YOUR WHOLE SESSION
Estimate calories burned during strength training with a training style that matches your session. Keep ordinary between-set rests in the training block, then add any extra stopped time separately.
See your estimated total calories and the portion above rest, with a separate breakdown of training and extra stopped time.
Enter your session and choose “Estimate calories”.
Example for an 80 kg (176 lb) adult. These are gross calories, including resting energy, with no extra stopped time. Choose the category for the whole training block, not the hardest repetition.
| Training style | MET | 30 min (kcal) | 45 min (kcal) | 60 min (kcal) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General lifting · multiple exercises | 3.5 | 147 | 221 | 294 |
| Squat / deadlift training | 5 | 210 | 315 | 420 |
| Vigorous lifting / bodybuilding | 6 | 252 | 378 | 504 |
| Reciprocal supersets / resistance circuit | 5.8 | 244 | 365 | 487 |
An 80 kg adult using the general-lifting category (3.5 MET). Extra stopped time is modeled at 1 MET. Ordinary recovery between sets stays inside the training block; it is not deducted twice.
| Training block | Extra stopped time | Total visit | Gross kcal | Above rest kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 min | 0 min | 60 min | 294 | 210 |
| 45 min | 15 min | 60 min | 242 | 158 |
| 30 min | 30 min | 60 min | 189 | 105 |
Enter your bodyweight, not the weight on the bar. Time the training block from the start of your exercises to the finish, including normal rests between sets. Select the closest session category. Add only separate stopped time, such as a break away from training, in the extra-time field. Keep that field at zero if your training block already covers the full visit.
General lifting is the starting point for mixed exercises at varied loads. A squat/deadlift block, vigorous bodybuilding session and resistance superset circuit have separate reference categories. Heavy weights alone do not establish the average energy cost of an hour. The category should describe the block as a whole; do not apply a vigorous rate to a long period of waiting between isolated attempts.
Gross calories = MET × 3.5 × bodyweight in kg ÷ 200 × minutes. For 80 kg and 45 minutes of general lifting at 3.5 MET, that is 220.5 kcal. Add 15 minutes of stopped time at 1 MET for another 21 kcal: 241.5 kcal total. Resting energy for the full hour is 84 kcal, so the estimate above rest is 157.5 kcal. The result cards round these values to whole calories.
The training categories are reference activities, not measurements of each set. This calculator therefore does not multiply a lifting-only rate by seconds spent moving the bar. The optional stopped-time field is a transparent 1-MET assumption for time outside the block. Recovery metabolism can stay elevated, so this simple baseline does not measure recovery energy or an afterburn effect.
Use it to compare consistent session assumptions. It cannot measure your individual metabolism, assess workout quality or determine how many calories you should eat back. Technique, exercise selection, fitness and how the session is organized all matter. Sets, reps and total tonnage are useful training records, but they do not uniquely determine energy expenditure.
At 80 kg, one hour is approximately 294 kcal with the general-lifting category at 3.5 MET, or 504 kcal with the vigorous-lifting category at 6 MET. Those are different session assumptions, not a personal confidence interval. Change bodyweight, category and timing to match your session.
No. Include ordinary between-set recovery in the training block and choose the category for that overall block. The extra stopped-time field is only for separate time outside it. Do not count the same minutes in both fields.
Not reliably from those numbers alone. Two people can complete the same sets and reps with different tempo, recovery and energy cost. This tool estimates the whole block from bodyweight, time and activity category instead of claiming calories per repetition.
Total, or gross, calories include the energy you would use at rest during the session. The above-rest result subtracts a standard 1-MET baseline for the entire elapsed time. Your personal resting energy use may differ.
No separate afterburn or EPOC allowance is added. Its size and duration vary, and the calculator does not measure them. Extra stopped time uses only the stated resting baseline.
This tool uses selected 2024 Compendium lifting categories and the oxygen-cost conversion MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 per minute. The general calculator uses the simpler MET × kg × hours approximation. The conversion alone produces about a 5% difference before activity and timing choices.
Reference tables use the same calculations and benchmark values as the interactive tool.