I often get home from a hike and feel like I have just completed a pretty serious workout. The ache in my legs the next day is usually confirmation of this! Whilst it might not be the same as running, hiking is a great way to lose weight, but how many calories does hiking burn?
In this guide, you will learn how many calories you will burn on your hike with our handy calculator, as well some of the other health benefits of hiking.
If you want a really simple answer to how many calories does hiking burn, then typically the average male will burn 467 calories every hour and the average female will burn 390 calories per hour. There is a little more to this calculation than meets the eye, so keep reading to find out more.
How Hiking Changes Your Body
Hiking is a powerful cardio workout that can: Lower your risk of heart disease. Improve your blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Boost bone density, since walking is a weight-bearing exercise.
Will Hiking Help Me Lose Weight?
One of the ways that hiking will change your body is that it will help you to lose weight and body fat.
Hiking is a cardiovascular workout, which raises your heart rate, especially on steeper hiking routes. This increase in effort means your body needs more energy and, if you are pushing hard, your body will tap into your fat stores to get that energy. This leads to your body burning fat and therefore losing weight.
Your weight loss really depends on the amount of effort you are putting into your hike. If you are taking things at a gentle walking pace, not really pushing yourself too hard and staying on a flat walking surface, you are going to require less energy and will therefore burn less fat. push yourself harder and walk up steeper hills to maximise your weight loss.
How Many Calories Do You Burn Hiking?
The number of calories you burn hiking per minute can be calculated using the following formula:
Calories Burned per Minute = (MET x Weight in kg x 3.5)/200
Simple right? Well, it is if you know what a MET is.
What is a MET?
MET means Metabolic Equivalent of Task and is a simple way of differentiating the relative effort used between different forms of exercise. For example, cycling at a speed of 10km/h has a MET rating of 4.8, whereas cycling at 15km/h has a MET rate of 5.9.
METS can be used across various activities to help calculate the number of calories burned.
The process of calculating the number of METs for a task is complicated and depends and a number of factors. The main ones that influence the MET rating are the speed you are walking and the gradient you are walking up (on average).
What MET Rate Should I Use for Hiking?
There is a huge list of metabolic equivalents available here, which covers a wide variety of activities. For the purposes of the following calculator, I have picked out the key ones from the list the relate to hiking, which are:
Activity (Task) | METS |
Walking climbing hills, no load | 6.3 |
Walking climbing hills with 0 to 9 lb load | 6.5 |
Walking climbing hills with 10 to 20 lb load | 7.3 |
Walking climbing hills with 21 to 42 lb load | 8.3 |
Walking climbing hills with 42+ lb load | 9.0 |
Walking hiking or walking at a normal pace through fields and hillsides | 5.3 |
Walking walking, less than 2.0 mph, level, strolling, very slow | 2.0 |
Walking walking, 2.0 mph, level, slow pace, firm surface | 2.8 |
Walking walking, 2.5 mph, level, firm surface | 3.0 |
Walking walking, 2.8 to 3.2 mph, level, moderate pace, firm surface | 3.5 |
Walking walking, 3.5 mph, level, brisk, firm surface, walking for exercise | 4.3 |
Walking walking, 2.9 to 3.5 mph, uphill, 1 to 5% grade | 5.3 |
Walking walking, 2.9 to 3.5 mph, uphill, 6% to 15% grade | 8.0 |
Walking walking, 4.0 mph, level, firm surface, very brisk pace | 5.0 |
Walking walking, 4.5 mph, level, firm surface, very, very brisk | 7.0 |
Walking walking, 5.0 mph, level, firm surface | 8.3 |
Walking walking, 5.0 mph, uphill, 3% grade | 9.8 |
Walking walking, for exercise, 3.5 to 4 mph, with ski poles, Nordic walking, level, moderate pace | 4.8 |
Walking walking, for exercise, 5.0 mph, with ski poles, Nordic walking, level, fast pace | 9.5 |
Walking walking, for exercise, with ski poles, Nordic walking, uphill | 6.8 |
Walking walking, backwards, 3.5 mph, level | 6.0 |
Walking walking, backwards, 3.5 mph, uphill, 5% grade | 8.0 |
As you can see from the above, there are a wider variety of different MAT ratings for hiking. When working out my calories burned and weight loss for a walk, I generally use the “Walking hiking or walking at a normal pace through fields and hillsides” activity selection, which has a MET rating of 5.3.
