Walking is one of the best exercises for anyone, yet it continues to be severely underrated. The exact number of calories burned walking depends on multiple factors, however, for the average person, walking 3mph will burn around 81.6 calories after twenty minutes. 10,000 steps will burn around 500 calories for the average person, and walking for about one hour will result in around 250 calories.  

The rest of this article will explain how to know exactly how many calories you will burn while walking certain distances. 

Calories burned Walking Calculator

Calories Burned🔥: 0

How many calories do you burn walking?

The calories someone can burn while walking varies from person to person, depending greatly on several factors such as their weight, walking distance, speed, and incline. The average person worldwide weighs about 136 pounds. If they walk one mile on a flat surface at 3mph, they will have walked about 2,400 steps and burned around 81.6 calories within 20 minutes.

If a 200-pound person walks one mile on a flat surface at 3mph, they will have burned about 120 calories in around 20 minutes.

How many calories do you burn walking 10,000 steps?

You have probably heard people talking about aiming to walk 10k steps a day, and it’s for good reason. Walking anywhere from 8k-10k steps a day has so many health benefits! So how many calories can you expect to burn when doing so?

The average man weighing around 165lbs can expect to burn around 500 calories when walking 10,000 steps, while the average woman weighing around 110lbs can expect to lose around 290 calories.

With these numbers, it can be seen that if the average man walks 10,000 steps every day for seven days, they will burn about 3,500 calories, which is the number of calories someone must burn to lose one pound of fat. The average woman who walks 10,000 steps every day for seven days will burn 2,030 calories.

These numbers depend on more than just gender, though, and will change based on multiple factors:

  • Slope- If you are walking on an uphill slope, you will burn more calories than if you were walking on a flat surface or walking downhill. 
  • Distance- Depending on your height, the length of your step will vary. For example, a petite woman’s stride will be much shorter than a very tall man’s. If someone’s stride is longer, they will generally walk farther, and therefore burn more calories. 
  • Speed- If someone is walking 4mph, they will burn more calories than someone walking 2mph. 

Taking all of this into consideration, a man weighing 165lbs, walking on a slope of 5% for 10,000 steps at 3mph, will walk 4.7 miles in around 1.5 hours, and burn 628 calories. A woman weighing 110lbs, walking on a slope of 5% for 10,000 steps at 3mph, will walk about 4.2 miles in around 1.4 hours, and burn 368.5 calories.

How many calories do you burn walking for one hour?

The average person walks at a pace of about 3mph. This means that the average person will walk about three miles within an hour. Since the average person burns about 81.6 calories walking at 3mph for 20 minutes, someone walking for one hour can expect to lose around 244.8 calories, depending on the factors listed above.

A 210lb person walking 3mph can burn around 278 calories and would have walked around 6,336 steps.

To calculate the exact number of calories you burn in one hour, you can use an online calorie calculator or fitness tracker. Calorie calculators have a MET, the metabolic equivalent of task, built-in. This is used to estimate how much energy the body is using during a specific activity. This varies based on activity.

How many calories do you burn walking for 30 minutes?

The average person will burn around 135 calories every 30 minutes, depending on contributing factors.

Other factors that influence calories burned walking

Every person burns calories different based on a series of factors. Some of the most common are listed above, but there are others!

  • Age- Younger people have an easier time getting to a higher level of activity, while older people have a harder time.
  • Body composition- If someone has more muscle, they will usually burn more calories than someone who has less, or who has a. higher body fat percentage.
  • Diet- Your diet can heavily influence the number of calories you burn, considering it affects your metabolism, which is the rate at which your body burns calories. If someone does not eat enough, skip meals, or eat a lot of unhealthy foods, it can crash your metabolism, and it can hurt the number of calories you burn during a certain amount of time.
  • Temperature- If you are working out in a colder environment, you will burn fewer calories than if you worked out in a warm environment. This is because your body temperature will warm up, and more energy will be used for calorie burn. If it’s warm, you can work out for longer periods, as well, but should be careful of heat exhaustion.
  • Fitness level- Someone who has been working out for a long time will end up burning fewer calories than someone who has not, since their body has become efficient at exercise.

Sleep- If you do not get enough sleep, this can cause you to burn fewer calories. 

  • This is because your body will be fatigued, and you may find yourself exercising even less. It can also affect your metabolism, which in turn will decrease the number of calories burned.
  • Oxygen Intake- A lesser-known factor, oxygen gives the body energy, and people who breathe heavily during a workout end up burning more calories.

The equation for finding out calories burned walking

If you are trying to find out how many calories you burned by hand, you can calculate it using the following equation:

Calories burned= BMR X METs/24 x hour

Ways to increase the number of calories burned walking

If you want to increase the number of calories you burn while walking, there are a couple of things you can change about your routine.

  • Walk at an incline if you are exercising on a treadmill. You can do this the entire time, or you can incorporate rolling hills.
  • If you spend more time on your feet. During the day, this will increase the number of calories you burn overall.
  • Add a weighted vest to your routine. If you add weight to yourself, it will increase the number of calories you burn during your time exercising.
  • If you are walking outside, choose a route that has a steeper incline. When you are using more muscle groups, the more calories you will burn. Walking along a steep incline has also been shown to boost metabolic rate.
  • Use walking poles! This has been shown to burn more calories considering it works more muscles in your body, such as your upper body.

Why walking is a great exercise

Walking is a wonderful exercise for a plethora of reasons, one of the biggest being that it is free. Gyms can be expensive, and sometimes people can’t afford at-home workout machines and gear. Most people have places they can walk during the day, whether it be on a lunch break, in the early morning or in the evening. Walking is cheap, convenient, and accessible to anyone.

Although calories burned walking differs from person to person, it is important to note that you can do things to increase them!