Walking is a convenient method for burning calories and improving your aerobic conditioning. Fitness enthusiasts frequently measure their walk in terms of the number of steps they need to take. This allows you to measure your walk with a pedometer. A walk of 10,000 steps is generally equal to 4.5 to 5 miles.
Heart Rate
Your heart rate closely correlates with your calorie expenditure rate when your heart rate is greater than 90 beats per minute and less than 150 beats per minute. Calorie expenditure formulas that use your heart rate will therefore be most accurate when you keep your heart rate within this range. It may be necessary to adjust your walking pace to keep your heart rate in the target range.
Procedure
Wear your heart rate monitor and pedometer according to their specific instructions. Perform brisk walking or another form of exercise to get your heart rate above 90 beats per minute. Reset your pedometer to zero and start your heart rate recorder. Begin walking at a pace sufficient to keep your heart rate above 90 beats per minute. Stop your heart rate recorder when your pedometer shows 10,000 steps.
Data
The calorie expenditure formulas require your average heart rate during your walk, the duration of your walk, your age and weight. Your heart rate recorder will provide your average heart rate and the duration of your walk in minutes. The calorie expenditure formula also requires your age in years and your weight in pounds.
Formulas
The Journal of Sports Sciences provides the following calorie expenditure formula for women: Calories = [(Heart Rate x 0.4472) -- (Weight x 0.05741) + (Age x 0.074) -- 20.4022] x Time / 4.184. Men use this formula: Calories = [(Heart Rate x 0.6309) -- (Weight x 0.09036) + (Age x 0.2017) - 55.0969] x Time / 4.184.
Calculations
Assume for this example that you're a 38-year-old woman weighing 143 lbs. You walk 10,000 steps in 87 minutes and your heart rate averages 131 beats per minute. You burned [(131 x 0.4472) -- (143 x 0.05741) + (38 x 0.074) -- 20.4022] x 87 / 4.184 = 682 calories during your walk.
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