If everyone took a 30-minute walk each day, overall health worldwide would tremendously improve. That's the view of the American College of Sports Medicine, which advocates keeping exercise simple and notes that walking is the simplest aerobic activity. You can calculate the calories you burn from walking on a treadmill by taking into account your speed, the incline and your body weight. You'll use these numbers to calculate your VO2, or the amount of oxygen you consume while on the treadmill. Then you can use your VO2 to calculate the number of calories (kCal) you burn per minute.
Step 1
Weigh yourself. Determine your body weight in pounds, then divide it by 2.2 to convert it to kilograms. If you weigh 121 lbs., for example, 121/2.2 = 55 kg.
Step 2
Note your treadmill speed and incline readings, using the treadmill at a constant speed and grade. You will need three numbers: resting oxygen consumption, horizontal consumption and vertical consumption. Resting consumption is standard at 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute, or 3.5 mL/(kg*min).
First, calculate the horizontal component of movement using 0.1 mL/(kg*min) as a standard measure. For instance, if your constant walking speed is 2.8 miles per hour, convert this speed to meters per minute: 2.8 x 26.82 = 75 meters per minute. Then, multiply 75 by 0.1 to get 7.5 as your horizontal component of walking on the treadmill.
Next, calculate the vertical component of movement using 1.8mL/(kg*min.) as a standard measure. If you have the treadmill at 4 percent, convert the percentage to decimal form, giving you 0.04. Multiply 0.04 by your speed in meters per minute: 0.04 x 75 = 3. Then, multiply 3 by 1.8 to give you 5.4 as your vertical component of walking on the treadmill.
Finally, calculate your VO2 by adding the standard oxygen consumption at rest to your horizontal component of treadmill walking and your vertical component of treadmill walking: 3.5 + 7.5 + 5.4 = 16.4 mL/(kg*min).
Step 3
Calculate the number of calories you burn in one minute. Take your VO2 16.4ml/(kg*min.) and divide it by 1,000 to convert it into liters: 16.4/1,000 = 0.0164L/(kg*min.). Multiply 0.0164 times your body weight of 55 kg to get 0.902 liters per minute. Finally, multiply 0.902 to the standard measure of 5.05 kilo-calories per liter, or 5.05kCal/L, to get 4.6kCal/min.
Step 4
Calculate the number of calories you burn on the treadmill. Multiply 4.6kCal by 30 to get 138 calories burned in 30 minutes. If you weigh 121 lbs., or 55kg, and walk on a treadmill at a speed of 2.8 mph on a 4 percent incline for 30 minutes, you will burn about 138 calories.
Tips and Warnings
- Calculate how many calories you would burn maintaining the same speed but increasing your incline. Compare this with how many calories you would burn at the same incline but faster speed.
- If you have been sedentary, don't over-exert yourself. Otherwise, you may get injured. You should be able to talk while you walk.
Things You'll Need
- Pencil
- Paper
- Calculator
- Scale
- Treadmill
- Walking shoes
- Comfortable clothing
References
- ACSM: The Anytime, Anywhere Exercise Program
- "Exercise Physiology, Energy, Nutrition & Human Performance"; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007
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