Calories Burned Calculator
How many calories did that workout burn? Estimates use MET values — the research standard for activity intensity — scaled to your body weight and duration.
How to use this calculator
- Pick the activity closest to your workout — MET values are shown for transparency.
- Enter your weight and the duration in minutes.
- Press Calculate for total calories, the per-minute rate, and real-food equivalents.
Formula used
One MET is resting metabolism (~3.5 ml O₂ per kg per minute); an 8-MET activity burns eight times that. Values come from the Compendium of Physical Activities, the standard reference behind most fitness apps and research.
Example calculation
Cycling (8 MET), 70 kg, 45 min: 8 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 × 45 = 441 kcal — about 9.8 kcal/minute, or three sessions ≈ 0.17 kg of fat per week.
What MET values are
A MET (metabolic equivalent of task) expresses an activity's cost as a multiple of sitting quietly. Brisk walking triples your resting burn (3.5 MET), moderate cycling multiplies it eight-fold. Because the math scales by body weight, the same session costs a 90 kg person ~29% more calories than a 70 kg person.
Two honest caveats: MET tables describe the average performer, so skill and fitness shift real burn; and the figure includes the resting calories you'd have spent anyway — the extra burn from exercising is slightly less than the headline number.
Why use this calculator?
- Compare activities fairly — see why 30 min of running out-burns 60 min of yoga.
- Scale burn to your actual body weight instead of generic app figures.
- Translate workouts into food equivalents and weekly fat-loss potential.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does 10,000 steps burn?
Roughly 300–400 kcal for a 70 kg person, depending on pace and terrain — 10,000 steps is about 7.5 km of walking. Our steps-to-calories calculator does the exact math from your height and weight.
Which exercise burns the most calories?
Per minute: fast running, vigorous swimming and jump rope lead (10–13+ MET). Practically, the best burner is the intense activity you'll actually sustain and repeat — 45 minutes of moderate cycling beats 10 minutes of sprinting you dread.
Why does my fitness tracker disagree?
Trackers blend heart rate models with motion data and their own algorithms; studies find errors of ±20–40% on calorie estimates. MET-based figures are the research baseline — treat all of them as estimates and watch trends.