How many calories do you burn when you exercise?

[LisaR]

Just started working out at the gym. Curious how many calories you burn in a 60 minute workout. I know it varies by equipment. That is what I am trying to figure out. Do you always go for the equipment that burns the most calories or do you change it up? I do not need to lose weight but I just want to get in shape and elevate my heart rate.

 

[FireDancer]

The answer to your question is pretty complex. You and I can do the exact same workout for the exact same duration but burn a completely different number of calories. A good estimation is that you will burn between 150 and 350 depending on the workout intensity, your body makeup, and the heart rate achieved while working out.

The good thing about weight or resistance training is that you will continue to burn calories after you are finished. The resistance training damages the muscle fibers used to move the weights. You body has to repair the damage and this is a calorie intensive process. The actual building of the muscle is done after you are done working out, not during. That is why it is important to get some protein into your system within 30 minutes of your weight workout.

As you build more muscle the amount of calories you burn doing anything will increase. Even while sitting on the couch doing nothing your body requires more calories to maintain muscle then it does fat. A 200 lb person who has 8% body fat will burn more calories sitting down doing nothing than another 200 lb person who has 20% body fat. This is a reason why resistance training should be part of any healthy lifestyle. Too many people concentrate solely on cardio which, while good, is only part of the equation.

 

[LisaR]

Thanks, Firedancer. That helps!

I just read a post on another thread and the person said their goal was to consume fewer calories than they burn. I would have to spend all day in the gym in order to do that and I would probably need to eat more after all that exercising anyway.

 

[FireDancer]

Thanks, Firedancer. That helps!

I just read a post on another thread and the person said their goal was to consume fewer calories than they burn. I would have to spend all day in the gym in order to do that and I would probably need to eat more after all that exercising anyway.

If they mean consume less calories then they burn in the gym they will eventually die. Hopefully what they meant is consume less calories then they burn in a day, which is the way to lose weight.

The amount of calories that are just needed to exist is a relatively high number. There are calculators out there where you can find the number (I think it is called the basal metabolic rate) by putting in your age, sex, body fat %, height, weight, and some lifestyle criteria.

 

[LisaR]

If they mean consume less calories then they burn in the gym they will eventually die. Hopefully what they meant is consume less calories then they burn in a day, which is the way to lose weight.

The amount of calories that are just needed to exist is a relatively high number. There are calculators out there where you can find the number (I think it is called the basal metabolic rate) by putting in your age, sex, body fat %, height, weight, and some lifestyle criteria.

I am sure that is what they meant or I just read it wrong.

 

[vettechick99]

I don't need to lose weight, but just tone up and keep my heart healthy. But the one thing my DH and I have learned since working out, and reading tons of fitness magazines, is that the best way to burn calories is to interval train. So sprint on the treadmill for 2 mins and then walk briskly for a few. This is better and easier than full out jogging the whole time.

There are lots of workouts online and this method is proven to help you burn more calories in the same amount of time. This is also how I trained for my 5ks last year. Super easy! Google interval training.

Also, like the PP said, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will naturally burn. This is where I fail - I don't have much fat, but I have ZERO muscle!! Can't seem to gain it to save my life!

Here is one treadmill routine.

P/S Sign up for a 5k or some other goal. It keeps you accountable. Right now I have nothing in the works so I have no reason to go into the gym. Of course I am pregnant so I have an excuse to be lazy, but I really should be in there keeping my body healthy. A goal is key!

 

[720L]

My treadmill tells me I burn around 400 calories when I run/fast walk 3 miles. I have no idea how accurate it is.

 

[bicker]

One of the things I've learned the hard way, every time I've tried to lose weight via exercise, is that most of the estimates of how many calories a certain activity burns are grossly inaccurate. The numbers are typically arrived at from measures taken in ideal empirical scenarios. Once, a bunch of us on some weight-loss forum I was participating in compared notes, and found the variance ranged from accurate to a 30% over-estimate.

Just to put that number in context: If you are figuring that you're burning 300 calories an hour doing something, and you're off by 30%, that'll end up as an extra pound of weight (a pound of weight not lost) after just six weeks.

 

[SusanWasHere]

I wear a Polar Monitor that is set up for me - my age, gender, weight, height. It comes with a chest strap and that tells my heart rate and through that and my information my calories are counted. If I do a good fast hour walk or hour spin class I burn between 375 -450. It's pretty consistent. While doing a weight training class with squats, lunges, weights (or my Wii Active) I'll burn between 200-350 in an hour, depending on the exercises. When I exercise I try to burn 600-700 straight, that way I feel like I got results! When I used to take a very cardio-intense kickboxing class I would sometimes burn 500 in one hour - and I would be exhausted!!! Good luck

PS I have to say before I got the Polar Monitor I thought I was doing great at the gym. Then I got the monitor and it tells you if you are in your target heart rate or not - and WOW I wasn't exercising nearly hard enough for years! Now I know why I wasn't getting the results I thought I should. Now with the monitor I can look down at my heart rate and see if I am working too hard, not hard enough, etc. Really changes the way you work out