How Many Calories Are You Really Burning in the Gym?

March 9, 2018

How Many Calories Are You Really Burning in the Gym?

“Calories.” Who knew one word could carry so much weight?

Whether you’re trying to get lean, maintain your weight or bulk up, you need to know how many calories you’re consuming and burning. Yet, while it’s easy to count calories in our diet, it’s hard to estimate how many we’re actually burning in the gym.

If you want to truly achieve your goals, you need to understand how many calories you’re really burning each session — that way, you know if you’re doing too little or too much. Unfortunately, what your cardio machine says isn’t always accurate.

In fact, many cardio machines inflate the number of calories you burn. Why? Because they usually take into account your weight and your age only, instead of also including additional factors like fitness level and body composition. A study from the University of California, San Francisco found:

In this article, we’ll break down popular exercise methods and how many calories you’ll actually burn. Use these guidelines to get a better estimate of how much work you’re actually doing every 30 minutes.

CALORIE BASICS

Before we dive into various exercises, here are some important things to consider:

Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body requires to carry out daily functions — and accounts for 50–70% of the energy your body uses.
The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn even at rest.
Physical activity produces heat in your body, called “thermic effect.” It’s the second largest contributor to calorie expenditure at 20%.
There are approximately 3,500 calories in one pound of fat.

EXERCISES THAT BURN THE MOST CALORIES

In March 2017, Harvard Health Publishing released data on dozens of common activities and their calories burned within 30 minutes for people of varying weights. Here are some of the best in no particular order:

Running on the treadmill
Stationary biking
Swimming
Circuit training
Vigorous weight lifting

Read on to see how many calories you’ll actually burn from these exercises. (The lower end of each range is for a 125-pound person and the higher end is for a 185-pound person.)

Go Back

See All Slides

Begin Slideshow

1 of

Begin Slideshow

Click Arrows Above

TREADMILL

Running can burn a lot of calories. Running at an 11:30-mile pace, burns 270–400 calories in 30 minutes. And if you add an incline to your treadmill or jog on a hilly trail, you’ll burn more.

Even better, if you mix your cardio with high-intensity interval training (HIIT), then you’ll burn a lot more. The low-intensity portions of HIIT typically burn 9–13 calories per minute, while the high-intensity portions burn 12–17. (You’ll also burn calories well after you finish with this method due to the “afterburn” effect.)

2 of

STATIONARY BIKE

Moderate stationary biking burns approximately 210–311 calories per 30 minutes. Vigorous riding — like in an intense spin class — burns 315–466 calories.

3 of

SWIMMING

This is an excellent cardiovascular exercise, which burns 300–444 calories per 30-minute session. Bonus: It’s easy on your joints. So if you find other exercises wreak havoc on your knees, shoulders, etc., jump in the pool for a great workout.

4 of

CIRCUIT TRAINING

This is the kind of training that combines resistance exercises with intense cardio by moving through your strength exercises with minimal rest. In 30 minutes, the average person burns between 240–355 calories.

5 of

VIGOROUS WEIGHT LIFTING

If you hit the weights, you probably burn 90–133 calories in each 30-minute floor session. But remember: The more muscle you build, the more energy your body burns at rest. That’s why lifting weights to build lean muscle should be at the top of your to-do list, regardless of your physique goals.

*Calorie burn based on 150-pound person

About the Author

Anthony J. Yeung

Anthony, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, is a fitness expert at Esquire, GQ and Men’s Health and gets guys in shape for their wedding at GroomBuilder.

26 responses to “How Many Calories Are You Really Burning in the Gym?”

Marilee Jikey says:

March 24, 2018 at 10:17 am

No matter what exercise you do, you had better enjoy it or you won’t keep it up. Me, I don’t like going to the gym, because I don’t like the way it smells, plus I love being outdoors. I am retired so walk & hike a couple of hours a day and a lot if it is uphill. I figure that I burn between 5 & 6 hundred calories on these walks, maybe more. Seems to work for me.

Reply
- manthony says:
  
  March 24, 2018 at 10:38 pm
  
  Good for you! I wonder why anyone is indoors when the weather is good. Outdoors is always better unless it’s icy or lightening or something!
  
  Reply
Michael D. says:

March 24, 2018 at 11:00 am

The fallacy of this article is that none of the exercises (with the exception of the stair climber) consider the definition of work (Mass X Distance). In general the only work you’re doing is to lift your leg. When you add incline on the treadmill you are lifting the entire body weight therefore the increase in calories consumed. Please refer to and compare more valid estimates of caloric consumption which include mass (your weight) and he distance you move it. Personally, I’ll see you on the roads.

