Burn 1000 calories an hour? Doubt it!

Can you really burn off 1000 calories in an intense workout? It’s unlikely. The people that burn 1000 calories in a one-hour exercise session, are typically very overweight, don’t exercise on a regular basis, are extremely tall, or very muscular, and are working very hard, possibly at maximum capacity for the full 60 minutes.

The bigger you are, and how inactive you are,  the more calories you burn. So, if you’re really fit and active, and/or are tiny like me, your body is very efficient, and doesn’t permit you to expend a lot of calories as a safety measure. To get a good idea of how many calories you’re burning, buy a heart rate monitor. With my Polar watch I learned that a 20 minute Classical Stretch Pilates-ballet video only burns between 50-80 calories. I started checking my other workouts and this is what I found: 30 minutes on incline treadmill at 3.3 mph = 105 calories. 35 minute hard hike = 162 calories. 60 minute kickboxing class = 354 calories.

If you’re serious about losing bodyfat, you have to reduce calories in addition to consistent exercise.