CALORIES BURNT DURING WEIGHT TRAINING

waj_b
waj_b Posts: 45 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
hey,

just wanted to ask about how accurate the calories burnt whilst weight is on myfitnesspal.. becuase for a 90min intense session it says 368 calories burnt... i think it may be more towards 480-600 .. as i train intense with short rest periods...

and other sites do give a higher value by atleast 100 calories...

thoughts .. ?

Replies

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Bump to see what people say
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    MFP has no idea how much weight you lifted or the intensity of your workout at all. Closest thing is probably a HRM which will at least give you a rough ballpark versus a completely random guess. I usually burn ~750 an hour but I'm a big guy and I'm doing all heavy compound exercises.
  • waj_b
    waj_b Posts: 45 Member
    MFP has no idea how much weight you lifted or the intensity of your workout at all. Closest thing is probably a HRM which will at least give you a rough ballpark versus a completely random guess. I usually burn ~750 an hour but I'm a big guy and I'm doing all heavy compound exercises.

    i train 70+ mins intensive.. moderate-heavy/heavy .. so 360cals stated by this site is prob way under right?
  • fhsjewfro
    fhsjewfro Posts: 101 Member
    my workouts are focused around intensity as well and i'd have to agree that MFP is way below the actual cals burned

    my workouts are usually 90+ minutes, actually prolly closer to 2 hours honestly

    These are normally my guesses on the cals burned for each of my gym days

    Tuesdays (Chest/Shoulders/Tris) - 450+ cals
    Thursdays (Quads/Hams/Traps/Calves) - 550+ cals
    Fridays (Another chest/shoulders/tris day) - 450+ cals
    Sundays (Back Width/Back Thickness/Bis/Forearms) - 600+ cals

    I can give an explanation for all of these too

    I give Sundays a little more cals cause i do deadlift clusters which are VERY taxing. Thursdays get a lot because i do heavy squats, then followed by two exercise for hypertrophy, and thats just for quads. Tuesdays the biggest muscle being worked is the chest so it is the lowest cals burned. I also do abs on at least 2/4 gym days.

    Long story short, definitely give yourself another 100-200 calories depending on the workout you just did, just to be safe. Pay close attention to the scale too, obviously if you are losing weight faster than you had expected then you arent eating enough, try adding 100 cals to see if the weight loss slows down to something more healthy and consistent

    hope this helps a bit! good luck!!
  • IAmFranciscoB
    IAmFranciscoB Posts: 125
    i usually just keep my HRM going while i strength train. however, i never really log my strength training just running and cardio stuff. i usually just use my HRM during strength training as reference to keep my heart rate in my desired range.
  • rachmaree
    rachmaree Posts: 782 Member
    I've stopped logging my strength training calories... I was using my hrm but figured that was pretty inaccurate due to the rest periods... No idea, really.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    MFP has no idea how much weight you lifted or the intensity of your workout at all. Closest thing is probably a HRM which will at least give you a rough ballpark versus a completely random guess. I usually burn ~750 an hour but I'm a big guy and I'm doing all heavy compound exercises.

    i train 70+ mins intensive.. moderate-heavy/heavy .. so 360cals stated by this site is prob way under right?

    I think that's pretty fair to say. I'd conservatively double that number.
  • steveinct
    steveinct Posts: 140 Member
    Many people will tell you to use a HRM while strength training, but to be honest, it is rather useless. A HRM is not accurate for strength training since the calculation it uses is for traditional cardio. Your best bet is to take what MFP says you are burning and log it. Then, set your calorie goal and log EVERYTHING you eat and drink. After a couple of weeks it should be pretty close to exact. In other words, if you have it set for a 1 pound loss and you don't see that loss, you know you either are over estimating calories expended or underestimating calories consumed. You adjust and move forward. That is the only thing a site like this can do for you anyway.
  • waldo56
    waldo56 Posts: 1,861 Member
    MFP has no idea how much weight you lifted or the intensity of your workout at all. Closest thing is probably a HRM which will at least give you a rough ballpark versus a completely random guess. I usually burn ~750 an hour but I'm a big guy and I'm doing all heavy compound exercises.

