Is There Any Point in Logging Strength Training on MFP?

stevwil41
stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
edited October 3 in Fitness and Exercise
The gym I belong to give you 4 free personal traing sessions a membership and I'm using mine to get set up with a strength training routine. I can't afford $40 an hour all the time so my plan is to get a routine set up and then once ever 2 to 4 weeks have a session and either tweek it a bit or add something new. Is there really any point in trying to log it on MFP? I keep track of what I'm doing at the gym (weights/sets/reps/etc) and it seems like if I tried to log whatever I'm doing I'd 20 minutes to my morning routine that I don't have most days.

Replies

  • candipkr
    candipkr Posts: 14
    i wondered the same thing i think its just for personal reasons just to see what works and what doesnt
  • kennie2
    kennie2 Posts: 1,170 Member
    i only use it to track weight and reps so not really if you do that else where
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
    personally I wear my HRM while doing any strength training. I find I burn a lot of calories, so I just take the reading from my HRM and log it under cardio.
  • ssicard38
    ssicard38 Posts: 26 Member
    I use it just to keep track of my reps, sets and weights. Directly in the gym (using iPhone app) Takes 20 seconds.
  • Kolohe71
    Kolohe71 Posts: 613 Member
    I use JEFIT (Website and Android App) to plan and track my weight training. I also wear a HRM to track the calories burned which I put into MFP under Cardio - Strength Training.
  • taco_tap
    taco_tap Posts: 152 Member
    I was wondering the same thing! I never log strength though.
  • lbibbens
    lbibbens Posts: 13
    It's important to track as it has a direct impact on your daily caloric intake.

    Once you add it once it will take 60 seconds daily to update the amount of reps, weight, etc. etc.
  • Brandicaloriecountess
    Brandicaloriecountess Posts: 2,126 Member
    Some times I am too lazy to log it. Other times I do, just to track my number of reps and weight used.
  • ch4nce
    ch4nce Posts: 2 Member
    does tracking heart rate mark calories on mfp?
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    I put my strength training under cardio, but I keep track of it on paper just so I know what my weights are at and when to increase them. I also use bodybuilding.com to keep myself in check
  • Jessicaruby
    Jessicaruby Posts: 881 Member
    lifting weights burns alot more calories than you think. by not adding them you are not allowing yourself the extra calories your body needs
  • willimh
    willimh Posts: 227 Member
    I also wear a bodybugg so, I just take what it tells me I burned and log it in under cardio.
  • cheddle
    cheddle Posts: 102 Member
    I use fitocracy to track my weights and strength training.

    have a look at the StrongLifts 5x5 program, its great!!!!
  • audram420
    audram420 Posts: 838 Member
    I keep a seperate journal for my work out notes and I wear a HRM on log it all under Cardio on MFP.
  • stevwil41
    stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
    Thanks everyone. I may have to invest in a HRM. As for the inital logging that may wait a week or two until I get into a routine I'm that I'm comfortable with. Seems like a bit of pain right now where I'm changing things up every 2 to 4 days.
  • Timdog57
    Timdog57 Posts: 102 Member
    The problem is that a HRM is going to dramatically over-estimate the calories burned during strength training.

    I track my wieght lifting in a paper journal, and enter it into MFP as cardio-strength training based on the time spent. I think that's about as accurate as you will get without getting a Body Bugg.
  • Jesung
    Jesung Posts: 236 Member
    I use fitocracy to track my weights and strength training.

    have a look at the StrongLifts 5x5 program, its great!!!!
    this and this
  • stevwil41
    stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
    The problem is that a HRM is going to dramatically over-estimate the calories burned during strength training.

    I track my wieght lifting in a paper journal, and enter it into MFP as cardio-strength training based on the time spent. I think that's about as accurate as you will get without getting a Body Bugg.

    Thanks!
  • _SusieQ_
    _SusieQ_ Posts: 2,964 Member
    The problem is that a HRM is going to dramatically over-estimate the calories burned during strength training.

    I track my wieght lifting in a paper journal, and enter it into MFP as cardio-strength training based on the time spent. I think that's about as accurate as you will get without getting a Body Bugg.

    Why would you say that, that it over estimates calories burned during strength training? I want to be as accurate as I can, so I would really like to understand what you mean.
  • Timdog57
    Timdog57 Posts: 102 Member
    Well, there is two (at least) aspects that go into the calculation for caloric effort. 1 part is heart rate, but the other has to do with movement (work done). This makes sense if we think about the idea that if your heart rate were somehow elevated for an hour to say 120 bpm while you were sitting on the couch, you clearly wouldn't burn as many calories during that hour as you would jogging with the same heart rate. So, to calculate calories burned your HRM is making the assumption that you are jogging (depending on your model, you may find this fact somewhere in the manual). This means that your HRM will be able to calculate caloric effort for steady state cardio (IE- jogging) fairly accurately, but it will not do well for non-steady state excercise (IE- intervals, or strength training). The models that you can find on the internet to estimate caloric effort for strength training are going to end up being much more accurate than your HRM because of this.

    For instance I wore my HRM doing a strength workout last night, and it showed me burning 654 calories in the 48 minutes, yet MFP had me at 297 calories burned. IMO and by my estimation, MFP is much closer to the actual number in this case.

    All that said, I think if what you're currently doing (using your HRM for calories, not using your HRM for calories) is working (you're progressing toward your goals), then there's no reason to change. If however you are stuck, this might be something to take a look at... That's just my opinion anyway...
  • Magic_Girl
    Magic_Girl Posts: 158
    Some people like to log their strength workouts to see how they've improved over time. I only log strength training under cardio, I personally don't feel the need to write down my improvement. I know I'm getting stronger when I can do more reps or heavier weight.
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