? :smile:

    MFP's estimates aren't random, they are based on METS.
    prevention.sph.sc.edu/tools/docs/documents_compendium.pdf

    Still an estimate of course and people's training styles (rest periods, intensity etc.) will vary.

    I burn 550 calories running for 6 miles/60 minutes. It's not possible that I would burn half that many calories weight lifting for the same time period. My heart rate never gets high for more than a few moments, there are lots of times where I'm standing around and I barely break a sweat. I'd rather far underestimate my calorie burn than overestimate it.


    I beg to differ. My heartrate gets quite high when doing 5x5. Lift heavier weights and you are sure to see an increase in Heart rate. When doing heavy lifting you are essential doing HIIT. So calorie burn is pretty damn good when lifting big weights

    There is no relationship between HR and calories burned lifting.

    I guess what I am saying is this

    "Lifting weights burns calories. Your body burns energy to lift weights. The heavier the weights, the higher the intensity and the more calories you burn. Especially if you do full body exercises like Squats. This is why lifters can eat more than average people without getting fat."

    Go here http://stronglifts.com/5x5/ and read about 5x5 and losing fat and burning calories

    So when your HR point is countered by fact you tell me to go to stronglifts' page? OK.
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
    edited May 2015
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    These arguments get so tiresome. Everyone is different. The only reliable way to tell how many calories the exercise you are doing is consuming is to accurately track the calories you are putting into your body (weigh your food) and monitor your weight closely over a period of time to see what progress you are making. If you are consuming 14000 cal/week and you are losing a pound a week while lifting/running/whatever, then you are running a deficit of 3500 cal/week. That's it. No HRM or powermeter or numbers from a table are going to give you anything other than a rough idea.
  • ew_david
    ew_david Posts: 3,473 Member
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    The simple answer is to log it under cardio as "strength training."
  • Whittedo
    Whittedo Posts: 352 Member
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    I never log any calorie burn for weight training because there are too many variables. I wear a Polar m400 with a chest strap and it is all over the map when it comes to burn. Instead I consider these calories a buffer for any mis-logging.