February 9, 2007, Newsletter Issue #51: Calorie Burning During Exercises

Tip of the Week

The simplest formula to calculate how many calories you burn during exercise is the following: (Body weight in kilograms*) x (MET, see explanation below) x (time spend exercising in hours).

MET (metabolic equivalent) is the ratio of the energy spent during exercise to the resting metabolic rate. For example, 1 MET corresponds to calories you burn while sitting quietly, MET=3.3 is for walking at a moderate speed.

From the formula, it is clear that the heavier the person the more calories is being burnt in otherwise equal conditions. However, this is a rough approximation because body composition influences the fat burning rate as well. Among persons having the same body weight, the higher fat%, the fewer calories can be burnt because fat is metabolically 'passive' while the muscles are very active so the higher muscle mass the higher the fat burning rate.

It is important to know that calories alone don't describe what exactly is being burnt. During strength training, every repetition and set burn significant amount of carbohydrates stored in muscles and liver. This is the basis of diet schedule in use by bodybuilders called Cyclical Ketogenic Diet.



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*1 kg = 2.2 lb.

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