Strength training-- how do you determine exercise calories?

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Saaski
Saaski Posts: 105 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've seen a lot of posts about how strength teaching doesn't burn very much. I've also seen a lot of posts from people who do intensive bodyweight/lifting programs who are eating upwards of 2000+ calories a day to maintain. I'm still learning, and it can get confusing.

I've done a mix of strength/cardio for some time. I've gotten stronger (measured in how many pullups I can do, how long I can hold a plank, etc) and tried to eat to match it but the scale steadily crept up. So I'm back to eating at a defecit for a little while.

Right now I'm working to preserve lean muscle, looking to move to recomp (I think that's the term) soon. But the last thing I want to do is overestimate calories burned. As mentioned, I did that previously and gained inches, not muscle =/ where's the middle ground?
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  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    There is no good way to estimate, so most people will pick a low number and use that for a few weeks, then evaluate progress (expected results vs actual results) and tweak things as necessary until they find their sweet spot.

    I typically go with something like 3 cals burned per minute for weight training. So if my workout takes 50 minutes, that's 150 cals burned.
  • not_a_runner
    not_a_runner Posts: 1,343 Member
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    People able to maintain at 2000+ is going to depend on a lot of things, not just lifting weights.
    (Not to sound rude - but seeing as you think 2000 maintenance is high, I assume you're a smaller female? You can't compare your maintenance needs to someone who may be much taller/heavier/male/have a more active job/etc etc)


    Anyway, if you're following a set program and your training is not random- I prefer to just track via TDEE/set amount of calories and adjust as necessary. I don't even think about how many calories a workout might burn and it works well for me.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    I agree that following your weight and adjusting as necessary to estimate TDEE is probably the best way. What i'd do to start out with (assuming you're lifting consistently every week) is up your "activity level" by one on MFP (this'll adjust an extra ~200 calories or so) to account for those burns.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Saaski wrote: »
    I've seen a lot of posts about how strength teaching doesn't burn very much. I've also seen a lot of posts from people who do intensive bodyweight/lifting programs who are eating upwards of 2000+ calories a day to maintain. I'm still learning, and it can get confusing.

    I've done a mix of strength/cardio for some time. I've gotten stronger (measured in how many pullups I can do, how long I can hold a plank, etc) and tried to eat to match it but the scale steadily crept up. So I'm back to eating at a defecit for a little while.

    Right now I'm working to preserve lean muscle, looking to move to recomp (I think that's the term) soon. But the last thing I want to do is overestimate calories burned. As mentioned, I did that previously and gained inches, not muscle =/ where's the middle ground?

    People maintaining at 2000 calories +...exercise is only a small part of that equation. You burn calories 24/7, not just with exercise. You burn a crap ton of calories just being alive...way more than you would ever burn with exercise, at least on a regular basis. Also, a maintenance of 2,000 calories isn't particularly high...it's about average for a light to moderately active female.

    In regards to calories for strength training, that's going to be highly variable and dependent on how you're lifting. Someone doing circuits or running a program with a lot of super setting is going to burn more calories per session than someone who is running a traditional strength program with low reps, heavy weight, and lots of rest between sets.

    In general, it's hard to accurately determine whereas something like running is pretty straight forward as it's basically mass moved over distance.

    My program is general fitness oriented and I do a lot of Olympic lifting, super setting on my accessory work, box jumps, hurdles, etc. I typically burn in the neighborhood of 300 calories in an hour as determined by my own data over time...about half of what I'd burn in an hour of cycling.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
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    I'm a 6'2" male at 170 lbs and I maintain at ~2400 calories at a sedentary setting. I don't bother tracking strength training calories.

    One thing you might be confusing...people who periodically go on intense lifting programs will sometimes use those programs during a bulk cycle. Their priority during the cycle is to adequately fuel muscle growth and as such they'll pile on the calories. Fat/weight gain is normal and acceptable during these cycles since muscle development is job #1.

    After the bulking cycle is over, they'll enter a cutting phase where they'll reduce their calorie load in order to drop the fat they put on during their bulking cycle.
  • djeffreys10
    djeffreys10 Posts: 2,312 Member
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    Personally, I cut on 2000-2200 calories a day. It's not just about how many calories the exercise burns, but also about the amount of muscle mass you have. I have known guys that only weight lift that cut on 3000 calories a day, but those were some big jokers.

