How do you calculate calories burned exercising?

Look up the activity's MET, multiply by 3.5 and your weight in kilograms, divide by 200 for calories per minute, then multiply by the minutes. Brisk walking (4.8 METs) at 80 kg: 4.8 × 3.5 × 80 ÷ 200 = 6.7 kcal/min, so 403 kcal in an hour. Choose the activity above and the page shows the arithmetic.

How many calories does running burn?

Roughly 1 kcal per kilogram per kilometre, whatever the pace — 70 kg over 5 km is about 350 kcal. By MET, 6 mph is 9.3 METs, so 70 kg burns 11.4 kcal a minute; a 30-minute run is 342 kcal. Faster paces burn more per minute and about the same per kilometre.

The metabolic equivalent of task: the ratio of an activity's energy cost to resting. Sitting is 1 MET; walking at 3 mph is 3.8; running at 8 mph is 12. The Compendium of Physical Activities lists over 800 activities with measured or estimated METs, and any of them can be entered as a custom value here.

Why is the figure lower than my watch says?

Watches estimate from heart rate with their own models and tend to run high, sometimes by a quarter or more; treadmills and ellipticals do the same. The MET method is the reference researchers use. Neither is exact for one person — treat both as estimates.

Calories Burned Calculator (MET Values from the Compendium of Physical Activities)

Calories burned by walking, running, cycling, swimming or gym work from your weight and time, using published MET values.

Inputs

Activity

Custom MET

0.530

Used only for the Custom activity. Look the activity up in the Compendium of Physical Activities.

Body weight(kg)

30 kg250 kg

Duration(min)

1 min600 min

Units

Include CalculateEveryday mark

Calories burned

342 kcal

Working: 9.3 MET × 3.5 × 70.0 kg ÷ 200 = 11.39 kcal/min; × 30 min = 342 kcal
Activity: Running, 6 mph (10 min/mile, 9.7 km/h) — 9.3 MET
Per hour at this effort: 684 kcal
Above resting: resting is 1.23 kcal/min, so 305 kcal of the total is extra

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What each Calories Burned input means

Activity: The activity and intensity, each with its MET from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Choose the closest match, or 'custom' to type a MET.
Custom MET: For a custom activity, its MET — how many times resting energy use it takes. Resting is 1; brisk walking about 4.8; running at 6 mph 9.3.
Body weight: Body weight in kg or lb. Calories scale directly with it.
Duration: How long the activity lasted, in minutes, counting only the time actually moving.
Units: Metric (km, kg) or US units (miles, pounds). Body weight converts between kilograms and pounds when you switch.

Calories Burned formula

kcal per minute = MET × 3.5 × weight (kg) ÷ 200 · total = kcal per minute × minutes · 1 MET = resting (3.5 mL of oxygen per kg per minute)

\text{kcal/min} = \frac{\text{MET} \times 3.5 \times m_{\text{kg}}}{200}

A MET is a multiple of resting metabolism: resting is 1 MET, defined as 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute, and each litre of oxygen burned is about 5 kcal. Put those together and a person burns MET × 3.5 × weight ÷ 200 kcal every minute — the ACSM equation used by exercise physiologists and most fitness apps. The MET for each activity comes from the Compendium of Physical Activities, the reference table researchers use, which rates brisk walking at 4.8 METs, running at 10 min/mile at 9.3, cycling at a moderate pace at 8.0, and so on; the page carries thirty-odd entries from the 2024 edition and takes any other MET you look up. The result is the total burned during the activity, including what you would have burned resting; the 'above resting' line shows the extra.

Calories Burned worked example

A 70 kg runner at 6 mph (10 min/mile, 9.3 METs) for 30 minutes: 9.3 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 11.39 kcal per minute, and × 30 = 342 kcal. Resting would have burned 1.23 kcal/min, so 305 of the 342 are extra. The same runner walking briskly (4.8 METs) burns 176 kcal in the same half hour; cycling at a moderate 12–13.9 mph (8.0 METs), 294.

More Calories Burned examples

An 80 kg person walking briskly (4.8 MET) for 45 minutes: 4.8 × 3.5 × 80 ÷ 200 = 6.72 kcal a minute, 302 kcal in all — of which about 239 kcal is above what they would burn at rest.

A 60 kg swimmer doing an hour of slow freestyle laps (5.8 MET): 6.09 kcal a minute, 365 kcal for the hour.

Where the Calories Burned calculator can give the wrong answer

MET values are population averages for a described activity. Your own cost differs with fitness, technique, terrain and wind — a headwind on the bike or hills on the run add real calories the table cannot see.
The Compendium's speed bands are the cue to match: 'running 6 mph' means about 10 minutes per mile. Choosing a band faster than you actually go is the commonest way to overstate the figure.
The equation scales with body weight, which is right for weight-bearing activities (walking, running) and approximate for supported ones (cycling, rowing), where equipment carries part of the load.
This is energy during the activity. Any 'afterburn' is small for moderate exercise and is not included.
Watches and machines use their own models and often read higher; a treadmill's display can be 20–30% above these figures.

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Calories Burned reference table

Calories in 30 minutes, by activity and body weight
Activity (MET)	60 kg	70 kg	80 kg	90 kg
Yoga, hatha (3.5)	110	129	147	165
Walking, brisk (4.8)	151	176	202	227
Swimming, slow freestyle (5.8)	183	213	244	274
Weight training, vigorous (6.0)	189	220	252	284
Rowing machine, moderate (7.5)	236	276	315	354
Cycling, 12–14 mph (8.0)	252	294	336	378
Running, 6 mph (9.3)	293	342	391	439

Source: METs from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities; kcal = MET × 3.5 × kg ÷ 200 × minutes (ACSM)

Calories Burned FAQ

: Look up the activity's MET, multiply by 3.5 and your weight in kilograms, divide by 200 for calories per minute, then multiply by the minutes. Brisk walking (4.8 METs) at 80 kg: 4.8 × 3.5 × 80 ÷ 200 = 6.7 kcal/min, so 403 kcal in an hour. Choose the activity above and the page shows the arithmetic.
: Roughly 1 kcal per kilogram per kilometre, whatever the pace — 70 kg over 5 km is about 350 kcal. By MET, 6 mph is 9.3 METs, so 70 kg burns 11.4 kcal a minute; a 30-minute run is 342 kcal. Faster paces burn more per minute and about the same per kilometre.
: The metabolic equivalent of task: the ratio of an activity's energy cost to resting. Sitting is 1 MET; walking at 3 mph is 3.8; running at 8 mph is 12. The Compendium of Physical Activities lists over 800 activities with measured or estimated METs, and any of them can be entered as a custom value here.
: Watches estimate from heart rate with their own models and tend to run high, sometimes by a quarter or more; treadmills and ellipticals do the same. The MET method is the reference researchers use. Neither is exact for one person — treat both as estimates.