How Long Should I Hike to Lose Weight?
How long you should hike to lose weight will really depend on your weight loss goal. In general, heavier people will lose weight at a quicker rate than lighter people. Losing weight is all about burning more calories than you consume.
If you’re still unsure on how to use the calculator above, below I’ve listed some of the common distances and times that people generally want to know about. I’ve also listed the assumptions used below:
- How many calories does 10 minutes of walking burn – The average male will burn 78 calories and the average female will burn 65 with 10 minutes of walking/hiking.
- How many calories does 30 minutes of walking burn – The average male will burn 234 calories and the average female will burn 195 with 30 minutes of walking/hiking.
- How many calories does 1 hour of walking burn – The average male will burn 467 calories and the average female will burn 390 with 1 hour of walking/hiking.
- How many calories does walking 1 mile burn – The average male will burn 234 calories and the average female will burn 195 with 1 mile of walking/hiking.
- How many calories does walking 3 miles burn – The average male will burn 701 calories and the average female will burn 584 with 3 miles of walking/hiking.
- How many calories does walking 5 miles burn – The average male will burn 1,169 calories and the average female will burn 974 with 5 miles of walking/hiking.
- How many calories does walking 1000 steps burn – The average male will burn 106 calories and the average female will burn 83 with 1,000 steps when walking/hiking.
- How many calories does walking 5000 steps burn – The average male will burn 534 calories and the average female will burn 413 with 5,000 steps when walking/hiking.
- How many calories does walking 10000 steps burn – The average male will burn 1,068 calories and the average female will burn 826 with 10,000 steps when walking/hiking.
Assumptions:
- Average weight – Men = 84kg. Women = 70kg (Source: Onaverage.co.uk)
- Average steps per mile – Men = 2,191. Women = 2,360 (Source: Cleveland Heights Parks
- Activity for METs – “Walking hiking or walking at a normal pace through fields and hillsides” (5.3 METs)
- Average miles per hour = 2 mph
Could You Lose Stomach Fat by Hiking?
Targeting certain areas for losing weight can be difficult with any form of cardio workout. Hiking is no exception to this rule. However, hiking will help you lose overall body weight, which overall will help to reduce body fat. You’re unlikely to see the inches drop off with hiking as it is not a particularly strenuous form of exercise, but it really is better than doing nothing at all.
How Many Miles a Week Should I Hike to Lose Weight?
How many miles you need to walk to help you lose weight will depend largely on how much weight you would like to lose and how fast you would like to lose it.
If your weight loss goal was to lose around 1 pound per week (454 grams), you would need to burn around 3,500 additional calories over the course of a week. This would be roughly 8 hours of hiking over the course of a week, which equates to 16 miles, based on a walking pace of 2 miles per hour.
There are several assumptions used here that will influence the amount you lose, such as your starting weight, walking speed and the type of hiking/walking you do. Use our calculator above for a more personalised estimate of the additional exercise you will need to do.
Is Hiking Good for Your Legs?
In short, yes, hiking is good for your legs. You will benefit from the effect of losing excess fat around your legs as well as the benefits of regularly using your muscles for exercise. Furthermore, hiking regularly can help to improve bone density within your legs.
Will Hiking Tone My Legs?
As I have covered above, hiking is a good workout for your entire body to lose weight. In addition to burning calories and losing weight, it is also possible to build up muscle and tone your legs as well.
If you are generally hiking across flat, well-paved surfaces, you are likely to find that there isn’t a large change in the muscles in your legs. You may see some slight difference in the toning of your legs, but the real gains are to be made from overloading your leg muscles.
The process of overloading muscles is essentially just exercising at a level that’s greater than what your body is normally accustomed to. Simply put, if you take leisurely hikes, you are less likely to be pushing your muscles into doing something different to normal. Hiking up and down hills on the other hand is more likely to be something you are not used to and this will overload your muscles.
When climbing hills, you need to engage a lot of the muscles in your legs. The act of walking uphill helps to create the overloading effect on your muscles. It is not just going uphill that is beneficial though. When walking downhill you also engage your glutes and quads to keep you balanced, so even though it feels easier, even going downhill overloads your muscles.