    I don't track calories from weight lifting. I included it into my activity level for me tdee calculation. And over time, learned how many calories I need by making adjustments. I am a creature of habit, and I could never keep up with burning more calories some days than others and needing a different amount of calories every day because of it. So I basically just eat the same thing every day, and the calories I eat is basically a daily average of what I need.
  • colors_fade
    colors_fade Posts: 464 Member
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    Saaski wrote: »
    But the last thing I want to do is overestimate calories burned.

    Then don't.

    I don't count my exercise calories. At all.

    I calculated my TDEE at sedentary. And that's what I stay under for calories. Exercise calories then just become a hidden deficit value of some small measure that add to my overall deficit. This way I'm always on the correct side of the deficit.



  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    colors_fade wrote: »
    Saaski wrote: »
    But the last thing I want to do is overestimate calories burned.

    Then don't.

    I don't count my exercise calories. At all.

    I calculated my TDEE at sedentary. And that's what I stay under for calories. Exercise calories then just become a hidden deficit value of some small measure that add to my overall deficit. This way I'm always on the correct side of the deficit.



    How are your hair and fingernails doing? And your energy levels?

    Also, How long have you been doing this?
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    colors_fade wrote: »
    Saaski wrote: »
    But the last thing I want to do is overestimate calories burned.

    Then don't.

    I don't count my exercise calories. At all.

    I calculated my TDEE at sedentary. And that's what I stay under for calories. Exercise calories then just become a hidden deficit value of some small measure that add to my overall deficit. This way I'm always on the correct side of the deficit.


    No big deal if you're not training hard or often. For somebody who's training intensely/frequently and burning a lot of calories, it could certainly cause problems down the road.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,977 Member
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    I only use 120 cals/hr for weight lifting and body weight workouts. I include rest time between sets but not break time between lifts in the calculation.

    This usually results in no more that 90-120 cals alloted to the activity, which is negligible.

    I could just not bother accounting for these cals but I log my exercise the same way that I log my food and it's more important as a means of keeping track of my workouts than it is a method of tracking cals burned.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    I log under cardio and eat back half. I generally shoot to eat back 50% of all exercise calories. What I'm finding is that my burns from walking are probably accurate enough that I could eat back 100% of those. But then there's the strength training (which probably IS an overestimation) and the glider (which is a machine without an HRM). I guess the underestimated walking burns help balance the potentially overestimated strength and glider burns, and I'm losing weight right about where I should be, so for now it seems to average out.

  • Saaski
    Saaski Posts: 105 Member
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    not_a_runner wrote: »
    People able to maintain at 2000+ is going to depend on a lot of things, not just lifting weights.
    (Not to sound rude - but seeing as you think 2000 maintenance is high, I assume you're a smaller female? You can't compare your maintenance needs to someone who may be much taller/heavier/male/have a more active job/etc etc)


    Anyway, if you're following a set program and your training is not random- I prefer to just track via TDEE/set amount of calories and adjust as necessary. I don't even think about how many calories a workout might burn and it works well for me.

    I'm a bio female, 5'6", currently around 140. I was around 135 and liked the definition that revealed. Upped my calories as I upped my activity and got up to 145--and I know that wasn't muscle! So I'm cutting again, trying to get back down. Mfp has me on 1500 w/o exercise. Before, at 135 mfp had me maintaining at 1700, again w/o exercise. With my activity, 2000 calories seemed reasonable to me! But that's how I went up ten pounds.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    Saaski wrote: »
    not_a_runner wrote: »
    People able to maintain at 2000+ is going to depend on a lot of things, not just lifting weights.
    (Not to sound rude - but seeing as you think 2000 maintenance is high, I assume you're a smaller female? You can't compare your maintenance needs to someone who may be much taller/heavier/male/have a more active job/etc etc)


    Anyway, if you're following a set program and your training is not random- I prefer to just track via TDEE/set amount of calories and adjust as necessary. I don't even think about how many calories a workout might burn and it works well for me.

