Massage as exercise - calling all LMT's

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gds78
gds78 Posts: 4 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone else here a massage therapist? I can't find an option on here to add a full day of massaging clients as exercise. I would love to know how many calories I'm burning...

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  • chaney3000
    chaney3000 Posts: 261 Member
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    I'm not sure but I could use a massage right about now. My IT bands are tight.

    Seriously though, I'm not sure how to calculate the cals burned doing your job?
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    It's not an exercise. It's an activity level
  • haviegirl
    haviegirl Posts: 230 Member
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    My friend is a massage therapist, and she treats both my husband and me. I know how physically demanding her job is--it's tough work!

    I think you just set your activity level accordingly. You're definitely not sedentary, perhaps lightly active and possibly active (or whatever the next level is called.) That way your daily, typical activity is accounted for in the calculations.

    If I was working now (I'm a nurse, but not employed at the moment), I'd set my activity level for active on days when I worked, as I was hustling the whole 12 hour shift. My days off? Not so much!

    Someone else might have a better idea, but that's my first thought.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,619 Member
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    If it's your job, it's not exercise. As mentioned, it's your daily activity level. You're obviously not sedentary.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • gds78
    gds78 Posts: 4 Member
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    Hey thank you for the responses. I will adjust my settings, but I am still curious how many calories I burn on an average day. Sometimes it feels like I'm wiped completely and I know nurses definitely feel the same and then some.
  • mtpage04
    mtpage04 Posts: 41 Member
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    L.M.T. here, the advice to change your activity level is correct. However, if you are curious about your expenditure, wear a heart rate monitor throughout your work day for a few days and take the average. That gave me a good idea and hope it helps you, too.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,619 Member
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    gds78 wrote: »
    Hey thank you for the responses. I will adjust my settings, but I am still curious how many calories I burn on an average day. Sometimes it feels like I'm wiped completely and I know nurses definitely feel the same and then some.
    Unless you're going to wear a calorimetry meter (mask) all day and have it monitored by a professional, you'll likely never know. Wearing an HRM is inaccurate because the work is anaerobic in nature.
    Even if you did this for 8 hours a day with moderate intensity, figure calories burned in an hour is right around 120 calories. Actually no more than walking for 30 minutes. Again, this is anaerobic work which doesn't burn much calories even if you were busting your but lifting weights in the gym.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

  • aneedforchange
    aneedforchange Posts: 75 Member
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    I'm also an RMT ( Canada) and I have wondered this aswell. I up my calories by at least 600 on a busy day and I'm still losing so I'm imagining we must be burning a decent amount. I tried to stay on the same calories on those days but I'm literally starving and not giving the same level of treatment to clients.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    gds78 wrote: »
    Hey thank you for the responses. I will adjust my settings, but I am still curious how many calories I burn on an average day. Sometimes it feels like I'm wiped completely and I know nurses definitely feel the same and then some.

    Feeling tired is not a good way to gauge calories burned.

    Your weight loss over an extended period of time is your best guide. Simply adjust your goal based on actual results.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
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    I'm a massage therapist and set my activity level to active. Though I'd say it's more like strength training- not sure how many calories it burns

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