Calories Burned While You Workout
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One of the top questions we’re asked as is — what is the amount of calories burned? It can be for walking running, swimming, or a specific workout, but people always want to know!
How many calories does working out burn?
It really depends on your physical size, fitness level and the exercise you’re doing.
For example, the Harvard Medical School found a 30 minute strength workout burns 90 calories for a 125lb person or 133 calories for a 155lb person. The bigger person will burn more calories.
Your heart rate also effects how many calories you burn during a workout. For example – cardio gets your heart pumping and a higher calorie burn than yoga.
Example Calorie Burns
| Approx Calories Burned Someone at 150lbs | In 30 minutes |
| Hiking | 185 |
| Yard work | 165 |
| Dancing | 165 |
| Walking (3.5 mph) | 140 |
| Strenght Training | 110 |
| Running/ jogging (5 mph) | 295 |
| Bicycling (more than 10 mph) | 295 |
| Swimming (slow freestyle laps) | 255 |
| Aerobics | 240 |
How many calories do I burn exercising for 30 minutes?
We recommend aiming to burn 250+ calories in 30 minutes if your goal is weight loss. You can do this by running, biking, swimming, or aerobics.
We also love working out at home. You can burn 250+ calories per workout with 22 Minute Hard Corps, T25 and the 21 Day Fix.
Tracking Your Calorie Burn
I love my FitBit Versa because it will track how many calories I burn per day, as well as, during my workouts.
It also tracks my steps per day and heart rate. If you sleep in it, it can even track your sleep patterns!
I also love that it shows how hard I’m working throughout the workout so I can push myself!
It’s very easy to use, and you can also put music on it!
Check Out Pricing on Amazon
Before finding the FitBit, I used a Polar FT4. I liked it, but you had to wear a chest strap which was a pain. I only wore it when I worked out, and even then I started to dread wearing it. (Here is my full review on it)
What are the Best At Home Workouts to Burn a 500+ Calories?
Cardio-Based
Each of these offer a 500+ calorie burn per hour / half hour!
New to Exercise?
Check out Country Heat, 21 Day Fix or YouV2. They’ll all help you hit that calorie mark.
Strength Workouts with a Calorie Torching Power
- Hammer & Chisel (45 mins+)
- 80 Day Obsession (60 mins)
- LIIFT4 (40 mins)
Can you lose belly fat by walking?
You can lose weight by walking which can help reduce belly fat. With that said, no exercise can help you lose fat in a particular area.
Even crunches can’t help you lose belly fat. While you are working your stomach – you’re just making it stronger versus blasting fat off the top of it.
You’ll need to burn more calories than your body needs and follow a healthy diet to lose belly fat.
Check out What is Clean Eating? or Whole 30 Review for tips to eating.
How many calories are burned walking?
As we mentioned before, you weight and fitness level will effect your calorie burn. With that said, typically a 180lb person will burn 100 calories walking per mile, and a 120lb person will burn 65 calories per mile walking.
How many calories are burned running?
Your running calorie burn will depend on our size and pace. An average calorie burn for running 30 minutes is 280 to 500 calories.
Overestimating Your Calories Burned
If you are using a tracker on a treadmill or an elliptical to figure out your calories burned, be careful. Cathe Friedrich has said that those overestimate your calorie burn because it doesn’t take into account that you burn calories just by being alive.
The above numbers are only estimates.
Therefore, you should only use these figures as a ballpark figure.
Diet and Support are Also Key to Max Results
You can’t out exercise a bad diet.
Whether you are following a clean eating diet, portion control, or something like 2B Mindset – you need a eating plan!
Your food and consistency will help you hit your fitness goals!
We offer a 21 Day Challenge to kickstart your results!
Need some online support?
We’d love to help!
We help you find the best workout and diet for your goals and busy lifestyle for the 21 Day Challenge.
Then, you also get access to a private support group. Everyone shares recipes, tips, meal plans, questions, and more.
Do you have a general idea of how much calories are burnt on average for T25?
Thanks!
I burn about 300 each workout :)
How do you find out how many calories you burn when doing DVD work outs?
Depending on your current weight and your heart rate during a workout, it will vary. I usually burn 200-300 calories during a challenging 30-minute workout. The best way to know how many calories you are burning exactly is to invest in a heart rate monitor like a Polar FT4. It will tell you your heart rate and calorie burn.
Thanks for posting this, I had been trying to figure out how many calories I should be burning and I don’t own any type of fitbit or workout device so it’s been difficult for me to figure it out.
You said 500-600 calories burned per TurboJam workout… are you referring to only the 45 min ones, or all?
Yes, on average I burned about 10-15 calories per minute. The best way to know your personal calorie burn is to invest in a heart rate monitor. Do you have one?