
In general, you can expect to burn between 240 and 723 calories per hour walking at a brisk pace. Take a look at the table below for more specific estimates based on your body size and walking speed.
Walking has seemingly endless benefits for your health and wellness. But when it comes to weight loss, you might wonder exactly how calories you burn walking for an hour.
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Short answer: The number of calories you burn walking depends on how strenuous your walk is and how much you weigh.
The Number of Calories Burned Walking 1 Hour, By Weight and Speed
Walking at a brisk, moderate pace is a great way to get your heart pumping and shed calories. After an hour, you can expect to burn somewhere between 240 and 723 calories walking.
Why so big of a range? Because your caloric burn walking depends on your body weight and walking pace or intensity, according to Harvard Health Publishing.
Here are some examples of how many calories different people burn in an hour of walking:
Calories Burned in 1 Hour of Walking
Weight | 3.5 mph / 17:09 pace | 4.0 mph / 15:00 pace | 4.5 mph / 13:20 pace |
---|---|---|---|
125 lbs. | 240 | 298 | 356 |
155 lbs. | 270 | 334 | 400 |
185 lbs. | 300 | 372 | 444 |
215 lbs. | 412 | 432 | 516 |
245 lbs. | 469 | 492 | 588 |
285 lbs. | 527 | 552 | 660 |
305 lbs. | 584 | 613 | 723 |
How to Burn More Calories Walking
As you can see, pumping up the intensity of your walk increases the number of calories you expend walking. Here are a few ways to do just that:
Walk Inclines
Add inclines and declines to your walks. Head to a hill in your neighborhood, or set your treadmill to an incline.
Do Speed Intervals
Interval training — alternating between bouts of faster and slower walking — can help you burn more calories and lose weight. Beginners should start with 30 seconds of quick walking followed by 2 minutes and 30 seconds at an intermediate pace. Try to complete 5 intervals each time you work out.
Add Resistance
Wear a weight vest or hold a light pair of weight for more resistance. You can also add some body-weight strength exercises to your walking routine. Try squats, lunges or push-ups to increase your caloric output and build muscle. For every 5 minutes of walking, try to stop and do 1 minute of strength exercises.
2 Ways to Calculate Your Calories Burned Walking 1 Hour
1. The Met Formula
For a more exact estimate of how many calories you burn walking, the MET formula or an online calorie calculator can help, according to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
The MET formula uses so-called metabolic equivalents, numbers that estimate how hard your body's working at any one time, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE).
Here's how to use it:
- Find the MET value for your activity online, like in this table from the ACE.
- Convert your weight into kilograms by dividing the number in pounds by 2.2.
- Multiply 0.0175 times that MET value times your weight in kilograms.
- Finally, multiply the result by 60 to get an hour's worth of calorie burn.
calories burned per minute = 0.0175 x MET x weight (kg)
2. Fitness Trackers
Another way to track your calories burned walking is by wearing a fitness watch or using a calorie-tracking app. For either option, you'll input your age, gender, weight and activity level. Usually, the wearable trackers use heart rate, time and distance to find your caloric burn.
Walking apps can also estimate your calories burned, using GPS and the data you report (like total walking time and speed or effort).
Want to calculate exactly how many calories you burn during your workouts? Download the MyPlate app for a more accurate and customized estimate.
- Harvard Health Publishing: "Calories Burned in 30 Minutes for People of Three Different Weights"
- Mayo Clinic: "Walking: Trim Your Waistline, Improve your Health"
- Hospital for Special Surgery: "Burning Calories with Exercise: Calculating Estimated Energy Expenditure"
- ACE: "5 Things to Know About Metabolic Equivalents"