    I'm a bio female, 5'6", currently around 140. I was around 135 and liked the definition that revealed. Upped my calories as I upped my activity and got up to 145--and I know that wasn't muscle! So I'm cutting again, trying to get back down. Mfp has me on 1500 w/o exercise. Before, at 135 mfp had me maintaining at 1700, again w/o exercise. With my activity, 2000 calories seemed reasonable to me! But that's how I went up ten pounds.

    So you have a number that, when followed, leads to weight gain (2000). That's good. That gives you ceiling to work under.

    Did you actually maintain at 1700? What about 1500? If you've been consistent at those numbers, then you should know how your body responds to those calorie levels. Use your own experiences at those intakes to decide what you need to do going forward to reach your goals.
  • Saaski
    Saaski Posts: 105 Member
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    @djeffreys10 how does one determine muscle mass? I've been told I'm fairly dense (can't float, which I should be able to do with my height and build) but that's not exactly scientific.
  • Saaski
    Saaski Posts: 105 Member
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    @jjpptt2 I have been losing on 1500 for sure. 1700 I maintained fairly consistently while sedentary. As I upped activity I added in calories because I wanted to promote muscle growth (or at least preserve it). Ideally I'd like to continue getting stronger and eat to support that.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
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    If you maintained at 1700 while sedentary, but have increased activity since then, then I'd increase your cals slightly (maybe 10% depending on how significantly you've increased activity) and see how you do for 4-6 weeks. At that point, add or subtract cals based on your progress. It'll take some trial and error, but eventually you'll find your sweet spot.

    On a side note, you can absolutely get stronger while eating at maintenance. That's the heart of recomping, which you mentioned in your original post.
  • keeler521
    keeler521 Posts: 24 Member
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    I picked up a Polar H10 chest strap and am more than satisfied with it, its very accurate. It has a calorie tracking config for strength training as well that I have used just a couple of times, but for cardio its on point.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    As 2000 cals is often given as maintenance for the mythical average adult female then you can see that "intensive lifting programs" don't really burn many calories. About the same as a brisk walk (unfortunately).

    I've always used the strength training category (in the CV part of your diary). It's based on METS and your bodyweight and it gives a modest amount that I've always eaten 100% of. It's based on studies and assumes a regular style of strength training with pauses of c. 3 minutes between sets. Just log the duration of your entire workout.

    Inaccuracy on such a low calorie burner isn't likely to be the cause of not quite finding your overall calorie balance. It would take a massive variance on a small number to have the same impact compared a tiny inaccuracy in your food logging.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,977 Member
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    Saaski wrote: »
    @djeffreys10 how does one determine muscle mass? I've been told I'm fairly dense (can't float, which I should be able to do with my height and build) but that's not exactly scientific.

    The only way to measure LBM & BF w/reasonable accuracy is to get a DXA sxsn or hydrostatic test done.

    No method is perfect but these methods offer the greatest accuracy and reliabity of all of them.

    If you can't find a place to get this done or can't afford it, skin fold calipers can give decent results but those results are only as good as the person taking the measurements.

    You need at least 7 but preferably 12 data points and you can't do this yourself. It' s very easy to under and over estimate the BF measurement using calipers which will over or under state LBM.

    Bioelectrical scales and tape measure calculators are inaccurate but can be reliable if used consistently over time.

    I've had my BF/LBM measured by both DXA and hydro quarterly over the past 18 months. DXA provides more data but the BF results it gives are always 3-4% higher than for hydro.

    In my last tests w/in the past month, my hydro result was 8.3% while my DXA, result was 12.4%. The truth is probably in the middle at 10% but, when asked, I always give the lower number. ;)

    So, if you want the lowest possible result, I'd recommend getting tested by hydro. :)
  • Azercord
    Azercord Posts: 573 Member
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    I'm 5'9" @ 165ish and maintain on 2400-2600 calories. I lift 4 times a week (along with other things) and track with my Garmin, so basically it just continues to track my HR and labels it since I told it to. I lift for about an hour and it burns an average of 250 ish calories. Not a lot but not insignificant.

    I have an office job but I have a transition desk (stand up/sit down option) and while I'm not super active I don't sit around all day. I agree that 2000+ calorie range for maintenance may seem like a lot (and it sure did when I started out on my journey 5 years ago) but now that I'm here it really isn't a big deal eating this much and if I don't I do start to lose weight.

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