Knowing how many calories you burn during your workouts can be important for controlling your weight and helping you stay healthy. The amount of calories you burn during your workout depends on your weight and the intensity and duration of your workout. To burn more calories you can increase the duration of your workout or increase the intensity. Create a calorie deficit of 500 to 1,000 calories per day, through a combination of diet and exercise, for safe, healthy weight loss.
Chart Method
Step 1
Consult a chart or table that shows how many calories a person burns during different physical activities, such as the one from the Harvard Medical School. These can be found online or in exercise and fitness books.
Step 2
Select the column that is closest to your weight and follow it until you see the row that contains the activity you do for your workout. This number will be the amount of calories a person of your weight burns for 30 minutes of the specific activity.
Step 3
Estimate your calories burned during your workout using the chart. If you exercise more than 30 minutes and weigh more than the indicated column, your calories burned will be higher.
Formula Method
Step 1
Consult a Metabolic Equivalent Task, or MET, chart. A MET is a commonly used measure of energy expenditure. Determine the MET equivalent of your workout by using your chart. The higher the intensity of your workout, the higher the MET equivalent will be.
Step 2
Multiply your MET equivalent by 3.5. This result will be your relative oxygen consumption.
Step 3
Calculate your weight in kilograms by dividing your weight in pounds by 2.2. Multiply your weight in kilograms by your relative oxygen consumption.
Step 4
Divide this result by 1,000 to determine the liters of oxygen per minute you use during your workout. Multiply your liters of oxygen consumed per minute by 5. You burn 5 calories for every liter of oxygen consumed.
Step 5
Multiply your calories burned per minute by the total minutes of your workout. This is the amount of calories burned during your workout.
Tips and Warnings
- If you cannot locate a suitable MET equivalent chart, exercise machines, including treadmills, stationary bikes and elliptical machines, typically have a function that can show the MET equivalent of your workout.
- Use caution when using your exercise machine to estimate your calories burned. Exercise machines may overestimate the number of calories you burn by 10 to 15 percent, notes Syracuse University nutritionist Jessica Gray, since the number of calories you burn depends on your body fat composition as well as age and weight.
Things You'll Need
- Calories burned table
- MET equivalent chart
- Calculator
References
- Medline Plus: Tips for Losing Weight
- Harvard Medical School: Calories burned in 30 minutes for people of three different weights
- New Jersey Medical School: Calculating your Weekly Energy Expended in Leisure-Time Physical Activity Using METs
- "ACSM's Certification Review"; Khalid W, Bibi, Ph.D., ed.; 2010
- Syracuse University: Healthy Monday: Ask Jess
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