Do you have a limited amount of time to exercise? Do you want to make the most of that little time and burn the most calories? Follow here and you’ll learn which activities burn the most and least calories in a 30-minute workout.
First of all, don’t be fooled by those late night infomercials telling you that your super dumb new cardio machine will let you burn over 1000 calories an hour. I guess that’s true if you’re working on your machine at the highest level at a faster rate than most people would expect. But realistically, an unfit person, who they’re targeting as an audience, would be lucky to keep that pace at that level for more than a minute. The number of calories burned, oh about 8.
Especially if you’re out of shape and just starting an exercise routine, always check with your doctor first to discuss your fitness plans with them. You want to make sure that what you’re about to do works for you given your current fitness level.
The absolute best approach to burning lots of calories is to engage in an activity that you can sustain for at least 15 minutes. Swimming will burn more calories than walking, but if you can’t keep swimming for long and need a life jacket after a few minutes, it’s best to keep walking.
When you look at any chart that explains how many calories you can burn doing an exercise or activity, there are a few things to keep in mind. A person new to exercise who is not fit will generally burn 3 to 4 times fewer calories than a fit person. Factors that will affect calorie burn with each person include: muscle mass, weight, metabolism, and training intensity.
So what activity gives the highest calorie-burn cycle? An average cycling speed is 15 mph. At that rate, a person can burn up to 350 calories in 30 minutes. If the bicyclist increases his speed to 18 mph. that calorie burn can reach 425 calories in half an hour.
By comparison, running at a pace of 10 minutes per mile will burn 365 calories in 30 minutes. Running at a pace of 8 minutes per mile will actually burn 440 calories, but in a 30 minute period we are talking about running less than 4 miles. That can be quite intense and beyond most people at the start of their exercise regimen.
Aerobic dancing, which may not be for everyone, can produce a good burn in 30 minutes on 340 calories.
Jumping rope at a rate of 60 to 80 jumps per minute will burn 285 calories per half hour.
Walking at a pace of 15 minutes per mile will burn 150 calories in 30 minutes on flat surfaces. If you walk in a mountainous area at the same pace, you can burn a little over 200 calories in that same time.
Here are some other activities during a 30-minute period: swimming (35 yards per minute) 250 calories, racquetball 225 calories, boxing 330 calories, basketball 280 calories, golf (walking poles) 175 calories.