Loss of fat depends on creating a calorie deficit. This means nailing at least one (and ideally both) of two scenarios. It’s about eating more calories than you need to maintain your current weight and burning more calories than you burn.
That last part can be difficult. Understanding the number of calories burned through exercise is not a small task, as there are many factors that affect their total (weight, gender, age, genes, exercise intensity, etc.). Furthermore, research shows that just four times the actual amount can overestimate the number of calories burned in one workout.
But don’t worry, you can do that. Here we help us get through the confusion. Think about the calorie primers you burned during exercise.
Two biggest factors of burned calories: duration and strength
When it comes to calorie burns from exercise, these are two important factors that determine the final tally.
“Of the two, strength is the most important because once you stop working out it affects how much your metabolism has increased,” says Trevor Thieme of CSCS.
You may burn more calories during a 1 hour stable aerobic session than a rapid, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session. However, that HIIT workout will keep your metabolism going even after you finish exercising as your body recovers.
This “afterbahn” effect is known as post-exercise over-oxygen consumption (EPOC). The longer and more intense the workout, the longer and stronger the recovery. And eventually you’ll get more burning fat. why? Because fat is something your body uses to promote your recovery.
Calculating the exact number of calories burned through EPOC can be difficult, International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolismparticipants who spent just two minutes of sprint cycling burned enough calories after 24 hours, equaling steady-state cycling for 30 minutes.
Does weight affect the number of calories you burn?
The general rule is that the more weight you are, the more you burn your other calories while exercising. “It’s just a function of the energy you need to get your body moving,” says Thieme.
That said, your muscle-to-fat ratio determines the number of calories you burn each day: “A 180 pound overweight man will burn more calories during the same workout than an overweight 180 pound man, simply because a muscular man has more “metabolicly active” tissue,” says Thieme.
Does height affect the number of calories you burn?
Height can affect the number of calories you burn during exercise, as height affects your weight.
“If you’re tall, you’re going to weigh more (than shorter people),” says MD, MPH, PhD, Chief Medical Officer at Wondr Health. However, if you weigh less than people who are shorter than you, your calorie burns can be lower.
How do you calculate the calories burned?
To understand how many calories burn from exercise, consider metabolic equivalent, a commonly used method by exercise scientists to estimate energy expenditure.
What is Metabolic Equivalent (MET)?
Metabolic equivalence or MET is a measure of the amount of oxygen consumed during calorie-expressed physical activity. MET is calculated by multiplying 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram of body weight by the number of minutes of activity. To use real life examples, a 70 kg (154 pounds) person burns about 1.5 calories per minute while sitting in a chair.
What are calories?
We know that calories are gained through weight loss, but few people can explain what calories are.
Calories – or calories with the capital “C” – are truly kcal. That is, it consists of 1,000 calories. One calorie can heat 1 kilogram of water at 1°C.
Your body uses nutrients (e.g. macronutrients, micronutrients, phytonutrients) in the calories you burn to keep your brain sharp.
In fact, about 60-75% of the calories needed is used to keep your body functioning calm. This is known as the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and varies from person to person. Key factors that determine BMR include age, weight, gender, genetics, and organ weight. There are various online calculators that can provide estimated BMRs.
Calories burned during different types of exercise
Thankfully, you don’t need to be a scientist or mathematician to figure out how many calories you burn during your training.
While the compendium of physical activity offers a wide range of movement value, Cornell University offers an online calculator, providing time to enter your weight, meet the value of your activity (from the compendium), and easily calculate the number of calories you expect to burn.
Using both resources, we provided an estimate of the number of calories that a 150-pound person can burn a variety of physical activities.
1. Walking (239 calories/hour)
Walking at a moderate pace (2.8-3.2 mph) on a horizontal plane will earn at least 3.5 mets. However, picking up a lively pace of 3.5 mph will earn you 4.3 mets, which will work at 293 calories/hour.
2. Jump Rop (750 calories/hour)
With the 11.0 Mets, jump rope is comparable to running at a 7-mile pace (8.5 minutes per mile). Furthermore, jumping movements have been shown to promote stronger bones.
3. Lifting weight (239 calories/hour)
Building muscle mass and strengthening bones with good old resistance training will bring you 3.5mts. And, as you have already learned, adding muscles to your frame means you burn more calories every day.
4. Oval (341 calories/hour)
With a moderate effort to win 5.0 Mets, jump on a co-friendly oval and quit pedaling.
5. Yoga (273 calories/hour)
There are a variety of yoga styles, each offering a unique level of strength. One of the most intense versions of this ancient meditation, Power Yoga offers 4.0 Mets. Hatha Yoga is usually slow and mild, offering only 2.5 mets (171 calories/hour).
6. Swimming (396 calories/hour)
With light or moderate effort, the swimming wrap offers low collision training, offering 5.8 Mets. However, if you increase your strength to intense effort, you will get 9.8 Mets (668 calories/hour).
7. Squats (341 calories/hour)
Squats are multi-joint exercises that recruit several large muscle groups, including the glutes and the quadriceps. Doing them will mow 5.0 metres.
8. Stationary bike (464 calories/hour)
Cycling with medium to intense effort is not only easier at joints than other forms of aerobic exercise (i.e. running), but also nets 6.8mts.
9. Jump Jack (546 calories/hour)
Jump jacks are considered a form of enthusiastic gymnastics, a category of exercise that involves weight movements. It’s also worth 8.0 Mets.
10. Hiking (409 calories/hour)
If you spend time in nature, you will be able to net about 6.0 metres. This only increases when you add weight (such as vest) or climb hills.
11. Abdominal exercise (259 calories/hour)
Medium efort exercises like old school abs with clocks in 3.8 Mets.
12. Climbing stairs (273 calories/hour)
Whether you’re on top of stairs or climbing the stairs at work, if you climb at a slow, easy pace, you’ll earn a 4.0 Met. However, picking up at a fast pace gives you 8.8 Mets (600 calories/hour).
13. Burpee (546 calories/hour)
With 8.0 Mets, Burpees are high-intensity weight exercises throughout the body. In fact, a 2014 study found that running a burpee offers similar cardiovascular benefits to creating sprint intervals on a bike.
