Calories Burned Walking: How Many Do You Burn on Average?
TLDR: The average number of calories burned walking can be thought of as around 314 per hour, based on a normal speed of around 3 mph – 3.5 mph and the person being around 150 pounds or 68kg. However this number can have multiple factors that influence exactly how many calories are burned during your walking workout.
Introduction
I started walking everyday, at first to just get out of the house more. I’d recently left my job and started feeling like a shut in. After a few walks though, it became something I looked forward to doing everyday. I now walk one hour each morning, as a great form of exercise, which helps me wake up, think and feel better throughout the day.
I’ve probably started overthinking the details of my walks since then and have gone down a little rabbit hole of details. How fast am I going, how far and how many calories does walking burn during each walk.
So let’s cover some details that can influence how many calories burn when your out on your next walk, and provide tips on maximising how many calories you can burn.
The Science of Calorie Burn
To figure out the average number of calories burned walking, it’s important to understand the science behind calorie expenditure. The number of calories burned depends on a few things:
Body Weight:
The bigger you are, the more energy it takes to move around and so you’ll be burning calories at a faster pace when you start out. If you are looking to lose weight, a walk can be great form of physical activity with amazing health benefits. As you start to lose weight, you’ll likely increase your average speed and start to burn more calories through your brisk pace.
Walking Speed:
Your average pace during your walk will play a pretty major factor in how many calories you burn. The faster you go the more calories it takes to keep up that pace and the more demand it will place on more muscle groups. So more calories get burnt up.
Inversely, if you maintain a casual pace or a slow pace, you’ll be consuming less energy and burn fewer calories as part of your walk. If you can increase your pace to a brisk walk you’ll burn more calories per mile.
Distance:
The longer you can keep going and if you walk farther, it will influence how many calories you’ll burn through as you will need to exert more energy to keep up the pace.
People burn more calories during longer periods of exercise So if your aim is to increase the amount of calories you burn walking look for routes to increase your walking distance.
Terrain:
If you’re walking uphill you’ll end up putting in more effort to keep going, so you’ll burn through those calories faster, than if you are on level ground or going downhill.
Calculating Calorie Burn
The amount of calories burned during any walk can be estimated using different formulas, such as the MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) system, which there is a walking calorie calculator for here, or other online walking calorie calculator options such as the one here.
These tools take into account your weight, walking speed, and duration to provide an approximate figure on how many calories you burn walking.
For example, I tend to walk at a fairly decent pace each morning for about an hour and so based on my weight I’m estimated to burn around 500 calories on my typical walk.
The average number of calories burned walking can be thought of as around 314 per hour, based on a normal speed of around 3 mph – 3.5 mph and the person being around 150 pounds or 68kg.
Although, these walking calorie calculator tools are just an estimate, as individual factors like metabolism and walking form can influence the actual number of calories you burn.
For a bit more accuracy it can be worth looking into different fitness tracker devices which can provide some more accurate information.
Walking for Weight Management
Walking can be just a great and accessible form of exercise for weight management. It allows you to create a calorie deficit by burning through more calories than you take in. To get the most out of your walking routine for weight loss:
Consistency:
Make walking a regular habit. I try to get out first thing every morning and I find it wakes me up, puts me in a better mood to start of the day, and it’s an early boost to my metabolism to help me maintain my calorie-burning routine.
Vary Your Walks:
You can try altering your route for inclines or distance to try and boost how many calories you burn on each walk.
Something I used to do when running which I’ve tried to carry over to walking is called Fartlek training. This is essentially varying your pace in intervals.
So you might have a slightly more relaxed pace for a couple of minutes and then really pick up the pace for the next couple of minutes.
Keep doing this and it can really add that extra challenge to increase calories burned.
Diet Matters:
With all the good that you get from walking, it can be a bit of a shame to waste all that effort with a poor diet.
Not to say I don’t eat a few things a bit high in sugar every once in a while. But it’s about maintaining that balanced healthy diet and making sure you keep things in moderation to achieve the best results in your fitness journey.
Benefits Beyond Calorie Burn
I’ll go into more details on the overall benefits of walking on a different post, but the NHS, WHO, CDC, and most government backed health boards all recommend exercise including walking to improve your overall well being.
Regular walking offers a lot of benefits to your health in the long term, such as:
Cardiovascular Health:
Walking helps lower the risk of heart disease by improving circulation and reducing blood pressure.
Mental Well-being:
It’s a mood booster that reduces stress and anxiety while enhancing mental clarity and creativity.
Joint Health:
Walking is low-impact, making it easy on the joints and suitable for people of all ages and contributes to your overall long term joint health and flexibility.
Weight Maintenance:
If you are looking to shed a few extra pounds, walking helps maintain a healthy weight by increasing basal metabolic rate and preserving lean muscle mass.
Tips for Maximising Calorie Burn
If you want to increase the amount of calories you burn during your walks, here are some tips to consider:
Pick Up the Pace:
As discussed before, walking at a faster pace really can increase how many calories you burn through. Try to push yourself a little bit faster with your walk. Rather than just maintain a moderate pace or average pace, aim for a very brisk pace, even if it’s just for a minute or two at a time.
Gradually increase your average walking pace over time to challenge yourself. and increase the amount of calories you burn.
Increase Duration:
Take a look at your walking route on Google maps, and look for alternate routes or detours you can take to extend your walk and cover more distance.
Use Proper Form:
Maintain good posture, engage your core, and swing your arms to enhance burning calories. Try to avoid taking lessons from the Ministry of Silly Walks, and you’ll quickly become a walking pro.
Vary Terrain:
If you have the option choose routes where you can walk uphill or across uneven terrain, rather than a flat surface, to engage your muscles and boost the intensity of your walk.
Conclusion
Walking is so easy and accessible to get started with but it can also be so beneficial to your overall health. The calories burned walking can vary with each person and the choices you make with your route and technique can have a significant impact on your individual burn rate.
Walking really can be a great form of physical activity and will help you burn through those calories, manage your weight or just maintain a healthier life.
By understanding the factors that influence calories burned and following these tips, you can get the most out of your walking routine while enjoying all the benefits it offers.
Stay Active, Stay Motivated and Start walking!
