Weight training burns fewer calories per minute than running, but it still adds up, and it builds the muscle that burns more all day. Put in your weight, how long you train and how hard, and you'll see your burn per session and per week.
Calories burned per session
0 kcal
Here's how the four training styles compare for your body weight. Your current pick is highlighted.
| Training style | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min |
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Calories are estimated with MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al.). Real burn varies with fitness, effort and body composition, often by 10–20%.
For a 80 kg (176 lb) person, an hour of moderate weight training burns roughly 420 calories. Light machine work is closer to 290, and fast circuit training can pass 650.
Not during the workout itself. Running or cycling for the same time usually burns more. Lifting wins later, because the muscle you build raises how many calories you burn every day.
Yes. The MET values used here describe a full lifting session, rests included, so enter the total time from your first set to your last.
Not very. Most watches read your heart rate, and lifting spikes it in short bursts, so they can be off in either direction. Use any estimate, ours included, as a rough guide.
You can, if you also eat in a small calorie deficit. Lifting on its own burns modest calories, so food choices do most of the work. Our calorie deficit calculator can set a target.
Know your workout burn? See how many calories you need in a whole day, training included.
Open the TDEE calculator