Is there a way to count calories burned by weight lifting?

nawazarrio
nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
edited November 10 in Fitness and Exercise
I'm brand new to lifting weights, in fact I posted earlier today asking for tips on how to get started. The good news is that I started tonight like I promised myself I would. The bad news is that when I log the exercise the site doesn't tell me what, if anything, I have earned from it in calories. I don't want to risk not eating enough and go into starvation mode but I also don't want to over eat. My main goal right now is to burn fat and drop weight. I realize that in order to be healthy I should try to put on lean muscle as well and that's why I'm including the weights into my workout plan. I'm just a little lost in this new activity. Any suggestions? Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks! :)

Replies

  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    100 cal per 20-30 mins.
  • bytelaw
    bytelaw Posts: 12 Member
    Use a heart rate monitor and you'll get a pretty accurate count.
  • nawazarrio
    nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
    Thank you both. :)
  • BexRex0
    BexRex0 Posts: 14
    Weight lifting doesn't involve much of a cardio unless you do super sets. Super sets are when you don't have breaks between different exercises. For example I would do squats have 30sec break between sets and then hurry and start my next exercise such as lunges. :) if you aren't comfortable with your weight lifting yet do cardio only the next day.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    Weight lifting is hard to determine. You can't use a heart rate monitor because you heart rate will go up while expending less energy, so the HR monitor will tell you you've burned more than you have.

    There is no good way to do it other than make educated guesses. I understand the bodybugg would be the most accurate because of the various ways it determines how you burn calories, but it will still read high.

    Like BexRex0 said, if you are doing Super sets or circuits, you are mostly moving all the time so you get a better reading.

    I had the same question a few months back and after hours of research I determined there is no good answer.
  • nawazarrio
    nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
    Weight lifting is hard to determine. You can't use a heart rate monitor because you heart rate will go up while expending less energy, so the HR monitor will tell you you've burned more than you have.

    There is no good way to do it other than make educated guesses. I understand the bodybugg would be the most accurate because of the various ways it determines how you burn calories, but it will still read high.

    Like BexRex0 said, if you are doing Super sets or circuits, you are mostly moving all the time so you get a better reading.

    I had the same question a few months back and after hours of research I determined there is no good answer.

    Okay. Thanks. I don't mind not burning a lot of calories on my 'off' days when I do the weights. I just wanted to know so that I didn't accidentally sabotage myself. Thank you.
  • sco8462
    sco8462 Posts: 34
    You should consider getting a fitbit or other device to measure your calories burned. My cousin burned 1001 calories last week doing one hour of general circuit training.
  • TheMrsFitnessGeek
    TheMrsFitnessGeek Posts: 89 Member
    an HRM is the only way to really know what you are burning :) Costco has one for $40 by New Balance!
  • aimeem2
    aimeem2 Posts: 35
    I second the heart rate monitor! Don't follow the 100 calories per 20/30 min. If I'm doing a circuit on the weights (quickly moving from station to station and giving it my all!), I can burn almost as much as a cardio session!
  • Nopedotjpeg
    Nopedotjpeg Posts: 1,805 Member
    The majority of the benefit from lifting comes on rest days when the muscles are repairing themselves, so honestly, no, but you should be eating enough to aid in muscle recovery/repair.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    They really need to put this on the exercise page instead of tucked into the "Help" page where no one sees it. :smile:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/help/faq/91-doesn-t-strength-training-burn-calories-why-don-t-you-show-any-calories-burned-for-strength-training
  • goldfinger88
    goldfinger88 Posts: 686 Member
    Weightlifting burns very few calories initially. Hardly any. However, it has an enormous afterburn if you do it right. It actually burns calories for 24 hours. You really can't track weightlifting calories because of that. Just know you're building strength that will always be available to you in daily functioning and you'll look much better and firmer than your non-weightlifting associates. The calories are far less important.
  • nawazarrio
    nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
    Weight lifting doesn't involve much of a cardio unless you do super sets. Super sets are when you don't have breaks between different exercises. For example I would do squats have 30sec break between sets and then hurry and start my next exercise such as lunges. :) if you aren't comfortable with your weight lifting yet do cardio only the next day.

    Lol. I'm not up for the super sets just yet. ;) When I get there, though, I will keep this in mind. Thank you.
  • Alysgrma
    Alysgrma Posts: 365 Member
    bump
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    A heart rate monitor DOES NOT work for weight training. It's not designed for it. It can only calculate aerobic calorie burns based on changes in your heart rate. Weight lifting is an anaerobic activity, and changes in your heart rate do not at all correlate with eject burn.

    There really is no accurate way to determine calorie burn from weight lifting. To be fair, you don't burn that much while lifting, it's the extended after burn from recovery that's the most beneficial.
  • peach05
    peach05 Posts: 31 Member
    Actually, if you look under cardio exercises there's a listing for weight lifting/strength training. I find it to be pretty accurate for me when I'm doing a medium to moderate session (smaller muscle groups but lifting heavy), when compared with my heart rate monitor.
  • MikeyCam
    MikeyCam Posts: 1 Member
    I think Helloitsdan is close to the mark. I use circuit weights (not free weights mind you so that may affect the outcome). They are attached to monitors that can tell me at the end of my workout what the calorie burn is. On average I'd say just the weights over a 20-30 minute span only yielded approx 100 calories. It's the cardio that burns the calories. But keep in mind you need the weights to build the muscle. Even muscle cells at rest burn calories unlike the fat cell who's goal is to store those calories.
  • nawazarrio
    nawazarrio Posts: 64 Member
    Well thanks again everyone. I love this site. There are so many helpful people here. :)
  • tabi26
    tabi26 Posts: 535 Member
    I know people say you can't use a HRM and get an accurate count while weight lifting, but I wear mine anyway and log it. Sometimes I eat my exercise calories back and sometimes I don't, but I still lose weight. It's different for everybody!
  • lilkitn
    lilkitn Posts: 25 Member
    If you want to get a general idea for your MFP search for "weights" in the cardio section. Surprisingly there's an option for it, that's what I use on my gym days.
  • LPinTheD
    LPinTheD Posts: 129
    Actually, if you look under cardio exercises there's a listing for weight lifting/strength training. I find it to be pretty accurate for me when I'm doing a medium to moderate session (smaller muscle groups but lifting heavy), when compared with my heart rate monitor.

    Yep, that's how I count them.
  • deadstarsunburn
    deadstarsunburn Posts: 1,337 Member
    I do the strength entry from the add exercise section. I've heard using a HRM to measure calories during weight lifting is very inaccurate, but I'm really not sure. It always seemed to give me more calories than I felt like I would have burned.
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