Are you looking for the answer to the question “how many calories does walking burn”? If so, this site is for you. In this article you’ll learn about the most important things that you have to know about how many calories walking burns. We also provide you with a useful calories burned walking calculator.

You’ll get general information about calories burned walking, you’ll get to know things that influence how many calories you burn walking, you’ll learn how to make walking more effective if you want to lose weight and last but not least, we show you how long you have to walk to lose one pound of fat.

How Many Calories Does Walking Burn in General?

Walking is one of the simplest, easiest and most pleasing ways to burn calories. Moreover, it’s quite effective when compared to typical boring exercises such as treadmill running or riding a stationary bike. Why is that so? It’s because it’s simply easier to follow a simple routine of walking one hour daily than doing strenuous (and boring) exercises at the gym.

Because almost everyone – no matter how old you are or how much you weigh – can walk, walking is unquestionably one of the best ways to stay in shape, improve your health or lose weight.

Many people who choose walking as their primary fat-burning activity ask the following question: how many calories does walking burn? There’s no simple answer to this question because it depends on a few factors such as:

• weight
• walking speed
• terrain and surface on which you’re walking
• how you’re walking (there are different variants of walking, e.g. regular walking, trekking, Nordic walking)

However, I can give you some approximations (and if you want to learn even more, please read “Other Important Factors”).

Relatively healthy and not extremely obese people usually walk about 3 miles per hour. Most people who walk for exercise walk on a hard surface. And let’s assume that you weigh 180 pounds (about 82 kg).

A person who weighs 180 pounds will burn approximately 270 calories when walking on a hard surface 3 miles per hour (5 km/h) for 60 minutes. A person who weighs more will burn more calories and a person who weighs less will burn less calories. Keep reading to learn more about important factors which influence calories burned when walking.

Other Important Factors

There are several factors which influence how many calories you can burn walking. Here are the most important ones:

Weight

One of the most important things you have to know to calculate how many calories you burn while walking is your weight. The more you weigh, the more calories you burn. The reason is simple: heavier people carry more weight with them which requires more energy expenditure. Here are a few examples (keep in mind that these are only estimations):

Weight: 180 pounds (82 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 270

Weight: 200 pounds (91 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 300

Weight: 220 pounds (100 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 330

Weight: 240 pounds (109 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 360

As you can see, 10 pounds more = 15 calories more burned when walking 3 miles per hour for one hour. The reverse is of course also true: people who weigh less burn less calories. Here are a few examples:

Weight: 160 pounds (72,5 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 240

Weight: 140 pounds (63,5 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 210

Weight: 120 pounds (55 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 180

Your weight is the most important factor when calculating calories burned walking. That’s why it’s impossible to give you just one number, because it depends on a person. Don’t forget that if you’re walking with a backpack (or anything else that you have to carry with you), it also increases your energy expenditure!

Walking speed

Another aspect that you have to take into consideration while trying to answer the question “how many calories does walking burn” is to think about your walking speed. The faster you walk, the more calories you burn.

The average walking speed of human is about 3.1 miles per hour (mph) or 5 kilometers per hour (km/h). However, your walking speed also depends on your age and fitness – walking speed for older individuals is ranging from 2.8 mph (4.5 km/h) to 2.95 mph (4.75 km/h) and 3.29 mph (5.3 km/h) to 3.36 mph (5.4 km/h) for younger individuals.

Here are a few examples:

Weight: 180 pounds (82 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (2.5 miles per hour): 245

Weight: 180 pounds (82 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3 miles per hour): 270

Weight: 180 pounds (82 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (3.5 miles per hour): 310

Weight: 180 pounds (82 kg)
Calories burned walking for one hour (4 miles per hour): 410

Now you ask me: how do I know how fast I am walking? There are many ways to estimate your walking speed. Here are three easiest ways to do it:

1. Use the rule of thumb

You walk approximately 2–2.5 miles (3–4 km/h) per hour if you’re walking casually and slowly (e.g. walking a dog).
You walk approximately 3 miles per hour (5 km/h) if you’re walking for exercise (in a park, forest etc.).
You walk approximately 4 miles per hour (6.5 km/h) if you’re walking briskly and breathing noticeably.

2. Running track

Most outdoor running tracks are ¼ mile (400 meters) around the inside lane. Use a timer and walk around the track to estimate your minutes per mile, then calculate your miles per hour. If you need 5 minutes to walk 1/4 mile, then you need 20 minutes to walk one mile. One mile per 20 minutes = 3 miles per 60 minutes.

3. Walking speed apps

Use technology to help determine your walking speed! If you have GPS on your cell-phone, install an app (look for “walking speedometer” or “pedometer”) that will show you your walking speed.

