how to count calories burned during weight training

rbehm521 · April 2011

i signed up for myfitnesspal recently and i love it. i always subtract the calories i burn doing cardio, but i can't do the same for weight training. i know it's almost impossible to estimate a number because it depends on how much of a rest you take between sets, etc...

for those of you who count calores, how do you deal with this? do you just kind of guess at how many you burned, or do you not count weight training and only subtract for cardio?

i try to stick to my daily calorie limit but sometimes i go over by a few hundred. i just wonder how much that matters since i do weight training that isn't accounted for. i have no idea if it balances out or not though, if that makes any sense.

Allycat11 · April 2011

Heart rate monitor watches are fantastic for this. They will count calories for you and also be able to monitor your heart rate so you can make sure you ar training in the correct zone. The brand I recommend most is Polar.

blg529 · April 2011

Agreed! Get a HRM that counts calories. It turned out I was burning way more calories weight training that I thought, which motivates me to do it more. And it's a lot more accurate than the calorie machines too.

Summer2011Bride · April 2011

You can't really accurately count calories during strength training only, even with a HRM because the relationship between heart rate and calorie expenditure is not the same during strength training as during cardio exercise, which is what the HRM's estimate is based on. Unless you are doing very vigorous circuit training, just consider your weight training a bonus on top of what you are already burning. It is still doing you good--muscle burns more calories than fat even when at rest, so keep it up!

Lobsters25 · April 2011

PP is spot on...the calories keep burning well after a strength training workout, so an HRM won't give you the whole picture. I always shoot low with my cals burned guess after weight training, so that I get a little bonus when the weight comes off just a bit faster than calculated!

CaylaSummer · April 2011

To be honest I would not worry about counting your exercise expenditure. The reason I say that many machines or even HRM do not accurately give you the right numbers if anything they are just an estimate. At best, you may get an accurate reading for a cardio workout but with weight training you burn while you workout then at rest. Just worry about your diet and count your calories, you'll see more result with that.

rbehm521 · April 2011

thanks for the advice! i figured there wasn't a super accurate way to do it, so i guess i'll just try to focus on the calories i consume and count the weight training as a bonus... it's hard to stay within my limits though, heh.

raynes · April 2011

Holy crap I disagree. Using a HRM is way more accurate than just assuming nothing and counting it a "bonus".

Depending on the weight/rep/rest scheme of a given day I can burn anywhere between 300 (pretty much the absolute minimum) and 1000 calories during a weight lifting session (according to my Polar HRM) and that's no small potatoes. Yes, after weight training your body continues to burn more calories after (it's called EPOC, or excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption) and that's pretty well impossible to track, so consider that bonus, by all means, but to not account for the calories you burn during the workout is a recipe for eating too little.

It varies on a given day, but generally, if I'm busting ass and pushing myself, I can easily burn 10 cals/min +/- 50 overall. So, 30 mins? 250-350 calories. An hour? 550-650. If I wasn't eating those back, a) I'd be bloody starving the next day, and b) I'd been consistently eating too little, which is a great recipe for stalled weight loss and a wrecked metabolism.

You can pick up a HRM (with a chest strap!) for ~$100 or less. At least then you'll get somewhat of an idea about what's going on.

bakersduzin · April 2011

I agree with PP - you definitely don't want to not count your weight training calories! I spent a good month stalled because as it turned out I wasn't eating enough calories (I was really underestimating the calories I was burning by lifting weights), but as soon as I upped my calorie intake, the weight started coming back off. Good luck!

rbehm521 · April 2011

damn, thanks guys! if that's true i guess i'll start saving for a hrm. i do about 30-40 minutes of weight training 3 days a week, so that could partially explain why i'm always hungry lol.

rbehm521 · April 2011

wow, so i just looked at the polar website and they have a million different monitors... any recommendations or other brands i should look into as well?

feelslikeadream · April 2011

What a great post..I was just wondering about this the other day. I lift 1 hour a day 3 times a week with FI training me. He makes me rest 1.5-2 minutes in between reps so the lifting does take quite a while but after some research I estimated I lose about 220 calories per session. I also walk an hour 5 days a week so I'm really excited I have all the components to be succesful (I drink all my water and stay within calories).

I too was worried about not eating enough once I added in the weight lifting but on those days I will stick to the higher max calories rather than the lower (under 1600).

raynes · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_count-calories-burned-during-weight-training?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:706ac8db-f443-40f6-b297-2013c84f3951Post:a78d41e9-dc0f-4cab-bcf3-abc9c61a6858">Re: how to count calories burned during weight training</a>:
[QUOTE]wow, so i just looked at the polar website and they have a million different monitors... any recommendations or other brands i should look into as well?
Posted by rbehm521[/QUOTE]

I've got the Polar F6 and it does everything I need (namely, keep track of the time, and my heart rate).

The only things I'd really say to look for are one with a chest strap and one from a decent brand. Polar being one, and I think Timex makes them too (not saying they're aren't others, they're just the ones that come to mind). There are also some Garmin type running/GPS ones that will work as a HRM too.

raynes · April 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_getting-shape_count-calories-burned-during-weight-training?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:238Discussion:706ac8db-f443-40f6-b297-2013c84f3951Post:11bd5983-b01f-43c2-8da9-cc3d23fbc8bb">Re: how to count calories burned during weight training</a>:
[QUOTE]What a great post..I was just wondering about this the other day. I lift 1 hour a day 3 times a week with FI training me. He makes me rest 1.5-2 minutes in between reps so the lifting does take quite a while but after some research I estimated I lose about 220 calories per session. I also walk an hour 5 days a week so I'm really excited I have all the components to be succesful (I drink all my water and stay within calories). I too was worried about not eating enough once I added in the weight lifting but on those days I will stick to the higher max calories rather than the lower (under 1600).
Posted by feelslikeadream[/QUOTE]

Are you lifting pretty heavy? (like, heavy for you, is tough to finish your reps heavy) Do you feel like your heart rate is pretty elevated? Because is so, you're probably burning a LOT more than 220 calories in an hour. Granted, different exercises bring the heat rate up more (full body stuff /> legs > arms, IMO for heat rate) but even accounting for rest periods you should be higher.

how to count calories burned during weight training

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