🏋 Weightlifting Calorie Calculator
Estimate calories burned during strength training based on your body, session type & intensity
| Exercise Type | MET Value | Cal/hr (150 lb) | Cal/hr (200 lb) | Intensity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light Machine Work | 3.5 | 238 | 318 | Low |
| General Weight Training | 4.0 | 272 | 363 | Low–Moderate |
| Bodybuilding (Moderate) | 5.0 | 340 | 454 | Moderate |
| Heavy Compound Lifts | 6.0 | 408 | 544 | Moderate–High |
| Power Lifting | 7.5 | 510 | 680 | High |
| Circuit Training | 8.0 | 544 | 726 | High |
| Olympic / Explosive | 9.0 | 612 | 816 | Very High |
| CrossFit-Style HIIT | 9.8 | 666 | 889 | Very High |
| Lift | Beginner (lb) | Intermediate (lb) | Advanced (lb) | Elite (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back Squat (175 lb BW) | 135 | 225 | 315 | 405+ |
| Bench Press (175 lb BW) | 95 | 175 | 255 | 315+ |
| Deadlift (175 lb BW) | 155 | 275 | 385 | 495+ |
| Overhead Press (175 lb BW) | 65 | 115 | 165 | 205+ |
| Barbell Row (175 lb BW) | 85 | 155 | 225 | 285+ |
| Training Style | EPOC Duration | Extra Calories | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light / Machine Work | 30–60 min | +5–8% | Recovery, beginners |
| Moderate Hypertrophy | 1–3 hrs | +8–12% | Muscle building |
| Heavy Compound / Powerlifting | 3–8 hrs | +12–18% | Strength & fat loss |
| Circuit / CrossFit-Style | 4–10 hrs | +15–20% | Fat loss, conditioning |
| Olympic Lifting | 3–7 hrs | +10–16% | Power, athletic performance |
| Goal | Rep Range | Sets | Rest Period | % of 1RM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Strength | 1–5 | 3–6 | 3–5 min | 85–100% |
| Power / Olympic | 1–6 | 3–5 | 3–5 min | 75–95% |
| Hypertrophy | 6–12 | 3–5 | 60–120 sec | 65–80% |
| Muscular Endurance | 12–20+ | 2–4 | 30–60 sec | 50–65% |
| Circuit / Fat Loss | 10–20 | 3–5 | 15–45 sec | 50–70% |
weightlifting helps burn calories, but the exact amount ranges according to some factors. Between the main influences is the body mass and the duration of the training Somewhere weighing about 70 kilos burns around 108 calories during 30 minutes. For folk with bigger weight, for instance 84 kilos, that same time results in almost 126 burned calories.
DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, I receive a commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
The CDC counts, that folk weighing 70 kilos burn around 220 calories during one hour in low intense weight training. In higher intensity it can reach even 440 calories for the same time and person. The range is between 180 and 500 calories each hour, depending on the effort and the body size.
How Many Calories Do You Burn Lifting Weights?
The body uses calories even when it rests, regardless of the situation. Whether you sit at the desk, sleep or climb the stairs, always happens burn of calories. Study from 2018 about home adults showed, that resistance exercise, that includes weightlifting, raised their base metabolic rate until 48 hours.
The base metabolic rate simply points how many calories the body burns in state of rest. Like this the benefits last even after the finish of the trianing.
The intensity of the work during exercise plays big role. For instance, if two people raise weights during 60 minutes, but one does 20 series and the second only 10 because of longer pauses between them, that with 20 series probably burned more calories. The extra calories, that burn in the hours after the session, range between 14 and 50, according too several scientific studies.
One uses a general formula to value the calorie use. In low weight training it reaches around 0.030 calories each pound of body mass each minute. For free weightlifting around 0.040.
Circuit training burns about 0.042. In heavy style of bodybuilding it reaches to 0.055 each pound each minute.
Good amount of weightlifting burns around 315 calories during one hour. To lose weight, around 11.9 hours of such exercises help to remove 0.5 kilo of fat. Assume, that some burns 350 calories in session of one hour and train four times weekly; that adds to 1.400 calories.
Because to burn one pound of fat requires around 3.600 calories, it would require about 2.5 weeks.
To value the calorie cost of strong training is hard. It depends on the amount of raised weights, the difficulty of the exercise and the time of rest between series. The calorie burn during day for legs differs from day for arms, so that one number for hour seems quite casual.
To follow the calories from weightlifting for a particular day is complex. More well is toestimate the whole everyday energy need and include regular weightlifting in the general activity level.
