Teach me the vagaries of a throw away comment.
It is quite possible to burn 250 calories on a treadmill in 15 minutes, but relying on calculators or machine readouts (even expensive ones) is pointless because of the huge variation in human metabolism, effect of nutrition, muscle type, etc.
However, considering business time burns over a third the amount as running at 8mph, I know what I would prefer...
The relevant factor is overall calories burned, as burn stops pretty much as soon as the treadmill does. Weightlifting keeps burning for longer... which is why glycogen and oxygen debts are great.
wrong again
these are taken from various sources:
Aerobic Exercise
As well as the actual amount of calories burned during exercise – studies have shown that sustained, high-intensity exercise makes you burn more calories for several hours afterwards.
Try 30 minute sessions of heart rate raising exercise, such as vigorous walking, step aerobics, jogging, cycling or swimming, 3-4 times a week.
The study, published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, took 10 healthy males and examined their energy expenditure under two different sets of conditions. “During the first session, participants were mostly inactive, but they stood and stretched for two minutes every hour. They could also perform everyday tasks, such as washing their hands and brushing their teeth, as needed. During the second session, participants followed the same routine, but then cycled vigorously for 45 minutes.”
Researchers found that participants burned 190 additional calories while at rest throughout the day after vigorous exercise (defined in the study as a 73% max heart rate), compared to when they did no activity. The increased calorie burn lasted for over 14 hours--and continued even into the first few hours of sleeping. This is the first study to use a metabolic chamber (a highly controlled environment) to estimate calorie burned after vigorous physical activity.
The number of calories each person burns during--and after--a workout will vary. It depends on many factors: gender, age, genetics, type of workout, etc. But it’s something to keep in mind as you weigh the benefits of exercise, and whether or not the time and effort is worthwhile. I think exercise is a key component of any healthy lifestyle, regardless of how much exercise you can do or how intense it is. Previous studies have also shown that your body's metabolism stays revved after a workout and that generally, the more intense the workout is, the greater the post-workout "afterburn" will be. This study just gives one more reason to get off of the couch and get moving--no matter how much or how little time you have!
While virtually all activity from backgammon to deep thought requires energy, studies suggest so-called “vigorous” exercise is especially effective at burning calories not only during the activity itself but also long after [1]. So that latest gym session could keep on giving even after stepping off the treadmill.
TRAIN HARD, TRAIN SMART — THE NEED-TO-KNOW
The so-called “afterburn effect” — which sounds like rocket science and is more officially known as “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption” or EPOC — isn't new in the world of fitness. Several studies suggest a strong correlation between the number of calories burned post-exercise and the activity’s intensity [2]. Basically, the longer and more intense the exercise, the more oxygen the body consumes afterward. This means a higher sustained metabolic rate and thus more calories burned throughout the day. In one study, participants who cycled vigorously for 45 minutes burned roughly 190 calories more in the 14 hours after exercise than on days when they didn't work out at all [1].
But what actually constitutes “vigorous” or intense exercise? While the above study involved 10 young, male participants, the number of calories burned both during and after exercise can vary greatly among individuals. For most people, optimal post-exercise calorie burn will occur with exercise performed at 70 to 85 percent of the individual's max heart rate. And the longer the bout of exercise (up to 60 minutes in some studies), the more potent the effect (and more calories burned during rest) [4]. Of course, all-out 60-minute sessions might not be the most friendly workouts several times a week, and shorter high intensity workouts (like the 4-minute Tabata Protocol) have also been shown to trigger calorie afterburn.
And it's not just steady-state cardio that gets the metabolism going for hours afterward. High intensity interval training has been shown to elicit an even greater post-workout burn, as has resistance training performed at quick paces and/or high intensity [5]. (Again, the effect is influenced by the length and intensity of activity.) So no matter the particular training regime, to keep burning calories long after the last mile or rep, it might pay to go hard.
THE TAKEAWAY
Vigorous exercise could keep the body burning calories for hours after the workout is through.
Jason Edmonds: "In addition to burning calories post workout, it's also worth mentioning that this is the best time to consume a "cheat" or "guilty pleasure" carbohydrate based food. After intense exercise (resistance exercise, sprinting etc), skeletal muscle is low on glycogen, which is what muscle uses as fuel during intense excertion. Consequently, a sugary or starchy treat is more likely to be used to restore that glycogen depot instead of being stored as fat.”
Matt Miller: "This is exactly what I have been preaching to my clients for years! 45 minutes of 'vigorous' exercise may be a bit much to ask of novice exercisers though. I ask my clients that are looking to shed pounds of fat to perform High Intensity Intervals that resemble a 1x2 or 1x3 ratio. As they progress, the rest can be lessened to increase their metabolic performance. A typical beginner High Intensity Interval can look like this: 5 min warm-up, 60 seconds of a fast run, 120 seconds of a recovery walk, repeat for 6-8 rounds of the 60x120, 5 min cool-down."
Men who exercised on a stationary bike for around 45 minutes burned an additional 190 calories over the 14 hours afterwards, the study found.
The same theory should apply to any intense activity, be it football, swimming or running, researchers say – and for the fairer sex.
However, to get the extra calorie-burning benefits, the workout needs to be enough that ‘you’re sweating, your body temperature is up and your heart beats fast’.
Ten volunteers, aged 22 to 33, each burned an average of 519 calories during their biking tests.
Afterwards, however, they burned another 190 calories – meaning their bodies carried on working when physical activity ceased.
