When done effectively, weight lifting can help you burn calories, boost metabolism, and support weight loss efforts. Other benefits include improved strength, muscle mass, bone density, balance, and mobility.

Like any other form of exercise, how many calories you burn from weight lifting depends on how hard you work, your current fitness level, how long you work out, and the types of lifting you are doing.

Knowing how many calories you burn per weight lifting session can help you plan your workout to meet your fitness goals. However, the average calories burned when lifting weights can vary widely from person to person.

The best way to determine how many calories you burn is to use an app or online calculator that lets you input your specific data for a more accurate estimate. Here are some options:

• The Calories Burned Calculator uses your body weight, type of exercise, and workout duration to estimate calorie burn.
• Cornell’s METS to Calories Calculator. This calculator determines your calorie burn by assessing your body weight, activity level (METS), and the duration of your weight lifting.
• You can use an estimate based on activity guidelines. For instance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that a 154-pound person burns about 220 calories per hour for light weight lifting workout and 440 calories per hour of vigorous weight lifting.

You can also use a heart rate monitor or smart watch to estimate your calories burned.

When you lift weights, several factors can affect the calories you burn. Your body weight, age, sex assigned at birth, and exercise intensity can all influence your calorie burn rate. 

Body Weight

People with bigger bodies typically burn more calories than people with smaller bodies. This is because moving more mass requires more energy.

Part of this may be because people with bigger bodies have larger organs. One older study found that up to 43% of the variation in total calorie burn could be due to differences in internal organ size.

As you lose weight, you may burn fewer calories as functions within your body change. Many people hit a plateau in their weight loss journey due to this, which is why it is important to progress your individual workouts or strength training plans as your body changes.

Age

You naturally lose muscle mass as you age. Experts estimate that muscle mass begins decreasing after age 30 at a rate of about 3-8% per decade. After age 60, this rate of decline is even higher. This involuntary muscle loss also means an older person will burn fewer calories than someone younger. However, you can offset some of this muscle loss with weight lifting.

Sex Assigned at Birth

Males tend to burn more calories than females. Much of this has to do with males having, on average, a larger body size and higher muscle mass. Hormones may also play a role.

Males tend to have a higher basal metabolic rate, or BMR (minimal energy needed to function) due to male hormones like testosterone, which leads to a more significant calorie burn. For this reason, a female who wants to burn the same calories as a male counterpart would need a higher training volume than the male.

Training Intensity and Weight Lifted

The type of workout you are doing can also affect the calories you burn. The weight you select, the speed at which you do the workout, how long you work out, and the type of exercise you do can all affect how many calories you burn.

Experts recommend gradually but continuously increasing the amount of weight you lift. Increasing weight will boost your strength and muscle mass. As your muscle mass increases, so will your metabolic rate, which is your ability to burn more calories.

More intense or vigorous workouts also burn more calories.

Cardio and weight lifting both play important roles in any well-rounded workout plan. Both exercises burn calories and benefit your fitness, strength, and well-being.

You can expect to burn more calories with cardio than weight lifting. For instance, a 155-pound person will burn about 316 calories during a 30-minute cross country run but only 216 calories during a 30-minute vigorous weight lifting program.

However, your strength training efforts will increase muscle growth over time. This additional muscle growth will equate to more calories burned at rest than just using cardio sessions to burn calories.

Combining cardio and weight lifting could produce more noticeable results than doing one alone. One study found that combining cardio with heavy resistance training improved body composition and increased lean body mass. It also reduced body weight, body fat, and fat mass.

The current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend aerobic exercises like cardio and muscle-strengthening exercises like weight training for optimal health and fitness.

Combining cardio and resistance training can increase your calorie burn if you are trying to lose weight. Adding weight lifting (along with adequate protein intake) can help you retain muscle while losing weight.

Weight lifting is generally a safe exercise—even for beginners—as long as you use proper form, select an appropriate weight to lift, and use the right equipment. Here are some tips to help you prevent injuries while lifting weights:

• Use proper form: Injuries often occur when your body is incorrectly positioned or unprepared to take on weight. Talk to a fitness professional to assess your form and address areas of muscle weakness.
• Strengthen your supporting muscles: Strengthening your core and upper and lower back muscles with exercises like planks, rows, and pull-ups will help prepare your body for more rigorous weight lifting.
• Progress gradually: Doing too much too soon can increase the risk of injury. For this reason, experts recommend progressing slowly. This means increasing weights in small increments or trying not to increase the load by more than 5-10% per week.
• Get enough rest time: Rest your muscles between sets and reps and stagger your workouts to avoid working the same muscles two days in a row. Prioritize quality sleep, which is vital for muscle recovery. Lack of deep sleep can cause fatigue and affect form when weight lifting.
• Add in other activities: Pair some aerobic exercises with your weight-lifting regimen. Consider going for a run, walk, or bike ride a few times weekly for a more well-rounded workout plan.
• Prioritize nutrition: A nutritious diet that includes protein, complex carbohydrates, leafy greens, and healthy fats helps your body recover and supports muscle growth. Drink plenty of water. Protein is especially important for muscle recovery and growth. Experts recommend getting 1.6-2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily when lifting weights regularly.
• Listen to your body: While it’s normal to experience sore muscles after your workout, you should never feel pain when exercising. Stop immediately if you do. You may be using an incorrect form or lifting a weight that is too heavy for your fitness level.

Weight lifting is important to any exercise routine to improve fitness and overall health. It can help burn calories, boost metabolism, and support weight loss efforts while maintaining muscle mass.

Depending on the intensity of your workout, the time spent working out, and several other factors, you can expect to burn anywhere from 200-400 or more calories per lifting session. Make sure to use proper form and gradually increase the weight you lift to avoid injury and keep progressing.