Depending on your fitness goals, whether it’s losing weight or just trying to stay healthy, there’s a certain amount of calories you should be burning during your workout to meet those benchmarks.
And even if you know that number, it’s just as difficult determining how much time and effort you’ll need to get there.
But good news, everyone – we’ll break it down for you below.
How Many Calories Should You Burn During a Workout?
Let’s start with the most straightforward benchmark: if you’re simply trying to maintain your weight, you don’t have to worry as much about your calorie burn.
Ideally, you’ll aim to exercise for 150 minutes per week, or 30 minutes, five days a week, explained Holly Perkins, BS, CSCS, author of Lift to Get Lean and creator of The Glutes Project.
If your goal is weight loss, you’ll need to be more mindful of the burned calorie count.
“If you’re trying to lose one pound of body fat per week, you need a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories per week,” Holly said in an interview with POPSUGAR. She suggests sticking to working out five days a week, and aim to burn 250 calories each session. You’ll need to reduce calories by a total of 500 each day to reach the 3,500 deficit benchmark, so plan ahead and save 250 calories from your diet on workout days, and 500 calories from your diet on off days.
Related: Why You Should Count Macros, Not Calories
How Long Should You Work Out to Lose Weight?
Holly explains that women who weight between 150-160 pounds burn about 500 calories per hour when working at 80-90% of their max heart rate. So, a 30-40 minute cardio session will suffice.
You’ll expend fewer calories with strength training, but building lean muscle helps your body burn more calories even at rest, which helps to offset the difference. So, “you should also aim for 30 to 40 minutes during a strength training workout,” Holly said.
If you want to be surgeon-precise, the best way to track calorie burn is with a heart rate monitor. But even then, Holly says you shouldn’t be consumed by the numbers.
“Ultimately, if you aren’t losing weight while maintaining this exercise schedule, for the most part it comes down to the fact that you’re eating too many calories,” she said.
Photo Credit: Nestor Rizhniak/Shutterstock.com; Arpatsara/Shutterstock.com