Do Your Legs Get Bigger From Hiking?
You might think that hiking will increase the size of your legs, but you might be surprised to learn that this is not always the case.
You will most likely find that when you start hiking, your legs actually get smaller, rather than bigger. This is because the size of your legs, in particular your thighs, is often determined by the amount of fat you have stored, rather than the muscle in your legs.
If you already have fairly low levels of stored body fat, your leg size is less likely to get smaller as there are fewer fat stores to burn, therefore you could see your legs get larger through hiking, particularly if you are overloading your legs when exercising.
Does Hiking Make Calves Bigger?
If you are looking to increase the size of your calves, hiking can be a great option.
Choosing hiking routes that require lots of uphill climbing, over rough and rocky terrain will help to overload your legs and particularly your calves. This will lead to bigger calf muscles, as well as benefitting your quads, hamstrings and glutes.
If you would prefer not to climb lots of hills to build up your calves, you will still get some growth from hiking, however, this will be very limited compared to hiking up hills.
Why Hiking is Good for Mental Health
As I’ve already discussed in this guide, hiking can be good for weight loss and muscle gain. But the health benefits don’t stop there. Hiking is also considered an excellent way to improve your mental health too.
Studies have shown that hiking can help to relieve stress, help reduce feelings associated with depression and also improve your cognitive functionality.
How Does Hiking Relieve Stress?
The number of people suffering from stress-related illnesses has increases significantly over the years, which can lead to increased chances of being obese, risk of heart disease and depression.
A study has found that hiking promotes the release of endorphins in the brain, which are chemicals that stimulate relaxation and help to improve your mood.
Whilst the release of endorphins isn’t unique to hiking as an exercise, hiking also allows you to meditate as well, due to the slower pace you will do it at compared to running or cycling for example. This combination of meditation and endorphin hit will relieve stress and improve your mood.
Can Hiking Help With Depression?
Hiking has been found to be beneficial in lowering the risk of depression in humans.
One study has found that people who walked in a natural area for a period of 90 minutes showed decreased activity in the area of the brain that has been linked to feelings of being depressed, known as the subgenual prefrontal cortex.
This part of the brain is most active when we are in deep thought and having a repetitive, focus on negative emotions. Hiking out in nature was found to reduce the activity in this part of the brain, therefore reducing the feeling of being depressed.
Whilst hiking certainly has a positive effect on your mood and can help to reduce feelings of depression, it is no substitute for professional medical advice.
How Does Hiking Help Your Brain?
Hiking is not just good for your mental health due to the reduction of negative feelings, it has also been shown to improve your memory and cognitive functionality as well.
Studies have shown that cognitive function can be improved in adults who regularly undertake exercise such as hiking. It is even possible to improve the cognitive function of adults who have suffered some form of cognitive impairment, such as dementia.
It’s not just cognitive functionality that is improved through hiking. One study found that hiking in novel and complex places can help to create new neurons, which can improve memory as well as make us more adaptable to the changing world around us.
Why Hiking is Fun?
For some people, the idea of walking for miles doesn’t sound like a fun time. I’ll be honest as someone who used to exclusively mountain bike when out in the countryside, I never understood why people chose two feet over two wheels. As I’ve grown up, my view has changed quite a lot on this one.
For me, hiking is fun because you get the opportunity to go and see parts of the world that are hard to access unless you are on foot. Looking across a lake or valley whilst stood on top of a mountain can be an amazing experience and one that definitely goes in the “fun” bracket.
Hiking is also a fun experience when shared with others. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “enjoy the journey as much as the destination”, this is exactly what I’m referring to. Whilst there is a great amount of fun in getting to the top of a peak or a beautiful view, the shared experience of doing so with friends is just as fun.
The final way that I think hiking is fun is the memories you make along the way as well. This is not just the photos you take whilst there, but the memories of the stories you share on the way. The experiences of climbing those hills, jumping over those streams and at least one person falling over in the mud and everyone laughing about it.
Summary
Hopefully, after reading this guide you now know how to work out the number of calories you will burn when hiking, as well as learnt about the wider health benefits of hiking. For me, hiking is a great way to experience the great outdoors at a slower pace of life. If you can also wild camp, to give yourself more time outdoors, you’ll return home feeling refreshed and happy.
Happy hiking!
