Calories burn doin weights

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Im curious if anybody know a way to figure out the calories you burn when you do weight training?

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  • jackiemonx
    jackiemonx Posts: 343 Member
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    hr moniter??
  • joejccva71
    joejccva71 Posts: 2,985 Member
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    Get a Bodybugg or a Bodymedia FIT. Pretty accurate, and the more you wear it the more it gets accustomed to your body. It goes beyond just measuring your heart rate.
  • liftingbro
    liftingbro Posts: 2,029 Member
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    That's really hard to tell. Unlike cardio where it's a lot easier to tell what level of intensity you are at (like running a 10 minute mile), lifting is more complex. It depends on:

    #1- The total load on the muscle vs your strength
    #2- The volume (how many sets and reps)
    #3- Technique, good or bad technique can affect calorie burn
    #4- The type of lifts. Compound lifts like squats, deadlfts and bench burn more than isolation lifts like a biceps curl.
    #5- Rest between reps and sets.
    #6- Residual burn. You burn calories as a result of lifting for about 48 hrs after you finish as a result of hypertrophy and recovery.
    #7- Muscle mass

    There are more but these are the major ones.

    So, there isn't really any accurate way to measure how many calories you burn lifting. Bigger, more well muscled guys probably burn as many or more calories lifting as they would doing cardio.

    A bodybugg will probably give you the best estimate, but that's all it is.
  • musicgirl99
    musicgirl99 Posts: 252 Member
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    I never knew how to figure it out either, so I bought a heart rate monitor- Polar F40. I LOVE it! A little pricier than I originally was looking for but a wonderful investment!
  • SageLikeTheSpice
    SageLikeTheSpice Posts: 32 Member
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    Sigh, the strength training cardio calories here cannot possibly be right. I'm not saying they're too high or too low, but as my personal weight decreases, the weights I'm using increase, so I can't imagine that the calorie burn is going down all the time as the site suggests it does. Unfortunately, I can't afford a HRM at this time. Oh, well.
  • sparetirebegone
    sparetirebegone Posts: 92 Member
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    I have a BodyMedia FIT armband but those can be expensive. Here is a site that might help a bit:

    http://www.healthdiscovery.net/links/calculators/calorie_calculator.htm
  • complejo
    complejo Posts: 36
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    I've always wondered about this myself too. I do strength training every day, alternating between toning one day with light weights, and increasing load the next day. I know I am burning calories but the site offers no way to even guesstimate it.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
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    i just use the weight training under cardio...it's not accurate but at least you can to eat some calories back
  • shydee
    shydee Posts: 20 Member
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    Thanks everyone.. looks like i may have to go get a heart monitor.