Maximizing calorie burn during cardio

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denezy
denezy Posts: 573 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi friends,

I do cardio classes at my gym a couple days a week like spin, a kick boxing type class or step. The classes generally run around 55 mins and my HRM always indicates around 560-580 calories burned. Whether I am taking it easy, or really pushing hard, I never seem to be able to increase that number (since losing weight).

So I'm wondering, is there a maximum calorie burn you should aim for when doing cardio? I seem to recall hearing something like 10 calories per minute is good, but I might have read that on the Internet so god knows if it was right. Hoping some more educated people around here can help.

For the record, I think I am somewhat fit, 5'9" and 195 lbs.
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Replies

  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    If your goal is to maximize calorie burn then you need to run. No other exercise burns more calories per minute than running.

    I weigh 173 lbs and burn around 13 calories per minute running at an effort level that I can easily maintain for over 2 hours when I want to go that long.
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
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    You can spin at any speed, just as you can run at any speed, ski at any speed, or swim at any speed. Saying "running burns the most calories" is kind of moot since it depends on the level of intensity and speed. I definitely burn WAY more calories sparring at brazilian jiujitsu than I do running, because I run at a sustainable pace and I do NOT spar at a sustainable pace.

    I think 10 calories per minute is a good goal. Most intense exercises should get you around there, give or take.
  • ossaca
    ossaca Posts: 3
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    You have to pay attention to your heart rate, you should walk/run between the 65% or 75% of your max heart rate in order to burn more fat.
  • jennfranklin
    jennfranklin Posts: 434 Member
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    I am not "allowed" to run, so what do I do? :ohwell:
  • leighann881
    leighann881 Posts: 371
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    If your goal is to maximize calorie burn then you need to run. No other exercise burns more calories per minute than running.

    BS
  • scottb81
    scottb81 Posts: 2,538 Member
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    this isn't true. At least, all the research I have read indicate that running at 10 MPH or 3 MPH burns the same. And, I've tested it myself and it's true.
    Calorie burn per mile is about the same at different speeds. However, calorie burn per minute is higher at higher speeds because you finish the mile in less time.
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
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    You can spin at any speed, just as you can run at any speed, ski at any speed, or swim at any speed. Saying "running burns the most calories" is kind of moot since it depends on the level of intensity and speed. I definitely burn WAY more calories sparring at brazilian jiujitsu than I do running, because I run at a sustainable pace and I do NOT spar at a sustainable pace.

    I think 10 calories per minute is a good goal. Most intense exercises should get you around there, give or take.

    this isn't true. At least, all the research I have read indicate that running at 10 MPH or 3 MPH burns the same. And, I've tested it myself and it's true. Now, walking and running are different, despite the popular myths that they are the same.

    I don't know which cardio is best. I'm sure there is something out there better than running. i can run 6 miles and get a good burn, but I'm hardly dying. There are some sports that are far more demanding that I think would burn more calories. But, I'm not sure.

    Anyway, that's my $.02.

    the best fat burn for cardio exercise is HIIT. Google it.

    Well, firstly, if you run 30 minutes at 10mph that is definitely going to burn more than if you run 30 minutes at 3mph. I'm assuming you meant for equal distances. In that case it is closer, but the things I've read indicate it will still burn more if you run @ 10mph than if you walk @ 3mph.

    And to play devil's advocate a bit, you can do HIIT with running. We do that at my gym for one class. It's way harder than running at a comfortable pace for the same amount of time, so I suspect it burns a lot more calories as well.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    If your goal is to maximize calorie burn then you need to run. No other exercise burns more calories per minute than running.

    I weigh 173 lbs and burn around 13 calories per minute running at an effort level that I can easily maintain for over 2 hours when I want to go that long.

    besides elliptical.

    And swimming.

    And jumping jacks.

    And...
  • ossaca
    ossaca Posts: 3
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    I am not "allowed" to run, so what do I do? :ohwell:

    walk more time
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
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    I burn an extra 20 or so calories per mile if I move up in my heart rate zones. I usually try to keep things in the 75% range personally.

    That said, I also like to mix in interval training more than steady running.
  • denezy
    denezy Posts: 573 Member
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    I get what you're all saying about running, which is cool. But what would an ideal calorie burn per minute be?

