When calculating calories burned when stepping you need to apply certain variables, and combine a few equations to find the exact amount of calories you burned.
Find Oxygen Uptake
A small step is around 6 inches in height, and this will be used in the example. You must first find oxygen uptake, or VO2, to find calories burned while stepping. Steps per minute along with the height of the steps must also be known to find VO2. For the example, assume the individual is performing 30 steps a minute at the 6-inch height. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the formula to find oxygen uptake while stepping is as follows: VO2=(0.2 x stepping frequency in a minute)+(1.33 x 1.8 x height of steps in meters x stepping frequency in a minute)+3.5. Convert inches to meters by multiply by 0.0254. Oxygen uptake will equal 20.45 ml/kg/min for the example.
Calories Burned in a Minute
You must now attribute body weight. For our example, the individual will weigh 150 lbs., or 68 kg. Multiply VO2 by body weight in kg, and then turn this number into liters per kilogram by dividing by 1,000. This will equal 1.39 L in the example problem. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, 1 L of oxygen consumed is equal to expending five calories. Using this info, multiply 1.39 L by 5 calories to find 6.95 calories burned in a minute for the example individual.
Total Calories Burned
To find total calories burned you need to know how long you were stepping at a constant rate. In this example, assume the individual is stepping for 30 minutes. Take 6.95 calories burned a minute and multiply by 30 minutes. You will find that the 150 lb individual, stepping at 30 steps per minute, at a 6-inch height burned 208 calories in 30 minutes.
References
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 8th edition"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2009
- Wayne State College: The Use of Metabolic Equations in Exercise Prescription
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