TDEEHQ

Strength-focused · Free

TDEE Calculator for Lifters

Lifting reshapes body composition more than it explodes daily burn. This page uses lifter-friendly defaults and keeps activity tiers honest so you can cut, maintain or lean-bulk with progressive overload.

2–5× / wk
typical lifting frequency
1.6–2.2 g
protein per kg
NEAT
still decides fat loss
Progress
logbook > scale alone

Your stats

Standard inputs first — the age adjustment is applied below.

Biological sex
yrs
lb
Height
ft
in
%

Training frequency

How many hard lifting days land in a normal week?

No change
Lifting days

No extra adjustment.

Estimates are typically within ±10%. Track your weight for two weeks and adjust by 100–200 kcal.

The context

Lifter TDEE is more than gym time

A hard hour of lifting might be a few hundred calories — meaningful, not magical. Fat loss still fails when steps crash and weekends erase the weekly average.

Use TDEE to set the lane; use the logbook to judge whether the lane supports strength.

Why the formula drifts

What lifters should watch

Performance and composition together.

01

Progressive overload

If lifts stall for weeks, calories or recovery may be off.

02

Steps in a cut

Keep a floor so the deficit is real.

03

Protein per day

Hit the gram target before micromanaging carbs.

04

Rate of loss/gain

Too fast either way costs muscle or adds unnecessary fat.

05

Sleep for PRs

Strength is recovery-limited.

06

Activity honesty

Three lifts + desk job is often light/moderate, not athlete.

Method

How this calculator gets to your number

Same Mifflin-St Jeor (or Katch-McArdle) engine as the homepage — with one extra step for this use case.

Run it with my numbers
  1. 1

    Resting burn (BMR)

    Mifflin-St Jeor from age, sex, height and weight. Enter body fat and we switch to Katch-McArdle for leaner or muscular bodies.

  2. 2

    Activity multiplier

    Match the whole week — not your hardest training day. A one-tier mistake usually adds or subtracts 200–400 kcal.

  3. 3

    Training frequency

    A small, transparent adjustment for this page’s audience. We keep factors conservative so you can verify with a two-week weight average.

Pick a direction

Lifter goal lanes

Pick one for a training block.

−300–500 kcal

Cut

— —kcal / day

Keep protein high and intensity in the room.

Get my number
Eat at TDEE

Maintain / recomp

— —kcal / day

Great for technique blocks and novices.

Get my number
+200–300 kcal

Lean bulk

— —kcal / day

Slow gain with logbook PRs.

Get my number

Highest return first

Strength-first habits

Compatible with busy lives.

  1. #1

    Log every working set

    You cannot manage what you do not record.

  2. #2

    Deload every 4–8 weeks

    Surplus or deficit, recovery still matters.

  3. #3

    Step target on rest days

    Prevents stealth NEAT loss.

  4. #4

    Recalculate each mesocycle

    When body weight or steps change.

FAQ

Questions about TDEE lifters

Short, direct answers. If yours is missing, ask and we will add it.

Ask a question

Only if the whole week — including job and steps — truly matches. Many lifters belong in light or moderate.

Keep going

Related calculators & guides

Back to the main TDEE calculator

Main TDEE calculator

Homepage tool — Mifflin-St Jeor with optional body fat.

TDEE for muscle gain

Lean surplus page.

TDEE for athletes

Higher output sports.

Main TDEE calculator

Homepage calculator.

Two minutes

Get your age-adjusted number now.

Calculate adjusted TDEE