Saturday, August 06, 2005

Burn Those Calories Somehow!

I googled "exercise burn calories" and found an incredible list of activites and how many calories they burn. They based the information on one hour of activity. It was a very interesting list, and I made several observations. So, if you're sitting at your computer putting off going out in the heat to get some exercise, read on.
  • The activity that burns the least calories is ice fishing at 118 calories. I'm wondering if you could burn more if you didn't wear such a warm coat and shivered more.
  • The activity for burning the most calories is, alas, running. I should have known. They say that if you run 10.9 mph (that's fast enough for a 5.5 minute mile) and keep it up for an hour, you'll burn an incredible 1062 calories! Please note that I will not be held responsible for any emergency room visits or funeral expenses incurred by those who actually try this.
  • Running up the stairs, my mother's favorite form of exercise (translated: torture), burns 885 calories.
  • I also found it interesting that hacky-sack burns the same number of calories as sweeping the garage and almost as many as down-hill skiing. Let the game begin!
  • The most strenuous musical instrument is (surprise) the drums.
  • Walking with crutches burns more calories than walking while carrying a 15-pound baby. There's no word on how many calories you burn if you walk with crutches while carrying a baby, but please don't try it.
  • Also noteworthy is that taking an aerobics class burns the same number of calories as teaching an aerobics class. Wow.
  • Oh, and for you daredevils, ski-jumping burns 413 calories, but only if you climb the hill carrying your skis. Is this a joke?

Happy exercising!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Climbing stairs is not my favorite form of exercise. In fact I dislike it very much. I only do it because it's a quick, inexpensive, and accessible method of aerobic exercise. In fact my favorite form of exercise is folk dancing. So how many calories does folk dancing burn?

Anonymous said...

I would be interested in knowing that as well... it must burn quite a few! That would be my favorite form of exercise too. I did find all that rather interesting, Katie :)

Katie said...

Okay, folk dancing isn't specifically on the list, but "general dancing" is 266, and "aerobic dancing" is 354. So I guess it depends which dances you're doing! Oh, and I guess I'll have to take back what I said about stairs being my mother's "favorite" exercise!