Does the fitbit factor in that we burn addition calories throughout the day after weight lifting?

[patrickbrandzen]

After weight lifting, research has shown that we burn more calories throughout the day compared to only cardio for up to 38 hours. Is this something fitbit factors into its equations?

[JohnnyRow]

I would expect that to be reflected in increased heart rate, which does lead to increased calorie burn calculation.

[SunsetRunner]

Like @JohnnyRow said. Usually, after a workout, I notice my HR is higher than usual or just elevates quicker ( slight movement may elevate my HR ). There's a reason for that. After the activity, your body stays in some sort of "alert" state being ready for more physical exertion. Higher HR will result in more calories burnt registered by the tracker.

[Dominique]

Are you referring to the fact more muscular people burn more calories that less muscular ones (all things being equal, i.e. gender, age,height and weight being the same)? That is, assuming lifting weights make you more muscular. If so, the impact on calories is likely much smaller than you think. The idea that carrying a lot of muscle makes you a fat-burning machine at all time, even while sitting around doing nothing doesn’t have much to do with reality.

Or are you referring to the fact the timeframe during which muscle protein synthesis occurs (the "anabolic window") typically lasts for quite some time (much longer than previously thought). If so, this hasn’t much to do with burning calories, it’s more related to muscle building potential.

Anyhow, Fitbit doesn’t really factor that in with regards to calories burned. Whatever impact your weight lifting may have on calories burned throughout the day is likely to be minimal compared to the margin of error associated with the estimation of your total energy expenditure. 

[Dominique]

---

@JohnnyRow wrote:

I would expect that to be reflected in increased heart rate, which does lead to increased calorie burn calculation.

---

I would be worried if weight lifting caused my HR to raise significantly for hours after my workouts end. One indicator of good fitness level is how quickly HR returns to baseline after effort.

[patrickbrandzen]

In general, people with a lot more muscle than not will burn a fair bit
more considering lean muscle mass requires more energy to maintain itself
than fat. Not thousands of course, but a few hundred more for a certainty
if someone has a lot of lean muscle mass (me compared to an average man).

Not so much about either but a middle ground of after lifting heavy weights
for a while, I know the human body will burn a small percentage of more
calories for up to a day and a half later. I was just wondering if fitbit
specifically calculated that fact into their algorithm for when a user
selects "Weights" as their workout, as opposed to "Bike" or "Swim" for
instance.

Thanks for the input!

[patrickbrandzen]

I'm speaking moreso about the period from after completing your workout with weights to up to 38 hours later where more calories are burned because heavy compound movements were done.

[Dominique]

---

@patrickbrandzen wrote:

I'm speaking moreso about the period from after completing your workout with weights to up to 38 hours later where more calories are burned because heavy compound movements were done.

---

OK, so we’re talking about EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), a.k.a. the "afterburn" effect. EPOC burns 6 to 15% extra calories (source). If the actual weight training session burned 300 calories, that would be an extra 18-45 calories. Wouldn’t make a big difference for someone whose TDEE is 3000 calories or more. And Fitbit most likely doesn’t factor in EPOC. 

[JohnnyRow]

---

@Dominique wrote:
...

---

And Fitbit most likely doesn’t factor in EPOC. 

---

 But if EPOC is accompanied by a slightly elevated heart rate, which I might expect, then it is indirectly included as extra calories.

[Dominique]

---

@JohnnyRow wrote:

---

@Dominique wrote:
...

---

And Fitbit most likely doesn’t factor in EPOC. 

---

 But if EPOC is accompanied by a slightly elevated heart rate, which I might expect, then it is indirectly included as extra calories.

---

Yes, but the effect of EPOC is supposed to last for up to 48 hours. I find it hard to believe high-intensity workouts would elevate your HR post-workout enough to result in the extra calories supposedly burned though EPOC. In fact, they may do the opposite: lower your resting HR (over time) as you become fitter.

[Valendroth]

The calories burned here has nothing to do with heart rate. It's because of muscle hypertrophy aka the calories used repair the broken down muscle tissue. You burn calories for days because your body is using the energy to rebuild your muscles bigger and stronger. This is why resistance training burns more calories over time than aerobic.  Aerobic burns calories quickly but once you stop the burn is over. Muscle hypertrophy takes days to accomplish and burns calories slowly after the initial weight training session for days.

[Valendroth]

No he is referring to muscle hypertrophy which burns calories for days at a slow rate but adds up. These are the calories used to repair the damage done during weight training and has nothing to do with how muscular you are.