Reply
- Surfer C says:
  
  March 24, 2018 at 5:17 pm
  
  Not true. A stationary bike works like a leg machine. Your body’s weight is supported by the seat. The mass is the level of exertion needed to move the pedals (one at a time as you extend your leg). That increases with each level you increase on the machine. The distance is how far your leg has to extend before the next leg has to take over–multiplied by 2 for each cycle and then multiplied again by how many cycles per hour. Easy-peasy. But saying the only work you’re doing is raising your leg is the only fallacy here. If that were the case, then the same would be true for road runners.
  
  Reply
- manthony says:
  
  March 24, 2018 at 10:36 pm
  
  Unless you hold onto the handles and lean back in which case you’re not on an incline at all. I see it all the time in the gym.
  
  Reply
Ted_Fontenot says:

March 24, 2018 at 1:22 pm

I’m 70. I have leukemia (CML). My leukemia medication gave me arterial blockage in the left lower leg. I was told that as an alternative to a surgical procedure I could try doing the treadmill. I started the regimen last August. I was burning about 200-245 calories per 45-minute workout, according to the reading on the machine itself. I now burn about 900 calories per hour, according to that same machine. I start at 11 % elevation and about 2.8 mph. By the end of the first five minutes I’m doing like 3.2 mph and 15% elevation. I maintain this, going up to 16 % (and maybe 17% for a little while toward the end) and 3.3 and 3.4 mph. I don’t run. I’m pretty wobbly when I get off, but I feel I get a good cardio workout and my leg feels much better just walking around. What do you think?

Reply
- Ted_Fontenot says:
  
  March 24, 2018 at 1:24 pm
  
  Oh, yeah, I can’t lose weight. I eat more and have cravings for sweets and cheap carbs.
  
  Reply
  - John Hassett says:
    
    March 25, 2018 at 8:43 pm
    
    Try focusing on reducing your sugar intake. Use myfitnesspal.com to help monitor grams of sugar consumed. It’s a free ap.
    
    Reply
- Pattye Bagshaw says:
  
  March 26, 2018 at 10:27 am
  
  That sounds like a tough workout, good for you.
  
  Reply
Alex Budin says:

March 24, 2018 at 2:28 pm

It says the elliptical burns up to 42% but no explanations why.. I assume that you work both your lower and upper body at the same time…?
On my own experience I burn about 300Cal on the level 8 to 10 per 30min with 70% of maximum heart rate..

Reply
- Karen Duncan says:
  
  March 24, 2018 at 4:41 pm
  
  I think the article was saying the elliptical overestimates the calories burned by 42%, not that people burn 42% more calories. That was the point of the article, that all these cardio machines overestimate it. Then the article went on to try to give more realistic estimates.
  
  Reply
  - YoBob says:
    
    May 13, 2019 at 8:22 am
    
    I just CRUSHED the elliptical! burning 917cal. in an hour (im 55yo 5’10” 220lbs)
    
    Reply
- Surfer C says:
  
  March 24, 2018 at 4:47 pm
  
  No. It says that elliptical machines overestimate what they’re telling you you’ve burned by up to 42%. So that means they are the most inaccurate. That means you should multiply the number an elliptical machine gives you by .58 to get the correct number of calories that you actually burned. That really sucks! Lifecycle stationary bikes use to do the same thing back in the day, until they updated the program. On the older bikes it was telling me that I was burning 729 cal/hr on level 8. The newer bikes now say 568 cal/hr on level 8, and the new level 8 felt much harder than the old level 8.
  
  Reply
  - Katochiapet says:
    
    March 27, 2018 at 8:28 am
    
    Your math is not quite correct. Take the number off the elliptical and divide by 1.42. If the elliptical says 700, the actual should be 493. 42% of 493 is 207 (the over-estimated amount). 493+207=700
    
    Reply
- manthony says:
  
  March 24, 2018 at 10:34 pm
  
  It says the estimated calorie burn on the elliptical are 42% higher than actual. The estimate the machine gives you are often overstated.
  
  Reply
- Guest 2003 says:
  
  March 25, 2018 at 12:32 am
  
  Actual arithmetics is: you should devide by 1.42 to get right calories… if your correct number of calories is 100% and you get 42% more the reading is 142%.
  
  Reply
- Lou Ascarrunz says:
  
  March 26, 2018 at 9:31 am
  
  Regardless of how much Ellipticals “over-estimate” calorie burn….it’s still better than sitting on your couch. So don’t be discouraged….keep on keeping on!
  
