How Many Calories Are Burned Running?

by Sue Bond
(Pittsburgh, USA)

When it comes to exercise, there are few fitness programs which beat running for burning calories and helping people get into shape fast. On top of improving your cardiovascular health running burns an abundance of calories.

How many calories are burned running? Here’s a simple equation to find out.

The number of calories you burn when running is based on a number of determining factors or criteria. These criteria include:

* How much you weigh
* How fast you run
* How far you run

For ease of use, most equations are based on running one mile though if you’re running more than one mile there is a bit of a snowball effect because it requires more energy to continue running.

Additionally, the terrain and type of running will also affect the number of calories you burn. For example, if you’re running uphill outside against the wind you’ll put forth a lot more energy than running on a treadmill in your living room.

The basic equation for calculating how many calories you burn per mile you multiply .75 by your weight in pounds.

This means if you weigh 130 pounds the calculation would be .75 X 130 or 97.5 calories per mile.

However, this is an average and the harder, faster, and more difficult your training, the more calories you’ll burn.

Putting It In Perspective.

An average running time is about ten minutes per mile. Assuming you run six miles in an hour then you’ll burn 585 calories in an hour.

Swimming, treading water, moderate effort for the same 130 pound person will burn 236 calories per hour. Walking, which is a good way to ease into running by walking and running for an hour, burns 207 calories per hour – this is at a moderate pace of 3 miles per hour.

Aerobics, on average burns about 354 calories per hour for the same 130 pound person and a moderate effort on a stationary bike burns 413 calories and for comparison moderate exercise on a bicycle outdoors burns about 60 more calories per hour.

A little calorie burning help.

It’s interesting to note that the more you weigh, the faster you’ll burn the calories. This is because it takes more energy to do the same amount of work.

It’s also helpful to know that as you build muscle, you’ll also burn calories more quickly even when you’re not exercising because muscle demands more energy and it helps you metabolize your food faster.

If you’re just starting out with a running program, know that it’s important to start small. Begin combining walking and running for a specific distance or time.

For example you might walk for five minutes and run for one or two minutes gradually increasing the amount of time you’re running and decreasing your walking time.

This will prevent overuse injuries like muscle tears, sprains and strains which can put you on the couch for weeks and as you know, you don’t really burn many calories sitting on the couch. As you increase your running time you can also increase the intensity, speed, and mileage thus burning more calories.

Running is one of the best calorie burning exercises around. Approach it with a plan, pay attention to your body’s signals, and you’ll be at your healthy weight in no time.

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