Fit Villains: Selfish, Shameless, Sassy, Fitness.

Hey there,

Calorie burn cannot be calculated that way (don’t trust sources who tell you it can - at most they provide averages, and averages are likely not your circumstances).

Calorie burn depends on…

• Height and weight (the bigger you are, the more you burn) 
• Body composition (the more muscle you have, the more you burn)
• Metabolism (high metabolic rates lead to bigger burns. Affected by your diet, sleep, genetics etc)
• Gender (hormones play a factor in your metabolism)
• Intensity (how much effort you put into each exercise/how hard you push overall. 20 fast, deep and intense squats will burn more than 20 half assed mini-squats)
• Fitness level (the more fit you are, the more efficient your body, the more output you are capable of)
• Age
• Etc.

Two people of different heights and weights may not burn the same amount of calories. Someone with more muscle may burn more than someone with less doing the exact same thing. Someone who is very fit can do a shorter, more intense workout and burn as many (or more) calories than someone who is less fit, doing a longer, less intense workout. Etc. etc. etc.

The best way to accurately gauge your calorie burn is by using a monitor such as a Body Bugg or FitBit to monitor your individual burn. Machines, since they can’t determine your own individual set of circumstances, are not as reliable. Most people overestimate their burn by about 40-50%.

Diet is FAR more important in terms of weight loss, but calories burned through workouts are important too. Instead of focusing on how many you’re burning, focus a little more on intensity: go harder, deeper, longer, etc. Try harder modifications. Step it up. Challenge yourself. You’ll burn more calories this way AND boost your fitness level. Studies show that those who train with intensity - and not calorie - goals in mind burn more overall than those who don’t. They push harder, burn more and get fitter faster than those who are working out with only a calorie goal in mind.

Workouts that employ H.I.I.T principles (high intensity interval training) also tend to boost your calorie burn for up to 48 hours post workout. That means one H.I.I.T workout can add an extra 200-500 extra calories burned AFTER you’re done sweating. Strength training boosts your metabolism for about the same amount of time, meaning your burning more at rest: it adds up significantly. The calories we burn during our workouts don’t tell the whole story. :)

Sorry if this isn’t the answer you wanted, but I’d be bullshitting you otherwise! Generally, you can figure out your average burns by knowing how many calories you need, how many you are eating, and then figuring out if you’re losing, maintaining or gaining. If you’re losing (and want to be) you can boost your burn by adding intensity, trying something new, and eating to support firing up your metabolism. If you’re maintaining, your input and output are about the same: you’re eating exactly enough and moving exactly enough to support your current weight given your metabolism (if you’re in this zone and should be losing, chances are your metabolism is too low. You need to eat more or take more rest days to fire it back up). If you’re gaining, you’re either eating too much or not moving as much as you should be… unless this is the zone you want to be in, you need to make changes somewhere to maintain or lower your weight.

Hope this helps in some way! When in doubt, estimate the burn and reduce it by 25% or so.

xo