How To Easily Calculate Calories Burned Walking, Running, Rowing or Exercising in Bed. No Gadget Required

HIIT Yoga - How Many Calories? | Image Credit: Screenshot, The Author

For when you need to know how many calories HIIT Yoga burns

You know those times when we're not wearing a fitness band or an Apple Watch and wonder how many calories we're burning? Here's a simple and accurate method that you can easily do in your head.

I often run or walk without any gadgets, and I rarely wear fitness bands at the gym, and never take my phone. From time-to-time, I wonder how much energy I've used in a workout. 

Now, I use this method, which I worked out after plotting a few charts and averaging a few numbers, and comparing to the estimates from the times when I do wear a fitness band.

I will explain the one key variable that you need to know, the calculation you apply to that key variable, and why the answer makes sense metabolically.

The one number that you need to know

The one thing that you need to know is how much effort you are applying during exercise. We calculate this with a subjective "perceived exertion test". Your own perceived exertion has a good correlation with the level of intensity of your workout and your heartbeat. 

Do this - ask yourself how hard are you breathing and what capacity do you have to carry on a conversation?

Find a number in the table below that matches your answers to those questions. (Level 10 is the intensity of "real" HIIT, which explains why most "HIIT" today is simply vigorous activity, or less....)

Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale | Image Credit: LifestyleFitnessManagement.com

For example, if you can hold a conversation but notice yourself breathing a little harder, then you are at level 4. If you have to stop talking and catch your breath, then you are at level 6. Here are some more examples:

• Most walkers are exerting at levels 2 to 3,
• Brisk walkers at 3 to 4,
• Most runners at 4 to 5, as are most cyclists.
• When you hear groups of cyclists coming up behind you and riding by all chatting and cruising, that's level 5.
• Someone rowing at the gym, and having trouble saying anything much without having to grab a breath is operating at level 7 or 8.

Estimate your number, and hold it in your head. I'll call this your Perceived Level of Exertion (PLE).

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How to calculate your calories expended

Follow these steps, and having done this once it will be easier the next time:

• Divide your weight in kg by 60 - or use 1 for women and 1.5 for men as an approximation. Call this Factor X.
• Next, multiply Factor X by your PLE - generally a number between 2 and 6. Call this result Factor Y. For example, if you are a woman with a PLE of 4 then Factor Y equals 4. For a man with a PLE of 3 the Factor Y is 4.5.
• Finally, multiply Factor Y by your minutes of exercise, and this how many calories you have burnt.

To save time, make a mental note of your Factor Y for your most common levels of exertion. For example, for a woman:

• PLE of 2 gives a Factor Y of 2
• PLE of 5 gives a Factor Y of 5 etc.

​For a man - a PLE of 2 gives a Factor Y of 3 (2 X 1.5), and a PLE of 6 gives a Factor Y of 9.

Let's take an example.

if you have been exercising at a PLE of 6 (quite hard) for 40 minutes, then you've expended 240 calories if a woman and 360 calories if a man.

As a shortcut, for joggers, fast walkers and slow runners, you can use a distance estimate of 50 to 60 calories per kilometre. If you play with the logic above using 6 kph has a generic speed, you'll come up with this estimate. 

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Why this calculation makes sense (metabolically)

This calculation works for three reasons:

1. Perceived Level of Exertion has a good correlation with exercise intensity, as measured by METS (metabolic equivalent of task).
2. METS measure energy oxygen consumption over time, related to the weight of a person.
3. METS can be directly converted to calories. Energy expenditure of 1 MET for 1 hour by someone weighing 80kg converts to 80 calories. If you exercise at 4 METS for one hour and weight 80kg this equates to 4X80 = 480 calories.

​Knowing the above relationships allows us to create the easy estimation process I explained earlier.

Try it, and let me know how you go.

​Good luck.

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> More posts to help you with EXERCISES
> More posts to help you with DIABETES
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