HELP! I have just started working with free weights... and I can't get them into my diary

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nosweetpea
nosweetpea Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Can someone explain how to register my workout with dumbbells...I am using very light weights but that's not the problem... I must being doing something wrong when I enter what I did under exercise...dumbbells. Nothing seems to add any calories used except my aerobic workouts

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  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You'll have to use the generic "strength training" entry if you want to record calories.
  • dewd2
    dewd2 Posts: 2,445 Member
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    l log it under cardio as "Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)". Since JEFIT doesn't sync with MFP (why not MFP????) and I'm not interested in logging each individual lift twice, I just enter it under cardio. For me, I don't really care how accurate it is since I'm not lifting to aid in any calorie deficit.
  • nosweetpea
    nosweetpea Posts: 20 Member
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    Thank you both!! This will really help!
  • nosweetpea
    nosweetpea Posts: 20 Member
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    I know now that I explanation was very vague. I need to know how to fill in the questions set, reps/set, and weight/set.... I am only lifting 2lb weights...Today I did six different exercises 40 times each...10xs then another 10xs and so on... So I said...6 sets, 4reps, 4 weight...I am guessing that is wrong?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Think of a rep as lifting the weight one time and a set as the number of times in a row that you lift it. So if you pick up your weight and put it down 10 times and then set it down for a rest, that is 1 set of 10 reps. Then let's say you pick it up again and do 10 more and then set the weight back down. You've now done 2 sets of 10 reps.

    You can either log it as 2 pounds since you are using 2 pound weights or 4 pounds since you are using both of them. That's up to your preference.

    Keep in mind that logging your weight sets in MFP will not add in anything as exercise calories. To do that, you have to log your time spent strength training under cardio.
  • nosweetpea
    nosweetpea Posts: 20 Member
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    Oh, wow! You are so smart. Thank you for taking the time to explain it all to me. I'm trying to do this at home so I'm winging it... I am following videos about lifting they never gave a good explanation of it all, just how to lift which is so important too! If you don't mind me asking, Am I really suppose to put the weights down? I kind of do one set than go on to the next one. Is it important to stop in between?
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    nosweetpea wrote: »
    Oh, wow! You are so smart. Thank you for taking the time to explain it all to me. I'm trying to do this at home so I'm winging it... I am following videos about lifting they never gave a good explanation of it all, just how to lift which is so important too! If you don't mind me asking, Am I really suppose to put the weights down? I kind of do one set than go on to the next one. Is it important to stop in between?

    If you are following a video, do what they show you to do. I was just trying to explain sets and reps. I think I left something out though--a set is how many times you perform a single exercise in a row, not really just how many times you lift the weight. So if you pick up your weight and do 10 overhead presses and then do 10 curls and then do 10 rows you could record that as 1 set of 10 reps overhead press, 1 set of 10 reps curls, 1 set of 10 reps rows. If you do them each again you will have done 2 sets of 10 reps of each.

    (I am ignoring supersets for the sake of simplicity.)
  • nosweetpea
    nosweetpea Posts: 20 Member
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    I am sorry if I made you think I didn't appreciate the information you just gave me...it is priceless to have someone help me so much. Thank you again. I think I get it now...Yes, we can leave the superset stuff for another time. I think I'm going to buy some 5lb weights since these are getting easier in most of my lifts. I hope you and your baby in the picture have a great day! You've been a real help!
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    Oh no, no offense taken :)

    You might consider getting a set of dumbbell handles with plates. They allow you to take plates off and put them on so that you increase the weight on the same handle rather than buying new dumbbells each time. I have a set from years ago that have plastic handles and 1, 2, 3, and 5 pound plates. You can get sets with a lot more weight too. I have a second set with 95 pounds of plates total. I'm sure that I've seen sets at Walmart and Target fairly recently but I got my most recent set off Amazon. Here's an example of what I mean: http://www.amazon.com/CAP-Barbell-40-pound-Adjustable-Dumbbell/dp/B000VCDXNS

    You have a great day too :)
  • MKEgal
    MKEgal Posts: 3,250 Member
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    It doesn't give you anything if you enter them under weight training.
    Go under cardio,
    search for [Strength training (weight lifting, weight training)]
    and enter the minutes.
    It's not much, and you shouldn't eat back exercise calories anyway, but it's nice to see the work.
  • nosweetpea
    nosweetpea Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks I'll try that

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