The calories burned while weight lifting will depend on your gender, weight, height, age, and the intensity of weight lifting. For example, if you are female, weigh 150 pounds (68kg), are 5 feet 4 inches tall, and are age 45, you will burn about 3 calories per minute, or 174 calories per hour during light weight lifting. There are a few formulas you can use to calculate how many calories you would burn during any physical activity. One of the formulas is: Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) x Metabolic equivalent of task (MET) Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR is the amount of calories you burn while resting, every 24 hours.