Calories burned by activity

The numbers below are LOWER than the ones most sites and watches show. That is not a mistake: they subtract what your body would have burned at rest over the same time. It is the only version that survives a month on the scale.

• Running

  Minute for minute, running is the most expensive of the sixteen. Here is what it actually costs at your weight and pace.

• Cycling

  Cycling has the widest gap between “a ride” and “an effort” of any activity here: triple, end to end.

• Walking

  Walking is the most underrated activity here: cheap by the minute, but the one you do for the longest.

• Swimming

  Swimming is expensive, but less than what you read everywhere — for a reason that has nothing to do with effort.

• Weights

  The answer surprises people: lifting burns little. That is not why it is the most useful of the sixteen.

• Intervals

  Interval training burns a lot per minute. Minutes are exactly what it lacks.

• Rowing

  The rower recruits more muscle mass than any other machine. Here is what that is worth, with the numbers.

• Jump rope

  Minute for minute it is the most expensive activity on the list — and the one you sustain for the shortest time.

• Hiking

  Hiking costs a full step more than walking, for two reasons people forget to count.

• Bodyweight

  With no equipment, the burn depends almost entirely on one thing: how long you rest.

• Climbing

  Climbing is expensive. A climbing session, far less — and the difference is the time spent on the ground.

• Racket

  Between a relaxed doubles match and a game of squash, the burn doubles. Pick your step carefully.

• Team sport

  A training session and a match are not the same thing. The gap is worth double.

• Combat

  Technical work, bag work and sparring are three different activities filed under one name.

• Dance

  From ballroom to an intense class the burn doubles — and it is the tempo that decides, not the style.

• Yoga

  Little, and that is not a flaw. Here is the number, and why it says almost nothing about the value of the session.

Calculators →