Burn More Calories When Walking
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Burn More Calories When Walking
Here’s how to boost your calorie burn during your daily walks.
By Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness
Q. My main form of exercise is walking, and while I would like to do other activities, it’s not practical. But I am not sure my walking is challenging enough. Are there ways to boost my calorie burn?
A. How many calories you burn when you walk depends on how heavy you are and how fast you’re walking. The heavier you are and the faster you walk, the greater your calorie burn. Here are a few estimated calorie burns:
A PERSON WHO WEIGHS… AND WALKS… BURNS:
130 pounds 3.5 miles per hour 306 calories/hour
170 pounds 3.5 mph 366 calories/hour
216 pounds 3.5 mph 504 calories/hour
Heavier people burn more calories because more energy is required to move greater amounts of weight through space. Carrying a load of 150 pounds down the block takes more effort than carrying a load of 100 pounds, for example. Couples that exercise together often find that the man seems to show results more quickly. If they are both walking for three miles, the man, who is usually heavier, will burn more calories than the woman, and so will more quickly accumulate a large enough calorie burn to decrease measurable amounts of fat and/or body weight.
But anyone can increase their energy expenditure by picking up the pace. Compare these calorie burns at faster paces:
A PERSON WHO WEIGHS… AND WALKS… BURNS:
130 pounds 4.0 miles per hour 342 calories/hour
170 pounds 4.0 mph. 396 calories/hour
216 pounds 4.0 mph. 570 calories/hour
You also can increase your calorie burn by adding a little resistance to your ability to move fast, so if you walk up hills, or add an incline to a treadmill, it takes more energy. Walking on sand or against a headwind also can increase your calories.
Some people hold 1 to 5 pound hand weights or wear ankle weights, assuming that this increases the calorie burn. If the weights are heavy enough, more energy is used, but the act of swinging a weight with your arms or legs, can put excess strain on your joints. So using hand or leg weights is not a good way to accelerate the calorie burn. Using a weighted vest can help boost the burn without straining the knees, shoulders or other joints, but not everyone finds weight-vests comfortable. A back-pack provides a similar load, but if you’re using a typical school-book backpack, it can strain your back if you’re walking for long periods.
Using Nordic Walking poles is another way to pick up the pace. You propel your body forward with the poles. You get a little more upper-body action but also enable yourself to move faster, and thereby can burn more calories. You can get the poles at most sporting goods stores, but walking with the poles is a skill with a specific technique. You can learn how by finding a Nordic Walking instructor or class near you, or from this home-coaching kit.
You can also add jogging intervals into your walk to boost the burn. I’ve written about how to incorporate more jogging into your workouts here.
Find all articles by Martica.
Do you have a fitness or weight-loss question for Martica? Send e-mail to experts@microsoft.com. Please include Ask Martica in the subject line. Each of our experts responds to one question each week and the responses are posted on Mondays on MSN Health. We regret that we cannot provide a personalized response to every submission.
Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed., is a Manhattan-based exercise physiologist and nutritionist, and an award-winning fitness instructor and health writer. She has a Ph.D. in behavioral nutrition and physical activity from Columbia University, and is also a NASM-certified personal trainer. She has written hundreds of articles for publications such as Self , Health , Prevention , The New York Times and others. Martica is the author of eight books, including her latest, Cross-Training for Dummies. (Read her full bio.)
Here’s how to boost your calorie burn during your daily walks.
By Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed., for MSN Health & Fitness
Q. My main form of exercise is walking, and while I would like to do other activities, it’s not practical. But I am not sure my walking is challenging enough. Are there ways to boost my calorie burn?
A. How many calories you burn when you walk depends on how heavy you are and how fast you’re walking. The heavier you are and the faster you walk, the greater your calorie burn. Here are a few estimated calorie burns:
A PERSON WHO WEIGHS… AND WALKS… BURNS:
130 pounds 3.5 miles per hour 306 calories/hour
170 pounds 3.5 mph 366 calories/hour
216 pounds 3.5 mph 504 calories/hour
Heavier people burn more calories because more energy is required to move greater amounts of weight through space. Carrying a load of 150 pounds down the block takes more effort than carrying a load of 100 pounds, for example. Couples that exercise together often find that the man seems to show results more quickly. If they are both walking for three miles, the man, who is usually heavier, will burn more calories than the woman, and so will more quickly accumulate a large enough calorie burn to decrease measurable amounts of fat and/or body weight.
But anyone can increase their energy expenditure by picking up the pace. Compare these calorie burns at faster paces:
A PERSON WHO WEIGHS… AND WALKS… BURNS:
130 pounds 4.0 miles per hour 342 calories/hour
170 pounds 4.0 mph. 396 calories/hour
216 pounds 4.0 mph. 570 calories/hour
You also can increase your calorie burn by adding a little resistance to your ability to move fast, so if you walk up hills, or add an incline to a treadmill, it takes more energy. Walking on sand or against a headwind also can increase your calories.
Some people hold 1 to 5 pound hand weights or wear ankle weights, assuming that this increases the calorie burn. If the weights are heavy enough, more energy is used, but the act of swinging a weight with your arms or legs, can put excess strain on your joints. So using hand or leg weights is not a good way to accelerate the calorie burn. Using a weighted vest can help boost the burn without straining the knees, shoulders or other joints, but not everyone finds weight-vests comfortable. A back-pack provides a similar load, but if you’re using a typical school-book backpack, it can strain your back if you’re walking for long periods.
Using Nordic Walking poles is another way to pick up the pace. You propel your body forward with the poles. You get a little more upper-body action but also enable yourself to move faster, and thereby can burn more calories. You can get the poles at most sporting goods stores, but walking with the poles is a skill with a specific technique. You can learn how by finding a Nordic Walking instructor or class near you, or from this home-coaching kit.
You can also add jogging intervals into your walk to boost the burn. I’ve written about how to incorporate more jogging into your workouts here.
Find all articles by Martica.
Do you have a fitness or weight-loss question for Martica? Send e-mail to experts@microsoft.com. Please include Ask Martica in the subject line. Each of our experts responds to one question each week and the responses are posted on Mondays on MSN Health. We regret that we cannot provide a personalized response to every submission.
Martica Heaner, Ph.D., M.A., M.Ed., is a Manhattan-based exercise physiologist and nutritionist, and an award-winning fitness instructor and health writer. She has a Ph.D. in behavioral nutrition and physical activity from Columbia University, and is also a NASM-certified personal trainer. She has written hundreds of articles for publications such as Self , Health , Prevention , The New York Times and others. Martica is the author of eight books, including her latest, Cross-Training for Dummies. (Read her full bio.)
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Replies
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Interesting...I weigh 217.4 and walked at a 3.5mph pace for 40 minutes this morning and calculated it in MFP and it told me my calories burned were 250...so this calculation is pretty accurate. Glad to know it because I have been wanting to purchase a HRM to check and see how close MFP is. Thanks for sharing!!!0
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Oh we so under estimate our workouts. I've learned an HRM is an excellent fitness gadget. And you're so welcome
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Just think of how it is for me to walk up those hill at 300+ pounds lol0
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Thank you for sharing....I have been gaining and losing for a very long time following all the charts and guide lines but nothing really opened my eyes until I got a Body Bugg 2 months ago wow no wonder I was having a hard time0
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bump0
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