How many calories does strength training burn?

An hour of strength training burns roughly 210 to 600 kcal for adults weighing 60 to 100 kg (132 to 220 lb). The range comes from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which assigns 3.5 MET to weight training with multiple exercises at 8–15 repetitions (code 02054) and 6.0 MET to vigorous powerlifting or bodybuilding with free weights or machines (code 02050) ^[1]. Circuit formats score higher: 5.8 MET for circuits, reciprocal supersets and peripheral heart action training (02055) and 7.5 MET for vigorous circuits with kettlebells and minimal rest (02040) ^[1].

The Compendium is the standard reference for the energy cost of physical activities. Its 2024 update applies to adults aged 19 to 59 and lists 1,114 activities, 912 of them based on measured values ^[2]. A MET (metabolic equivalent of task) expresses energy use as a multiple of resting metabolism, which the Compendium sets at 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram per minute ^[3]. In energy terms, 1 MET is about 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour ^[4].

Body weight is the multiplier in every estimate: at the same MET value, a 100 kg person burns two-thirds more energy than a 60 kg person. The table applies five Compendium values to a 60-minute session ^[1][4].

Each code describes a type of session, not a specific load. A typical gym workout with several exercises at 8–15 repetitions fits 02054, squat or deadlift work fits 02052 (5.0 MET), and sessions that pair exercises with little rest fit 02055 ^[1]. For 30 or 45 minutes, multiply the hourly figure by 0.5 or 0.75.

Training without equipment falls in the same range: bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges and push-ups are rated 3.0 MET at general effort and 6.5 MET at high intensity, and general Pilates 2.8 MET ^[1]. Whether Pilates counts as resistance work is covered in is Pilates strength training.

Multiply the MET value by body weight in kilograms and by the duration in hours. A 75 kg person doing 50 minutes of squats and deadlifts (5.0 MET) burns about 5.0 × 75 × 50/60 ≈ 313 kcal ^[1][4].

The Compendium also gives a conversion via oxygen uptake: kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × body weight (kg) ÷ 200 ^[4]. This version gives values about 5% higher than the 1 kcal/kg/h shortcut; for 60 minutes at 80 kg and 3.5 MET it yields 294 instead of 280 kcal. Either is accurate enough for planning.

Both formulas give gross energy expenditure, which includes the energy the body would use at rest anyway. Subtracting 1 MET leaves the extra energy caused by the session: (3.5 − 1) × 80 × 1 = 200 kcal above resting for an hour at 3.5 MET and 80 kg ^[4]. Adding the gross figure to a daily calorie target that already accounts for training through an activity level counts the training twice; the macro calculator also includes training through the activity level.

MET-based figures are averages for a population and can deviate for an individual. The Compendium team states that the Compendium was not developed to determine the precise energy cost of an activity for an individual ^[3]. Every standard MET assumes the same resting rate of 3.5 ml/kg/min, while real resting metabolism differs with age, sex, height, body weight and lean mass ^[3].

Strength training is also harder to measure than steady cardio. A 2024 scoping review of 166 studies concluded that the large contribution of anaerobic metabolism makes the energy expenditure of resistance exercise difficult to quantify, and found widely varying values between studies ^[5]. Measuring oxygen uptake captures only part of the energy from glycolysis, so laboratory values are approximations too; outside the lab, the authors consider METs the more appropriate method ^[5].

Session structure also shifts the real figure. Long rests, few exercises or low effort move a workout toward the lower rows of the table, short rests and squat or deadlift work toward the higher rows ^[1]. The values apply to adults aged 19 to 59; data from people aged 60 and over were removed from this edition ^[2].

Yes, but the additional amount is small. After exercise, oxygen uptake stays above resting level for some time; this is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), or the afterburn effect. In a laboratory study with seven young, aerobically fit women, resting energy expenditure 14 hours after a full-body circuit at 80% of the one-repetition maximum (1RM) was 33 kcal per 30 minutes, against 30 kcal at baseline; after 24 hours the increase was gone ^[6].

A difference of about 3 kcal per half hour adds little to the session estimates in the tables. Post-exercise energy expenditure was measured in 76 of the studies in the 2024 scoping review, with widely varying results ^[5], so no fixed afterburn bonus can be added to a calorie count.

A longer-term effect runs through resting metabolic rate. A 2020 meta-analysis found that resistance exercise programmes raised resting metabolic rate by about 96 kcal per day compared with control groups (95% CI 45–147), whereas aerobic exercise showed no significant effect ^[7]. The authors note heterogeneous methods and a high risk of bias in the included studies, so the figure is an indication rather than a precise value ^[7].

Aerobic training lowers body weight and fat mass more, while strength training is needed to build or keep lean mass. That was the outcome of STRRIDE AT/RT, a randomised trial in which 119 sedentary adults with overweight or obesity followed aerobic training, resistance training or both for eight months ^[8]. The aerobic and combined groups lost more body mass and fat mass than the resistance group, while the resistance and combined groups gained more lean mass than the aerobic group ^[8].

The combined programme took twice the time but did not produce significantly more fat or weight loss than aerobic training alone ^[8]. Part of the explanation is energy cost per minute: at a comparable effort, rowing machines and elliptical trainers have higher MET values than a standard weight session, while circuit formats come close ^[1].

Calories are only one outcome. Strength and muscle mass are reasons to lift that a calorie count does not show; the overview of strength training covers them.

Strength training reduces body fat, but without a change in diet the effect is modest. A 2022 meta-analysis of 54 randomised trials in healthy adults found that full-body resistance training for at least four weeks lowered body fat percentage by 1.46 percentage points and fat mass by 0.55 kg compared with no exercise, and also reduced visceral fat, the fat around the organs ^[9].

Fat loss is driven mainly by energy balance, and the largest effects appear when strength training is combined with a calorie deficit. In a 2022 meta-analysis of 114 trials in people with overweight or obesity, resistance training plus caloric restriction reduced fat mass by 5.3 kg and body fat by 3.8 percentage points compared with no intervention, while lean mass was maintained (about −0.3 kg, not significant) ^[10]. Resistance training alone lowered fat mass by 1.0 kg and raised lean mass by 0.8 kg ^[10].

The authors conclude that resistance-based programmes should be considered in any multicomponent programme that uses caloric restriction in people with overweight or obesity ^[10]. Protein and meals around training are covered in what to eat before and after strength training.

For weight loss, the most useful programme is one that can be kept up for months, built on compound exercises and combined with a calorie deficit. The 2022 meta-analysis in healthy adults included full-body programmes of at least four weeks and found that neither training volume nor specific training components predicted the size of the fat-loss effect ^[9].

Compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, presses and rows load several large muscle groups per repetition; the Compendium rates squat and deadlift training at 5.0 MET, against 3.5 MET for a general multi-exercise session ^[1]. Ready-made sessions are listed under full-body strength workouts.

Circuit formats raise energy use per minute. Alternating exercises for opposing muscle groups with little rest (reciprocal supersets) is rated 5.8 MET, and a vigorous circuit with kettlebells and minimal rest 7.5 MET ^[1]. Shorter rests also change the training stimulus; the trade-offs are discussed in rest time between sets.

For a first programme, see how to start strength training. People with a medical condition, and women who are pregnant, should consult a doctor or physiotherapist before starting a training programme aimed at weight loss.