I was chatting with a couple of ladies in class today, and we touched on the topic of calories “burned” during workouts. I wanted to reach out to you all and make sure that number isn’t getting more attention than it deserves. I say “burned” in quotes because most of the ways we estimate that number are far from accurate.
Instead of focusing on calories burned during a workout, I encourage you to shift your focus to building muscle during your workouts. Here’s why:
Calories burned during a workout is only a small portion of your daily calorie burn
To understand why calories burned during a workout aren’t as impactful as they seem, you need to know about Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)—aka the total calories your body burns in a day. TDEE is made up of four components:
- Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): Calories your body burns just to keep you alive (breathing, digestion, etc.).
- Activity Thermogenesis: Calories burned through non-exercise movement—like walking, fidgeting, or household chores.
- Exercise Activity: Calories burned specifically during workouts.
- Thermic Effect of Food (TEF): Calories burned during digestion.
Here’s the kicker: exercise activity (like a cardio class or calorie count on the treadmill) only accounts for about 5-10% of your daily calorie burn.
Muscle helps boost metabolism to keep you burning calories all day long
Now, here’s where strength training changes the game:
- It boosts your BMR.
Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, meaning it burns more calories just by existing. The more muscle you have, the higher your BMR—so you’re burning more calories all day, even when you’re resting. - The afterburn effect is real.
After strength training, your body keeps working to repair muscles and replenish energy stores. This means you’re burning extra calories for hours after your workout—unlike steady-state cardio, where the calorie burn stops as soon as the workout does. - It makes daily activities easier.
When you’re stronger, everything from walking to carrying groceries becomes easier—leading to more movement and more calories burned throughout the day.
So, while cardio or the calorie burn on your fitness tracker might seem impressive, it’s not making a big dent in your overall TDEE. Strength training, on the other hand, helps you build muscle that boosts your metabolism and keeps you burning calories long after your workout is over.
If you want to see lasting changes in your body, feel stronger, and make daily activities easier, prioritize building muscle over burning calories in your workouts.
Here’s to redefining fitness!
Christina
