Calculate how many calories you burn during any physical activity using MET values from the Compendium of Physical Activities. Choose from 50+ exercises organized by category, adjust your weight and duration, and see results update in real time — including food equivalents and walking-distance comparisons.
Pro tip: As you get fitter, you burn fewer calories doing the same workout. That’s why progressive overload matters — your body becomes more efficient at familiar movements, reducing energy expenditure by up to 20% over time.
Multi-Activity Workout Builder
Stack multiple activities into a single workout and see cumulative calorie totals.
Weekly Activity Log
Track 7 days of workouts with cumulative burn totals and daily averages.
Activity Comparison Table
All 50+ activities ranked by calories burned per hour at your current weight.
| # | Activity | MET | Cal/Hour |
|---|
How to Use the Calories Burned Calculator
Enter your body weight, pick an activity from the dropdown, and adjust the duration — results update instantly as you go. Toggle between pounds and kilograms with the unit chip, and use the intensity modifier to fine-tune your estimate based on how hard you actually worked.
What Are MET Values?
MET stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task. One MET equals the energy you burn sitting quietly — about 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of body weight per hour. An activity rated at 8 METs burns roughly eight times the energy of sitting still. The values in this calculator are drawn from the Compendium of Physical Activities, a research-backed database maintained by exercise scientists.
How the Calorie Formula Works
The standard equation is straightforward: Calories = MET × weight in kg × duration in hours × intensity modifier. A 70 kg person running at 6 mph (9.8 METs) for 30 minutes at moderate intensity burns approximately 9.8 × 70 × 0.5 × 1.0 = 343 calories.
Understanding Intensity Modifiers
Not every workout is performed at the standard effort level captured by a MET value. The intensity modifier lets you adjust: Light (0.8×) for casual or recovery-paced sessions, Moderate (1.0×) for the default effort the MET value was measured at, and Vigorous (1.2×) for all-out, high-effort workouts.
Food Equivalents Explained
Seeing your calorie burn expressed as food items makes abstract numbers tangible. The calculator converts your burn into pizza slices (285 cal), Big Macs (563 cal), cookies (150 cal), and bananas (105 cal). These are average values and will vary by brand and recipe, but they provide a useful frame of reference for understanding energy balance.
Factors That Affect Calorie Burn
Several variables influence how many calories you actually burn beyond what a MET-based formula can capture. Body composition matters — muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, so two people at the same weight may burn different amounts. Age, fitness level, environmental temperature, altitude, and even genetics all play a role. Use this calculator as a solid estimate, not an exact measurement.
Walking-Distance Equivalent
The walking equivalent converts your calorie burn into miles of moderate-pace walking. This gives you an intuitive sense of scale — a vigorous 30-minute cycling session might be equivalent to walking 4 miles, helping you compare different activities on common ground.
Looking for more health and fitness tools? Browse all Health & Fitness tools for calculators covering BMI, macros, heart rate zones, and more.