If you think half-heartedly hitting the gym or mindlessly going about your home routine is enough to burn meaningful calories, you might be better off sitting down.
In fact, please stand. And walk around. Because, let’s be honest, your regular workday activities can burn just as many calories as exercise.
Going to work is not a substitute for exercise. But while working may be 80% of your life, it’s only half the battle when it comes to getting results from your workouts.
While the time you put in is important, the effort you put into exercising is just as important. Read about the amazing calorie difference between simple workday activities, casual exercise, and maximum effort workouts.
Duration and intensity
To achieve almost any fitness goal, especially fat loss, training density and intensity are more important than training time.
Simply put, the more safely you push yourself and the more work you do (and therefore the less time you have to rest), the faster and more effective your body will change.
On the other hand, there is no benefit to just continuing to laze around. Standing at your desk typing or talking on the phone burns more calories than doing light exercise on a stationary bike.
But while I was just going to work can It burns more calories than going to the gym, but it doesn’t have to be.
To illustrate, let’s use MET, or “metabolic equivalent,” which exercise scientists use to estimate energy expenditure, to see how a typical gym activity overlaps with normal daily activities.
Calories consumed while working†
Sleep (68 calories/hour)
Yes, I am sleeping (1.0 MET). You may be setting yourself up for success before you even start your day. Catching z not only burns calories, but if you catch enough of them, the ripple effect extends to your workday.
Studies have shown that people who sleep more than six hours a night have a higher metabolic rate than those who sleep less. So just sleep.
Walking (259 calories/hour)
If you consider that the average person walks at a moderate pace and carries at least something (a briefcase, backpack, handbag, etc.), you can calculate that just heading to work costs 3.8 METs.
Cornell University’s Human Factors and Ergonomics Research Group recommends taking regular breaks from sitting or sitting for 1 to 2 minutes throughout the day, preferably every 20 to 30 minutes.
Talking on the phone (89 calories/hour)
Assuming you don’t deal with angry customers on a regular basis (your stress will likely reach dangerous levels), talking on the phone as much as a CEO per workday (1.3 METs) will burn more calories (178 calories) than spending 30 minutes on a rowing machine (see below).
Typing (89 calories/hour)
The simple act of typing increases your normal sitting MET (1.0) by three-tenths. (Hey, that’s something!) If you extrapolate this to a typical workday, you’ll have burned 712 calories.
Driving (171 calories/hour)
If it takes you at least 30 minutes (2.5 METs) to drive to work, you’ll burn about 85 calories each way.
standing (205 calories/hour)
Due to the popularity of standing desks, the combination of standing (typically 3.0 METs in a work environment) and typing (1.3 METs) is a non-negligible amount from a burn standpoint.
Sitting at a desk with your head in your hands (89 calories/hour)
Yes, the universal sign for “end of the work day” is worth plenty of METs (1.3) burns the calories of one small banana.
Departure (205 calories/hour)
As you pack your belongings in preparation to leave the office, you may have a 3.0 met. So, if you are that type, Really Extending your breakup could help you burn more calories than a yoga class.
Calories burned during light exercise†
Yoga (171 calories/hour)
The hatha yoga routine is 2.5 METs and perfect for recovery days. However, if you want to maximize your calorie burn, a Vinyasa flow routine (3.3 METs) will burn 225 calories per hour, and an hour of power yoga (4.0 METs) will burn 272 calories per hour. By now you should be starting to understand the importance of strength…
Exercise bike (239 calories/hour)
Pedaling an exercise bike without thinking (3.5 METs) tv tmz If you are recovering from hip replacement surgery, this is not a problem.
However, taking it to the next level, moderately intense exercise (6.8 METs) burns 464 calories. A spin class (8.5 METs) burns 580 calories, and a hard charge on a stationary bike (14.0 METs) burns 955 calories.
Calisthenics (191 calories/hour)
With exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks, you get more bang for your buck. Light effort (2.8 METs) burns almost no more calories than driving.
However, there is a variation of 287 calories between the lightest and most vigorous exercise in gymnastics (8.0 METs), and the most intense exercise burns 546 calories per hour.
Elliptical machine (341 calories/hour)
There are no numbers for light exercise in this category, but you can expect a maximum of around 5.0 METs for moderate exercise and resistance. This is approximately twice the hourly energy consumption required to drive a car.
Rowing machine (327 calories/hour)
Moderate rowing will register 4.8 METs, but with enough momentum you can reach 12.0 METs. One hour at this level will burn off 818 calories and qualify you to single-handedly power an oil barge.
Treadmill (293 calories/hour)
The human hamster wheel runs at about 4.3 METs when pushed hard. If you park your car 30 minutes walk from work, you’ll burn about the same amount in half the time.
However, if you double your normal walking pace and increase the degree of incline by 3%, your treadmill output will increase to up to 668 calories.
Jogging (409 calories/hour)
Running about a mile faster than you walk is worth 6.0 METs, which isn’t bad. However, if you maintain a pace of 9 minutes per mile (6.7 mph), you can burn 716 calories in an hour. Once again, intensity is everything.
Resistance training (239 calories/hour)
Most modest strength training efforts reach just 3.5 METs.
Intense weightlifting (6.0 METs), on the other hand, not only makes your body stronger and more muscular, but also burns an additional 170 calories. This doesn’t take into account the afterburn effect, which means you’ll continue to burn calories at a higher rate up to 72 hours after your workout.
Jumping rope (477 calories/hour)
After you jump rope for an hour, you’ll want to hang that rope for the rest of your life. However, if you level up your rope game from a light 66 skips per minute (7.0 METs) to a more intense 100 skips per minute (11.0 METs), you can burn a more realistic 188 calories in 15 minutes.
†Calorie values were tabulated using Cornell University’s METs to Calories Calculator, based on a 150-pound person.