Terrain and surface

Studies have shown (“Mechanic and Energetics of Human Locomotion on Sand”, T. M. Lejeune, P. A. Willems and N. C. Heglund from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium) that walking on sand requires 1.6–2.5 times more mechanical work than does walking on a hard surface at the same speed. As a result, walking on sand requires 2.1–2.7 times more energy expenditure than does walking on a hard surface at the same speed.

So, if you want to burn approximately two to three times more calories, walk on sand. However, keep in mind that walking on a hard surface is the easiest and most popular way to walk for exercise and that it’s way more exhausting to walk on sand. If you’re a beginner, start with walking on a hard surface such as forest trails or in parks.

Don’t forget that walking uphill, up stairs, walking on mountains or trekking (such as trekking through the jungle) also require more energy expenditure (more on that in a while).

Variants of walking

There are several different ways of walking. A few of them are:

• Ordinary walking (walking in parks, on well-beaten trails etc.)
• Nordic walking (walking with ski poles)
• Trekking (walking through more difficult areas such as jungles), hillwalking (walking on hills and mountains), walking up stairs and other variants of walking on a more difficult surface

Nordic walking, trekking, hillwalking and other variants of walking which are more exhausting can burn up to a few times more calories than regular walking (multiply your energy expenditure by at least 2).

Nordic walking is getting more and more popular in many countries all over the world. Nordic walkers use more of their entire body. Nordic walking involves muscles which are not trained when walking in a regular way such as chest muscles, lats, triceps, biceps, shoulders, abdominals, spinal and other core muscles. Thanks to this, Nordic walking doesn’t only burn more calories than plain walking. It also increases overall strength and endurance and trains your entire upper body.

Trekking or hillwalking are more strenuous activities which usually require greater fitness. However, if you’re a more experienced walker who want to burn even more calories when walking, trekking or hillwalking are definitely worth considering. In most countries in the world you can easily find hills, mountains or more difficult walking areas. Get good hiking boots and try it! It’s certainly more exhausting, but also more satisfying and interesting.

Calories Burned Walking Calculator

Here’s a simple calculator that will help you estimate the calories you burned walking:

Calories Burned Calculator
Estimate the calories you burned walking:
Pace:	walking, 2.0 mph (3.2 km/h), level, slow pace, firm surfacewalking, 2.5 mph (4 km/h), downhillwalking, 2.5 mph (4 km/h), firm surfacewalking, 3.0 mph (5 km/h), level, moderate pace, firm surfacewalking, 3.5 mph (5.6 km/h), level, brisk pace, firm surface, for exercisewalking, 3.5 mph (5.6 km/h), uphillwalking, 4.0 mph (6.4 km/h), level, firm surface, very brisk pacewalking, 4.5 mph (7.2 km/h), level, firm surface, very, very briskwalking, 5.0 mph (8 km/h)
Weight:		PoundsKilograms
Time:		HoursMinutes

How to Burn More Calories Walking?

Now that you know the answer to the question “how many calories does walking burn”, you can think of ways to burn more calories walking. Here are a few simple techniques:

1. Walk on more difficult terrain – you can burn up to three times more calories while walking on sand. Walking uphill or upstairs is another incredibly effective way to burn more calories when walking.

2. Carry extra weight – if you know how to keep good posture when walking, you can try walking with extra weight (such as stones in a backpack).

3. Walk with ski poles (Nordic walking) – Nordic walking involves more muscles of your body. Thanks to this, you burn more calories.

To read more on this topic, please read our article How to Burn More Calories Walking?

How Long Do You Have to Walk to Lose One Pound of Fat?

One pound of fat (0.454 kg) equals approximately 3500 calories. If you want to lose one pound of fat, you need to burn 3500 calories more than you take in food. You can eat less (to a certain extent), be more active or do both of these things (that’s the most effective way).

In the example mentioned before, a 180 pound person walking with speed of 3 miles per hour burns approximately 270 calories per hour. To burn 3500 calories (and consequently lose one pound of fat – given that he eats at maintenance and doesn’t change his diet), this person has to walk for about 13 hours.

Of course nobody walks 13 hours a day! If you weigh 180 lbs and want to lose one pound of fat per week, you’ll have to walk about two hours daily. You can combine it with eating less calories (e.g. 250 calories less a day = 1750 calories less per week) and then you’ll have to walk for just one hour daily to lose one pound of fat per week. It’s 4 pounds of fat monthly and 48 pounds of fat yearly! Moreover, there are many health benefits of walking which will improve your health even more.

If you’re interested in walking to lose weight, you should also read our article “How Much Should You Walk to Lose Weight?”.

Thank you for visiting this site and reading our article. We hope that you’ve found our answer to your question “how many calories does walking burn” useful!