    A HRM will big time underestimate strength training calories, since the anaerobic energy burn (which much of strength training's calorie burn is) is not measured by a HRM. The anaerobic energy pathway is 17x less efficient than the aerobic pathway, which mean you have to burn 17x as much glucose to get as much energy as you would aerobically. The anaerobic system is the human equivalent of an fighter plane's afterburner, dump a ton of fuel in and burn it extremely inefficiently, in the process greatly increasing your power.

    In reality noone really knows how many calories are burned strength training. It is ridiculously hard to measure, even in a lab. MFP's strength training entry grossly underestimates it. The circuit training entry is better but still a lowball estimate.

    The huge energy burn of strength training will be obvious to you if you ever try bulking. Strength train heavy, limit other exercise, and eat enough to gain weight. Most guys will not gain until they surpass 3500-4000 calories intake per day. Their metabolism isn't modulating up, you have to eat enough to overcome the strength training calorie burn, which is much higher than most people estimate it to be.

    Lifting heavy with compound movements blows running out of the water when it comes to calorie burn.
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
    . i think it may be more towards 480-600 .. as i train intense with short rest periods...

    That's probably pretty close if you're doing high intensity with short rests for 90 minutes. It's really subjective and depends on your intensity and break period so you're the only one who knows if it's accurate. Personally I don't log calories from strength. I take medium breaks between sets and try to get my heart rate back down. I just eat more or less to compensate if the scale isn't moving in the direction I want.
  • shidalgo4523
    shidalgo4523 Posts: 1 Member
    I've read the previous posts and here's what I have: I use an Ironman Race Trainer HRM that uses a USB bluetooth to download and track your workout. When creating your account, you can choose the exercise (13 choices) and other personal data to complete your profile that will tailor your calories tracked based on the workout you have chosen.
  • gsager
    gsager Posts: 977 Member
    It would depend on what body part you're training. I burn a lot more when I work legs. Get a HRM.
  • waj_b
    waj_b Posts: 45 Member
    thanks everyone...

    i think im just going to use trail and error... if i start to drop weight ill slightly add on calories and vice versa.. best way to go because obviously there is no accurate way of knowing how many calories you burn during weight training. even though i know my intensity is high.
    at the moment im just maintaining my weight... before i try to add more size for my next fitness model competition.

    goodluck with the goals you people have.. having the physique u want is not hard!! and once you get it... no1 will need to force you to keep it or get it back.

    love x
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    I have found the MFP calories to be pretty accurate as far as counting calories and weight loss goes. I do agree that a one size fits all number is never going to be very accurate for everyone. On leg day I know I am burning way more calories than on my back day but I think it averages out over the long run.

    Here is an article from the Mayo clinic that has calories burned for a bunch of exercises and different levels based on body weight. Sounds like the resistance training calories it gives would be more accurate for some of you.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    In reality noone really knows how many calories are burned strength training. It is ridiculously hard to measure, even in a lab. MFP's strength training entry grossly underestimates it. The circuit training entry is better but still a lowball estimate.
    Lifting heavy with compound movements blows running out of the water when it comes to calorie burn.

    *waits for it to sink in*....
  • tkbronico
    tkbronico Posts: 58
    Where/ how do you even see calories burned during strength training? I only see my cardio calories, but I am still new at all of this. Thanks!
  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    Where/ how do you even see calories burned during strength training? I only see my cardio calories, but I am still new at all of this. Thanks!

    search for strength training in the cardio section.
  • kaervaak
    kaervaak Posts: 274 Member
    I don't log my exercise with MFP. I've found that it just isn't practical when weight training. You're much better off just listening to your body and taking lots of data (weight, BF% and measurements) and then adjusting your diet based on that rather than listening to MFP.
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