Calories Burned Calculator
Calories burned for 30+ activities using 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities MET values, scaled to your weight and duration, gross and net of resting.
Calories Burned Calculator: with the default inputs, calories burned is 385.
Gross: includes what you'd have burned resting anyway.
- Per hour
- 770
- Net calories (above resting)
- 346Subtracts 1 MET of resting metabolism — the extra cost of the activity.
- MET value
- 9.8
Assumptions
- MET values from the 2011 Compendium; 1 MET = 3.5 mL O₂/kg/min and 5 kcal per litre of O₂.
- Gross calories include resting metabolism; net subtracts 1 MET.
- Values assume steady-state effort by an adult of average fitness; individual error of ±20% is typical.
| Activity | MET | Calories | Per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running, 8 mph (7.5 min/mile) | 11.8 | 464 | 927 |
| Jump rope, moderate (100–120/min) | 11.8 | 464 | 927 |
| Running, 7 mph (8.5 min/mile) | 11 | 432 | 864 |
| Cycling, 14–15.9 mph (vigorous) | 10 | 393 | 786 |
| Running, 6 mph (10 min/mile) (selected) | 9.8 | 385 | 770 |
| Swimming laps, freestyle, fast/vigorous | 9.8 | 385 | 770 |
| Stair climber machine | 9 | 354 | 707 |
| Running, 5 mph (12 min/mile) | 8.3 | 326 | 652 |
| Cycling, 12–13.9 mph (moderate) | 8 | 314 | 629 |
| Basketball, game | 8 | 314 | 629 |
| Tennis, singles | 8 | 314 | 629 |
| Aerobic dance, general | 7.3 | 287 | 574 |
MET values from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities. 1 MET ≈ 1 kcal per kg per hour, the energy cost of sitting quietly.
How this is worked out
The formula
Calories per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200 Calories burned = calories per minute × duration (min) Net calories = (MET − 1) × 3.5 × weight ÷ 200 × duration 1 MET = 3.5 mL O₂ per kg per minute ≈ 1 kcal per kg per hour
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Body weight
- A number.in lb, kg, st · from 20 to 1000 · defaults to 165
- Activity
- Choose one of 31 options.Sitting quietly — 1.3 MET · Yoga, Hatha — 2.5 MET · Walking, 2.5 mph (leisurely) — 3 MET · Pilates, general — 3 MET · Walking, 3.0 mph (moderate) — 3.5 MET · Weight lifting, general (8–15 reps) — 3.5 MET · Gardening, general — 3.8 MET · Walking, 3.5 mph (brisk) — 4.3 MET · Golf, walking and carrying clubs — 4.3 MET · Circuit training, moderate — 4.3 MET · Walking, 4.0 mph (very brisk) — 5 MET · Elliptical trainer, moderate — 5 MET · Swimming laps, freestyle, light/moderate — 5.8 MET · Hiking, cross-country — 6 MET · Weight lifting, vigorous (powerlifting/bodybuilding) — 6 MET · Cycling, 10–11.9 mph (leisure) — 6.8 MET · Stationary bike, moderate (90–100 W) — 6.8 MET · Rowing machine, moderate (100 W) — 7 MET · Soccer, casual — 7 MET · Aerobic dance, general — 7.3 MET · Cycling, 12–13.9 mph (moderate) — 8 MET · Basketball, game — 8 MET · Tennis, singles — 8 MET · Running, 5 mph (12 min/mile) — 8.3 MET · Stair climber machine — 9 MET · Running, 6 mph (10 min/mile) — 9.8 MET · Swimming laps, freestyle, fast/vigorous — 9.8 MET · Cycling, 14–15.9 mph (vigorous) — 10 MET · Running, 7 mph (8.5 min/mile) — 11 MET · Running, 8 mph (7.5 min/mile) — 11.8 MET · Jump rope, moderate (100–120/min) — 11.8 MET
- Duration
- A number.from 1 to 1440 · whole numbers only · defaults to 30
What you get back
- Calories burnedmain answer
- Gross: includes what you'd have burned resting anyway.
- Per hour
- Net calories (above resting)
- Subtracts 1 MET of resting metabolism — the extra cost of the activity.
- MET value
What this assumes
- MET values from the 2011 Compendium; 1 MET = 3.5 mL O₂/kg/min and 5 kcal per litre of O₂.
- Gross calories include resting metabolism; net subtracts 1 MET.
- Values assume steady-state effort by an adult of average fitness; individual error of ±20% is typical.
About this calculator
Every activity has a metabolic equivalent, or MET: how many times your resting energy expenditure it costs. Sitting is 1 MET, a brisk walk about 4, running a 10-minute mile close to 10. Multiply the MET by your body weight and time and you have calories burned — the same method used in exercise science research, and the one behind most fitness apps' numbers.
Where the MET values come from
The Compendium of Physical Activities is a catalogue of measured energy costs for more than 800 activities, first published in 1993 and updated in 2011 by Ainsworth and colleagues. Each MET here is taken from that 2011 edition. The conversion to calories uses the ACSM's standard: 1 MET is an oxygen uptake of 3.5 mL per kilogram per minute, and each litre of oxygen releases about 5 kcal.
Gross vs. net
The headline figure is gross calories — everything you burned during the activity, including the roughly 1 kcal per kg per hour you'd have burned lying on the couch. Net subtracts that resting cost and is the honest answer to "how many extra calories did this workout cost?" If you're logging exercise against a calorie budget that already includes your resting metabolism, use net, or you'll double-count.
How accurate is it?
A MET is a population average measured in a lab on people of average size and fitness. Real-world differences of ±20% are normal:
- Fitter people burn less at a given speed because they're more economical.
- Heavier people burn more in weight-bearing activities (walking, running) but the scaling is weaker for seated ones (cycling, rowing).
- Terrain, wind and carrying loads raise the cost; a treadmill at 0% grade lowers it.
- Short intervals are poorly captured by a single MET — the value reflects steady-state effort.
Compendium METs also assume a resting rate of 3.5 mL/kg/min, which overstates resting metabolism for larger or older adults. Corrected METs (Byrne et al. 2005) address this, but the standard values remain the common currency.
Using the table
The table below ranks every listed activity at your weight and duration. It's a useful reality check: an hour of general weight lifting burns roughly the same as 20 minutes of running, and nothing on the list comes close to eating a large pizza.
Frequently asked questions
▸How many calories does running burn?
Roughly 100 kcal per mile for a 150-lb person, rising with body weight. At 6 mph (9.8 MET) a 70-kg runner burns about 720 kcal per hour gross, or around 650 net of resting metabolism.
▸What is a MET?
Metabolic equivalent of task — the energy cost of an activity as a multiple of resting metabolism. 1 MET ≈ 1 kcal per kg of body weight per hour. Moderate activity is 3–6 METs, vigorous is above 6.
▸Why does my fitness tracker say something different?
Trackers estimate from heart rate and motion, and validation studies find errors of 20–90% for energy expenditure. The MET method is transparent and about as accurate on average, though it can't see your personal fitness.
▸Should I eat back the calories I burn exercising?
Only if your calorie target excluded exercise. If you chose an activity level that already includes your training, adding tracker calories on top double-counts. Use the net figure if you do.
▸Does lifting weights burn many calories?
Not during the session — general lifting is 3.5 MET, similar to a moderate walk. Its value is muscle, which raises resting expenditure slightly and improves body composition.
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