One aerobic mile is a measure of the energy you expend by jogging one mile. You can use this measure to determine how much of other activities you need to do to get an equivalent workout. Since how many calories you burn running a mile varies according to your body weight and speed, one person's aerobic mile may be very different from another's. However, it's relatively simple to calculate your aerobic mile.
Step 1
Time yourself running one mile. You'll get more accurate results by doing this three to five times on different days, then averaging your times.
Step 2
Weigh yourself in pounds. As with your mile time, you will get more accurate results by averaging your weight over three to five days.
Step 3
Use one of many free online calorie calculators to determine how many calories you burn in one mile. For example, a 180-lb. person running a single mile in 10 minutes burns 147 calories. The same person running a mile in eight minutes burns 245. At 160 pounds, that person would burn 131 and 218 calories for those 2-mile times.
Step 4
Use the same calorie calculator to determine how many calories you would burn doing one minute of a different activity. For example, a 180-lb. person burns eight calories per minute fencing, or 11 per minute playing half-court basketball.
Step 5
Divide your result from Step 3 by your result from step five to find out the aerobic minute of your other activities. A 180-lb. person running a 10-minute mile burns 147 calories. At eight calories per minute, that person's aerobic mile for fencing is (147/8=) 18.37 minutes. For half-court basketball, his aerobic mile is (147/11=) 13.35 minutes.
Tips and Warnings
- Always keep in mind that these numbers are approximations. Calorie counting is an inexact art, not a science. The temperature, your level of effort and even your mood can swing these numbers in one direction or another on different workout sessions.
Things You'll Need
- Calculator
- Internet access
- Stop watch
References
- Ben Cohn; Fitness coach; Hillsboro, Oregon
- Health Status: Calories Burned by Exercise