  Reply
Itachi says:

March 24, 2018 at 8:36 pm

So question, I’m 23 weighing in at around 157, I have one of those heart rate monitors that I wear around my chest and the tracker watch on my wrist, say I burn around 2000-2300 calories in my session at the gym and I try to keep my intake between 1900-2100 per day would that be any good for trying to get lean muscle and abs?

Reply
James B says:

July 2, 2018 at 12:39 pm

Something is horribly wrong.
I am 135kg and 187cm tall. Everyday, between treadmill and road cycling, I spend about 1000 calories doing that (I use a Polar FT 60 which has been touted as being one of the more accurate cal meter outside a lab. accurate to +/-12%) and I weigh myself religiously.
So, anyway, my BMR according, to this site is about 4000 cal per day to maintain current weight at activity level.
In NO WAY do I consume that many a day. That is like 4 Big Mac meals with soda! A day! I eat once a day. I do not snack, and I drink mostly water and coffee with the occasional Coke Zero tossed in.
Typically I will make a small sandwich. 2 pieces of bread, some mustard, a slice of veg-cheese, and two pieces of veg meat.
The bread I will assume comes to 100 cal per piece. The sheeez about 100. And the “meat” about 100, so 400 per sandwich. I have 2, so 800. No chips. For dinner, I intake about 1000 calories. A guess, I have no idea. Basically tofu skins and veg that is boiled.
Now, as I mentioned, I daily hit the tread and road for a total of 1000 spent. Intake about 2000. That is half my “calculated” BMR and yet I cannot break from 135kg! For over a month! Something, something is horribly wrong. Something is horribly over/under estimating.
I am at the conclusion that either exercising in no way burns anywhere near the amount of calories stated, or food has 10 times the amount of calories stated, or the BMR is way, way off.

I read, or heard somewhere, I think some BBC program that an obese runner doing a marathon will only burn about 100 calories during the whole race. If that is true, then I give up on exercise.

Reply
- Christy says:
  
  January 27, 2019 at 4:42 pm
  
  Eat more. One meal a day is terrible for your metabolism, break it up into smaller more regular meals and try and speed your metabolism back up. Also, when you under eat by so much you put your body in starvation mode and it will hold onto fat instead of burning it.
  
  Reply
- $323536919 says:
  
  May 16, 2019 at 8:30 am
  
  use the food tracker
  
  Reply
- Simon Bodner says:
  
  July 13, 2019 at 4:41 pm
  
  Sounds like you are eating as much as you are burning, that’s why you aren’t losing. There is no secret … intake vs expenditure. The only variable that is isn’t consistent is metabolism. Remember, bread and anything manufactured will not metabolize as well as natural food. 1000 calories/day burning on a treadmill is what I do + 45 min of weights. I am 173cm 81kg now, but have been loosing 3lbs/ week for the last 3 months consistently and gained decent muscle mass (90kg bench press, 40kg curling, etc). Sadly, I have never had an easy time with weight, and have ballooned 40kg higher than this, but I am determined to stop the cycle and l will go down another 20kg roughly. The only good thing is that my metabolism hasn’t changed since I was a teenager (now I am 41).
  
  Reply
  - Simon Bodner says:
    
    July 13, 2019 at 4:52 pm
    
    Also, being at your size, I wouldn’t run, just do a high incline 10+ and a speed no higher than 4.2. If you can do more incline the better. I am at 20 sometimes, but hover around 16 at 4.5mph. But I have been doing it this way for awhile. Also I like to tread for 70 min. at a consistent speed while I watch TV or movies. As for the weights, don’t press too hard, and make sure to add crunches, pushups and pullups to your daily activities. This will tighten you up and your fat level will decrease.
    
    Reply
TheDogHermit says:

January 30, 2019 at 8:12 am

I’m using a FitBit Charge to track all of my workout stats (I never even look at the “Calories Burned” data on a machine). Does anyone know how accurate the FitBit app is at calculating calories? For example, I walked on a treadmill for 60 minutes this morning at 3.2 MPH, average heart rate was 94 BPM, I am 5’7″ and 166 lbs; the FB App says I burned 636 calories, which does NOT sound right.

Reply
$323536919 says:

May 16, 2019 at 8:25 am

My gym has a movie theater with cardio equipment — great for rainy or cold weather. I prefer to run outside. I would run outside regardless of the weather if I was in a real boot camp training for real war — otherwise what’s the point

Reply
$323536919 says:

May 16, 2019 at 8:28 am

have you ever run out of breath lift weights? 10 rep rest ten reps rest ten reps rest – change weights, ten reps rest —- how many times do you stop and rest in a HIIT class or while running

Reply