    (not per mile)
  • lizzardsm
    lizzardsm Posts: 271 Member
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    hmmm no one going to point out that 500+ calories is a huge amount of burn? if you actually are burning that much, you should be super happy.

    p.s. heart rate monitors are notoriously inaccurate at calculating calories burned.
  • wnbrice
    wnbrice Posts: 244 Member
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    Also depletion levels help as well. I noticed that if I did one cardio workout, other workouts were much easier to get that heart rate up.


    For example today I did kenpo x, took a 15 minute break, then did insanity plyometrics. I was able to get my heart rate up to a much higher level than if I just did the one workout.
  • levicrouch
    levicrouch Posts: 99
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    Congratulations you are in shape!

    TL;DR,
    Your heart (and other muscles) isn't having to work as hard to maintain a certain level of effort. I suppose all you can really do is step up the intensity level of your workouts or increase the time spent working out.

    Longer explanation:

    I see a few factors here:
    1. Since you lost weight your muscles do not have to move as much mass through space.
    2. By moving your mass through space over time you likely have more muscle, which makes moving less mass easier.

    Consider both of these factors when evaluating your goals. If you want to maintain your weight don't worry too much about the number of calories you are burning, just keep burning them. If you want to step up your performance, train at a higher intensity\longer period of time.
  • aarikadanielle
    aarikadanielle Posts: 179
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    You want to maximize calorie burn, do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). You want the research behind it. Here is a basic article on HIIT. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training.
  • hazelovesfood
    hazelovesfood Posts: 454 Member
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    Hi friends,

    I do cardio classes at my gym a couple days a week like spin, a kick boxing type class or step. The classes generally run around 55 mins and my HRM always indicates around 560-580 calories burned. Whether I am taking it easy, or really pushing hard, I never seem to be able to increase that number (since losing weight).

    So I'm wondering, is there a maximum calorie burn you should aim for when doing cardio? I seem to recall hearing something like 10 calories per minute is good, but I might have read that on the Internet so god knows if it was right. Hoping some more educated people around here can help.

    For the record, I think I am somewhat fit, 5'9" and 195 lbs.
    Im 5 9 and 169 and burn 10 cals per min on a steep incline walking at 5km per hour
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
    Options
    You can spin at any speed, just as you can run at any speed, ski at any speed, or swim at any speed. Saying "running burns the most calories" is kind of moot since it depends on the level of intensity and speed. I definitely burn WAY more calories sparring at brazilian jiujitsu than I do running, because I run at a sustainable pace and I do NOT spar at a sustainable pace.

    I think 10 calories per minute is a good goal. Most intense exercises should get you around there, give or take.

    this isn't true. At least, all the research I have read indicate that running at 10 MPH or 3 MPH burns the same. And, I've tested it myself and it's true. Now, walking and running are different, despite the popular myths that they are the same.

    I don't know which cardio is best. I'm sure there is something out there better than running. i can run 6 miles and get a good burn, but I'm hardly dying. There are some sports that are far more demanding that I think would burn more calories. But, I'm not sure.

    Anyway, that's my $.02.

    the best fat burn for cardio exercise is HIIT. Google it.

    Well, firstly, if you run 30 minutes at 10mph that is definitely going to burn more than if you run 30 minutes at 3mph. I'm assuming you meant for equal distances. In that case it is closer, but the things I've read indicate it will still burn more if you run @ 10mph than if you walk @ 3mph.

    And to play devil's advocate a bit, you can do HIIT with running. We do that at my gym for one class. It's way harder than running at a comfortable pace for the same amount of time, so I suspect it burns a lot more calories as well.

    OK, I'm not going to get all technical. But, mile for mile, calories burnt running at different speeds is the same. The research says that, and I've tested it with my HRM. Not that my HRM is 100% accurate, but at faster sppeds or doing HIIT while running, it winds up the same. So, as far as I am concerned, the studies that back that up are accurate.

    As far as walking, walking DOES NOT bun the same as running, when comparing distance. If you walk 5 miles and run 5 miles, you will burn more calories on the run than on the walk. I've seen studies on this too, and the conclusion was that walking is at least 20% less, and in most cases, more than 20 like up to 45%.

    During the run I believe this is true. But AFTER the run, the higher intensity will lead to a post-workout burn that lasts longer. At least, that is what I've read. I don't know if it has since been debunked.

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