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How many calories do we burn swimming?
Everything you need to know about swimming
Do you know how many calories you can burn when swimming for 30 minutes or 1 hour? By entering your overall activity time and your weight in kilos, you can get an idea of how many calories you burn swimming.
Swimming: A few examples of energy expenditure depending on weight and activity time.
Use the table below to see how many calories you lose by swimming freestyle!
Free swimming
moderate
Expenditure in Kilocalories
Weight | 15 minutes | 30 minutes | 1 hour |
---|---|---|---|
40 kg | 84 | 168 | 336 |
50 kg | 105 | 210 | 420 |
60 kg | 126 | 252 | 504 |
70 kg | 147 | 294 | 588 |
80 kg | 168 | 336 | 672 |
90 kg | 189 | 378 | 756 |
Free swimming
intense
Expenditure in Kilocalories
Weight | 15 minutes | 30 minutes | 1 hour |
---|---|---|---|
40 kg | 105 | 210 | 420 |
50 kg | 131 | 263 | 525 |
60 kg | 158 | 315 | 630 |
70 kg | 184 | 368 | 735 |
80 kg | 210 | 420 | 840 |
90 kg | 236 | 473 | 945 |
See detailed calculations and metabolic equivalent for swimming
Everything you need to know about swimming
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SWIMMING
Swimming is a complete sport that provides excellent energy expenditure and has the advantage of developing all the muscles in the body, not forgetting its ability to improve endurance.
What’s more, unlike other sports, swimming offers the serious advantage of building muscle without putting too much strain on the joints. This activity is featured in the best exercises for losing weight.
Don’t hesitate to discover the other swimming strokes :
Whether you’re swimming for fun, training or competing, swimming is a physical activity that uses all the muscles in the body and improves overall fitness.
Some benefits of swimming:
- Muscle strengthening: Swimming involves every muscle in the body, from head to toe. It develops muscle strength, particularly in the arms, legs, shoulders, back and abdominal muscles. It also helps to tone and define muscles.
- Improving cardiorespiratory endurance: Swimming is a sport that requires good respiratory and cardiovascular capacity. It strengthens the cardiorespiratory system, improves lung capacity and promotes better blood circulation. This contributes to a healthy heart and improved physical endurance.
- Working the whole body: Swimming uses all the muscle groups in a balanced way, allowing the muscles to develop harmoniously. It also promotes flexibility, suppleness and range of movement.
- Low impact on joints: Swimming is a low-impact sport because the water supports part of the body’s weight, reducing stress on the joints. It’s a recommended activity for people with joint or muscle problems, as well as those undergoing rehabilitation.
- Burn calories: Swimming is an activity that burns a significant number of calories. The constant movement in the water and the natural resistance of the water work the muscles and stimulate the metabolism, helping you to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.
- Improved coordination and balance: Swimming requires precise coordination between arm, leg and breathing movements. This helps to improve general coordination, balance and proprioception.
- Mental stimulation: Swimming can also have mental benefits. It promotes relaxation, stress reduction and improved mood. What’s more, swimming can be a meditative activity that helps you refocus and relax mentally.
- Accessible to all ages : Swimming is an activity that can be enjoyed at any age, whether by children, adults or the elderly. It is also suitable for people of all fitness levels, as the intensity of the effort can be adapted to suit individual abilities.
In conclusion, swimming in a pool is a complete sport that offers many benefits for the body and mind. Whether you’re looking to improve your physical condition, tone your muscles, lose weight, relieve joint pain or just have fun, swimming has a lot to offer.
How to calculate the number of calories burned swimming
The result displayed is expressed in Kcal and is calculated using the MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task). The MET for each activity is the result of statistical data and cannot therefore be interpreted as an exact calculation, but rather as an estimate that takes into account the MET value and the ratio between the time spent doing an activity and the weight of the individual.
For example: The MET value for swimming is 6 for recreational, 8 for moderate and 10 for intense. This means that a person who does moderate swimming consumes 8 times more energy than they would at rest while swimming (freestyle).
MET values for different levels of swimming intensity
- Low-intensity swimming: MET = 6
- Moderate intensity swimming: MET = 8
- High-intensity swimming: MET = 10
Discover the detailed formula to calculate your daily energy expenditure while swimming
Consumption in Kcal per minute = (METs*3.5*Weight in kilos)/200
This gives for a 70 kilo person swimming a moderate stroke for 30 minutes:
Consumption in Kcal per minute = (8*3.5*70)/200 = 9.8 Kcal/min
So for 30 minutes = 9.8*30 = 294 kcal for 30 minutes
All sports in detail!