What matters most for burning calories during weightlifting is whether you’re using big muscles like legs or small ones like chest—not how long you rest or how fast you lift.

Scientific Claim

The energy expenditure during resistance training is primarily determined by the total muscle mass recruited, not by rest interval duration, exercise order, or movement speed, in healthy, resistance-trained men performing multiple-set protocols with 15RM loads.

Original Statement

“Total EE was mainly influenced by muscle mass (p < 0.001)... The RIs do not seem to influence the total EE when resistance training sessions of a similar volume are performed.”

From study:The effect of Between-Set Rest Intervals on the Oxygen Uptake During and After Resistance Exercise Sessions Performed with Large- and Small-Muscle Mass

Evidence Quality Assessment

Claim Status

appropriately stated

Study Design Support

Design supports claim

Appropriate Language Strength

definitive

Can make definitive causal claims

Assessment Explanation

The RCT design with controlled variables and statistical significance (p < 0.001) supports definitive causal language. The claim is appropriately limited to the studied population and protocol.

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

The effect of Between-Set Rest Intervals on the Oxygen Uptake During and After Resistance Exercise Sessions Performed with Large- and Small-Muscle Mass

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2011 Nov

Lifting weights with big muscle groups like legs burns more energy than using small muscles like chest, no matter how long you rest between sets.

Contradicting (0)

No contradicting evidence found

Source Study

The effect of Between-Set Rest Intervals on the Oxygen Uptake During and After Resistance Exercise Sessions Performed with Large- and Small-Muscle Mass

Score: 46

DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318212e415

Similar Assertions

When you lift a weight you can do 15 times, for 5 sets of 10 reps, your body’s energy burn depends mostly on how much muscle you use and how tired you get—not how fast you lift or how heavy the weight is relative to your max.

83%

Whether you rest 1 minute or 3 minutes between sets, you burn about the same total calories—rest time doesn’t change your overall energy burn in these workouts.

78%

To know how many calories you burn during a weightlifting session, you have to measure your breathing for at least 90 minutes after you finish—most of the burn happens after you’re done lifting.

77%

You can make your workout feel harder and your muscles burn more by resting less between sets—but you can still lift the same total weight without getting weaker.

72%