How to Calculate Your Real Caloric Needs for Training
Your caloric needs depend on your type of training, intensity, and goals. Learn how to calculate what your body really needs. for endurance, hypertrophy, strength, or speed.
Written by
João Araújo
Physical Education Teacher (FADEUP – University of Porto) · Futsal Coach – Level II · UEFA B License · Master’s in Physical Education
15 years teaching Physical Education in schools, 20 years coaching futsal at youth development level and 5 years coaching football. Federated and amateur football and futsal player.
Two athletes, same weight, same sex. One runs marathons. The other lifts weights. Question: do they need the same number of calories?
The obvious answer is no. But what surprises most people is how much they differ. and even more so, how the type of training changes not just the amount of calories needed, but also the ideal macronutrient composition.
The Starting Point: TDEE
TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is the total number of calories your body burns in a day. It is calculated in two steps:
1. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). the calories your body needs just to survive (breathing, pumping blood, maintaining temperature):
Mifflin-St Jeor Formula:
- Men: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) + 5
- Women: BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) − (5 × age) − 161
2. Activity Multiplier:
| Activity Level | Multiplier |
|---|---|
| Sedentary (no exercise) | × 1.2 |
| Light (1–3 days/week) | × 1.375 |
| Moderate (3–5 days/week) | × 1.55 |
| Intense (6–7 days/week) | × 1.725 |
| Very Intense (2× per day) | × 1.9 |
TDEE = BMR × Multiplier
This is your starting point. What comes next depends on your training goal.
Endurance Training (Running, Cycling, Swimming)
A 70 kg runner with a TDEE of 2600 kcal who runs 60–80 km per week needs an additional adjustment to cover the energy cost of prolonged aerobic exercise.
Caloric recommendation: maintain TDEE or slight surplus (100–200 kcal) during base training; controlled deficit (300–400 kcal) only in pre-season periods.
Priority macronutrient: Carbohydrates. the primary fuel for efforts lasting more than 60 minutes. Recommendation: 6–10 g of carbohydrates/kg/day during high training volumes.
Watch out: cutting calories too much during long training sessions compromises performance and increases injury risk. “Saving calories” during high-volume periods is counterproductive.
Hypertrophy Training (Weightlifting. Focused on Muscle Mass)
To gain muscle mass, the body needs to be in a positive energy balance. A 75 kg weightlifter with a TDEE of 2800 kcal needs:
Caloric recommendation: a surplus of 200–500 kcal above TDEE.
Priority macronutrient: Protein (1.8–2.2 g/kg/day) + enough carbohydrates to sustain training intensity (4–6 g/kg/day).
Watch out: excessive surpluses (1000+ kcal) do not accelerate muscle gain. they only increase fat storage. Muscle grows at a biologically determined maximum rate; extra calories accumulate as fat.
Maximum Strength Training (Powerlifting, Weightlifting)
In strength training, the goal is not muscle mass itself, but the ability to generate force. Caloric needs are similar to hypertrophy, but with a different emphasis.
Caloric recommendation: maintain TDEE (for advanced athletes in competition phase) or moderate surplus (200–300 kcal) during building phases.
Priority macronutrient: Protein (2.0–2.2 g/kg/day) for intense muscle repair. Sufficient carbohydrates to replenish muscle glycogen between high-intensity sessions.
Watch out: in competition phases with weight categories, caloric management becomes strategic. Abrupt calorie cuts compromise maximum strength.
Speed and Power Training (Sprint, Jump, Martial Arts)
Speed and power sports rely on the phosphagen system (ATP-CP). an anaerobic energy pathway that does not primarily depend on long-duration calories, but on the quality of recovery between efforts.
Caloric recommendation: maintain TDEE; the focus is on nutritional quality, not caloric volume.
Priority macronutrient: Fast-absorbing carbohydrates pre and post-workout to replenish glycogen; Creatine has solid evidence for improving performance in this energy system.
Watch out: speed training is typically shorter in volume, but can be underestimated in total energy cost when it includes many high-intensity weekly sessions.
The Calculation in Practice
Example: a 65 kg woman, 28 years old, 165 cm, who does weightlifting 4 times a week with a hypertrophy goal.
- BMR = (10 × 65) + (6.25 × 165) − (5 × 28) − 161 = 650 + 1031.25 − 140 − 161 = 1380 kcal
- TDEE = 1380 × 1.55 = 2139 kcal
- With a hypertrophy surplus: 2339–2439 kcal/day
With protein at 2.0 g/kg: 130g/day = 520 kcal from protein. The remainder distributed between carbohydrates and healthy fats.
Once you know your total daily calories, the next step is getting your protein target right. it is the macronutrient most athletes under-eat. See our guide on how to calculate your protein ratio per kilogram of body weight for the exact numbers by sport and goal.
The right calories are not the fewest. they are the ones your training actually needs.