How to calculate calories burned from weight training...?

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dnkibble
dnkibble Posts: 30 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Maybe I'm missing something because I don't understand why MFP only subtracts calories burned from cardio and not weight training when obviously calories are burned during weight training.

Is there any other way to calculate this ? And how do I know if I'm eating enough to nourish my muscles without going too far over if MFP isn't giving me calories burned for training ?

Replies

  • jaga13
    jaga13 Posts: 1,149 Member
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    The only option I've found is the strength training exercise under Cardio (which shows very few calories burned per minute)
  • mantium999
    mantium999 Posts: 1,490 Member
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    Many who lift do not log calories from lifting. The general assumption is that weight training doesn't burn a significant amount of calories, so sticking with your general calorie target is perfectly fine. Lifting will give you a little extra buffer on the day, since calorie counting is all estimates anyway.
  • MrKbailey
    MrKbailey Posts: 61 Member
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    Good question. I would put it as cardio, and count 10 minutes of moderate strength training as 50 calories, but I usually don't count them. Maybe I should start
  • LindseyDD
    LindseyDD Posts: 160 Member
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    I wear a heart rate monitor during weigh training and just log it as cardio. I have found I burn 300-500 calories during a 1 hour weight session.
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
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    That question generates all sorts of polarized opinions on here.

    What I do that has worked long term, and not as long as many but in my 18 months and 115 lbs lost so far...

    I use a heart rate monitor to stay in a zone. A zone equal to fat burn and cardio averaged. For me that is 135 ish.

    I lift and do sets in pretty quick succession. Some days I will do jumping jacks or deep knee bends to run my heart rate up a bit.

    It does work. It isn't exact but I am looking for a heart rate zone. And jumping jacks do raise your pulse rate.

    And just to make this kind of funny... I don't log those calories in. I just do it for my personal goals. It gives me a little better weight loss for the month.

    I do it for cardiovascular health goals. I am working on lowering my resting heart rate.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    I have a pretty consistent exercise routine, so I simply build it into my daily/weekly calorie goal and do not log any exercise.
  • MrKbailey
    MrKbailey Posts: 61 Member
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    LindseyDD wrote: »
    I wear a heart rate monitor during weigh training and just log it as cardio. I have found I burn 300-500 calories during a 1 hour weight session.
    Smart
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,488 Member
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    LindseyDD wrote: »
    I wear a heart rate monitor during weigh training and just log it as cardio. I have found I burn 300-500 calories during a 1 hour weight session.

    Just realize a heart rate monitor isn't going to be accurate for weight training. Its all a guess anyway so it might get you closer than a generic number. Heart rate monitors are only for tracking a steady elevated heart rate.
  • SweatLikeDog
    SweatLikeDog Posts: 272 Member
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    I ballpark a 1-hour weight session at 200-300 calories and eat a little more on those days. Nothin' fancy.
  • aliciasilfies
    aliciasilfies Posts: 179 Member
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    I normally don't log anything to get my calorie burn, I keep the exercise diary just so I know what areas I need to work on. On the days I plan to do strength training though, I really try to make sure that I hit my protein goal.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
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    If I were you OP, I wouldn't try to log the calories burned while weight training. There are so many variables which can affect the burn.

    You'll see a lot of lifters (including me) not bother with logging lifting.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    I log it for the record, under the cardio section, but I know how MFP vastly overestimates calories burned so if I eat back any at all, it's maybe half of the calories they claim. If I ate what they say I burn, I'd be big as a house. I also take into consideration that the doctor told me (based on age and other conditions) that the most I should eat in a day is 1500 even if I worked out hard. Which is why I kind of start laughing when people talk about using "extra calories" on something. I'm like.... extra calories? what are those? lol
  • djslob
    djslob Posts: 1 Member
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    A heart rate monitor will be the only way to tell exactly how many calories you have burned. Body parts exercised, rest intervals, intensity, length of workouts, types of lifts/exercises all will have different results. Doing exercises like Squats and Deadlifts will get your heart rate much higher than doing bicep curls. Working out bigger muscle groups compared to smaller muscle groups will also do the same. I'll burn 600 calories doing legs as opposed to 300-400 doing upper body.
  • MercuryBlue
    MercuryBlue Posts: 886 Member
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    dnkibble wrote: »
    Maybe I'm missing something because I don't understand why MFP only subtracts calories burned from cardio and not weight training when obviously calories are burned during weight training.

    Is there any other way to calculate this ? And how do I know if I'm eating enough to nourish my muscles without going too far over if MFP isn't giving me calories burned for training ?

    I never use the MFP database for cardio or lifting, because it's super inaccurate, so it doesn't really bother me too much personally. I use a Polar HRM with chest strap (a bit more accurate). I track the calories burned with all exercise under "cardio" (though weight training usually burns about half what cardio does in the same amount of time), and would use strength training to track weight/reps/sets... except I use another website for that, so I don't bother doing it here.

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