Activity calories · 2024 Compendium METs

Calories burned playing volleyball

Quick answer

A 70 kg (154 lb) person burns about 140 kcal in 30 minutes of playing volleyball (General), and about 280 kcal in an hour. That is 4 METs.

30 minutes: 140kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 280kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 240kcal; 60 kg (132 lb)
1 hour: 320kcal; 80 kg (176 lb)

Indoor casual volleyball is a light-to-moderate activity in the Compendium, competitive play in a gym is higher, and beach volleyball in sand is rated highest because of the effort of moving on soft ground.

Calculate calories burned playing volleyball

Starts at 70 kg (154 lb) for 30 minutes of playing volleyball at 4 METs; enter your own weight and time.

Calories burned playing volleyball by weight and time

Kilocalories for playing volleyball at 4 METs (General), by body weight and minutes. Read across from your weight; the pace table below shows the other rows.

Calories burned playing volleyball at 4 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)	50	100	150	200	300	400
60 kg (132 lb)	60	120	180	240	360	480
70 kg (154 lb)	70	140	210	280	420	560
80 kg (176 lb)	80	160	240	320	480	640
90 kg (198 lb)	90	180	270	360	540	720
100 kg (220 lb)	100	200	300	400	600	800
110 kg (243 lb)	110	220	330	440	660	880

Playing volleyball: calories by pace or effort

The Compendium rates playing volleyball on 4 lines, from 3 METs (Non-competitive, 6 to 9 players) up to 8 METs (Beach, in sand). Each row below is one of those codes with the calories it works out to.

Calories burned playing volleyball 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)
Non-competitive, 6 to 9 players	15720	3	90	105	120	210
General	15710	4	120	140	160	280
Competitive, in a gym	15711	6	180	210	240	420
Beach, in sand	15725	8	240	280	320	560

The Compendium’s own wording for each code: 15720, “Volleyball, non-competitive, 6 - 9 member team, general”; 15710, “Volleyball”; 15711, “Volleyball, competitive, in gymnasium”; 15725, “Volleyball, beach, in sand”.

What changes the number for playing volleyball

Pace is the biggest lever. The hardest listed way of playing volleyball (Beach, in sand) is rated at 8 METs, 2.7 times the 3 METs of the gentlest (Non-competitive, 6 to 9 players). For a 70 kg (154 lb) person that is 560 kcal an hour against 210 kcal.

Body weight is the second: the same 4 METs of playing volleyball for 30 minutes comes to 100 kcal at 50 kg (110 lb) and 220 kcal at 110 kg (243 lb). To reach 100 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) takes about 21 minutes at the starting pace.

Laid out in half-hour terms for 70 kg (154 lb): non-competitive, 6 to 9 players is 105 kcal; general is 140 kcal; competitive, in a gym is 210 kcal; beach, in sand is 280 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 playing volleyball at 4 METs, a 70 kg (154 lb) person for 30 minutes: 4 × 70 × 0.5 = 140 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 playing volleyball in 30 minutes?

About 140 kcal at 4 METs (General). The whole range for playing volleyball on this page runs from 105 kcal (Non-competitive, 6 to 9 players) to 280 kcal (Beach, in sand) in the same half hour.

How many calories does playing volleyball burn in an hour?

At 4 METs, about 240 kcal for a 60 kg (132 lb) person, 280 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) and 320 kcal at 80 kg (176 lb). Heavier people burn more because they move more mass.

How long does playing volleyball take to burn 100 calories?

For a 70 kg (154 lb) person, about 21 minutes at 4 METs (General). At the gentlest listed pace (Non-competitive, 6 to 9 players, 3 METs) it takes 29 minutes, and at the hardest (Beach, in sand, 8 METs) about 11.

Does the number for playing volleyball include the calories I would burn anyway?

Yes. Of the 4 METs, 1 is the resting cost, about 25% of the total here, so the activity itself adds about 105 of the 140 kcal in 30 minutes at 70 kg (154 lb).

Why would my watch show a different number for playing volleyball?

A watch uses its own model, often with heart rate, age and sex, while this page uses the Compendium’s average. For playing volleyball that average already spans 4 entries from 3 to 8 METs, a 2.7-fold range, so a gap between the two is normal.

Which line in the table should I choose for playing volleyball?

Pick the row that best describes how you did it: this page starts from “General”, about 20% of the way up the 3 to 8 MET range. The rows are separate Compendium entries (15720, 15710, 15711, 15725).

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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.