Activity calories · 2024 Compendium METs

Calories burned doing aerobics

Quick answer

A 70 kg (154 lb) person burns about 256 kcal in 30 minutes of doing aerobics (General), and about 511 kcal in an hour. That is 7.3 METs.

30 minutes: 256kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 511kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 438kcal; 60 kg (132 lb)
1 hour: 584kcal; 80 kg (176 lb)

Aerobics classes range from low-impact routines to high-impact sessions and step classes at different heights. The Compendium has an entry for each, so choose the one that matches the class you took; a higher step or more impact gives a higher rating.

Calculate calories burned doing aerobics

Starts at 70 kg (154 lb) for 30 minutes of doing aerobics at 7.3 METs; enter your own weight and time.

Calories burned doing aerobics by weight and time

Kilocalories for doing aerobics at 7.3 METs (General), by body weight and minutes. Read across from your weight; the pace table below shows the other rows.

Calories burned doing aerobics at 7.3 METs, by body weight and duration
Body weight	15 min	30 min	45 min	1 hour	1.5 hours	2 hours
50 kg (110 lb)	91	183	274	365	548	730
60 kg (132 lb)	110	219	329	438	657	876
70 kg (154 lb)	128	256	383	511	767	1,022
80 kg (176 lb)	146	292	438	584	876	1,168
90 kg (198 lb)	164	329	493	657	986	1,314
100 kg (220 lb)	183	365	548	730	1,095	1,460
110 kg (243 lb)	201	402	602	803	1,205	1,606

Doing aerobics: calories by pace or effort

The Compendium rates doing aerobics on 6 lines, from 4.8 METs (Low impact, moderate effort) up to 9 METs (Step class, 10 to 12 inch step). Each row below is one of those codes with the calories it works out to.

Calories burned doing aerobics by pace or effort
Pace or effort	Compendium code	METs	30 min, 60 kg (132 lb)	30 min, 70 kg (154 lb)	30 min, 80 kg (176 lb)	1 hour, 70 kg (154 lb)
Low impact, moderate effort	02005	4.8	144	168	192	336
Step class, 4-inch step	02001	5.5	165	193	220	385
General	02000	7.3	219	256	292	511
Step class, 6 to 8 inch step	02002	7.3	219	256	292	511
High impact, vigorous	02006	8	240	280	320	560
Step class, 10 to 12 inch step	02003	9	270	315	360	630

The Compendium’s own wording for each code: 02005, “Aerobic dance, low impact, moderate effort”; 02001, “Aerobic, step, with 4-inch step”; 02000, “Aerobic, general”; 02002, “Aerobic, step, with 6 - 8 inch step”; 02006, “Aerobic dance, high impact, vigorous effort”; 02003, “Aerobic, step, with 10 - 12 inch step”.

What changes the number for doing aerobics

Pace is the biggest lever. The hardest listed way of doing aerobics (Step class, 10 to 12 inch step) is rated at 9 METs, 1.9 times the 4.8 METs of the gentlest (Low impact, moderate effort). For a 70 kg (154 lb) person that is 630 kcal an hour against 336 kcal.

Body weight is the second: the same 7.3 METs of doing aerobics for 30 minutes comes to 183 kcal at 50 kg (110 lb) and 402 kcal at 110 kg (243 lb). To reach 100 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) takes about 12 minutes at the starting pace.

Laid out in half-hour terms for 70 kg (154 lb): low impact, moderate effort is 168 kcal; step class, 4-inch step is 193 kcal; general is 256 kcal; step class, 6 to 8 inch step is 256 kcal; high impact, vigorous is 280 kcal; step class, 10 to 12 inch step is 315 kcal.

How the calories are worked out

The formula is calories = MET × body weight in kg × hours. A MET compares an activity with sitting quietly, which is 1 MET and is taken as roughly 1 kcal per kilogram per hour. That equivalence is an approximation, which is why every figure is rounded and called about.

For doing aerobics at 7.3 METs, a 70 kg (154 lb) person for 30 minutes: 7.3 × 70 × 0.5 = 256 kcal. This is a gross figure: it includes the energy your body would spend at rest in the same time.

The MET values are those of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024), read from its activity list on 2026-10-23 and copied with their codes. They are averages for adults; see how we calculate.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories does a 70 kg person burn doing aerobics in 30 minutes?

About 256 kcal at 7.3 METs (General). The whole range for doing aerobics on this page runs from 168 kcal (Low impact, moderate effort) to 315 kcal (Step class, 10 to 12 inch step) in the same half hour.

How many calories does doing aerobics burn in an hour?

At 7.3 METs, about 438 kcal for a 60 kg (132 lb) person, 511 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) and 584 kcal at 80 kg (176 lb). Heavier people burn more because they move more mass.

How long does doing aerobics take to burn 100 calories?

For a 70 kg (154 lb) person, about 12 minutes at 7.3 METs (General). At the gentlest listed pace (Low impact, moderate effort, 4.8 METs) it takes 18 minutes, and at the hardest (Step class, 10 to 12 inch step, 9 METs) about 10.

Does the number for doing aerobics include the calories I would burn anyway?

Yes. Of the 7.3 METs, 1 is the resting cost, about 14% of the total here, so the activity itself adds about 221 of the 256 kcal in 30 minutes at 70 kg (154 lb).

Why would my watch show a different number for doing aerobics?

A watch uses its own model, often with heart rate, age and sex, while this page uses the Compendium’s average. For doing aerobics that average already spans 6 entries from 4.8 to 9 METs, a 1.9-fold range, so a gap between the two is normal.

Which line in the table should I choose for doing aerobics?

Pick the row that best describes how you did it: this page starts from “General”, about 60% of the way up the 4.8 to 9 MET range. The rows are separate Compendium entries (02005, 02001, 02000, 02002, 02006, 02003).

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These are estimates for healthy adults from average MET values. How much you actually burn varies with your fitness, body composition, technique, terrain and conditions, so use the figures as a guide, not a measurement. This is not medical advice.