Activity calories · 2024 Compendium METs

Calories burned doing water aerobics

Quick answer

A 70 kg (154 lb) person burns about 193 kcal in 30 minutes of doing water aerobics (General), and about 385 kcal in an hour. That is 5.5 METs.

30 minutes: 193kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 385kcal; 70 kg (154 lb)
1 hour: 330kcal; 60 kg (132 lb)
1 hour: 440kcal; 80 kg (176 lb)

Water aerobics is exercise in a pool, usually standing, with the water supplying the resistance. The Compendium rates a resistance-style class, a general class and a high-intensity class, so the figure depends on how hard the instructor and you push.

Calculate calories burned doing water aerobics

Starts at 70 kg (154 lb) for 30 minutes of doing water aerobics at 5.5 METs; enter your own weight and time.

Calories burned doing water aerobics by weight and time

Kilocalories for doing water aerobics at 5.5 METs (General), by body weight and minutes. Read across from your weight; the pace table below shows the other rows.

Calories burned doing water aerobics at 5.5 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)	69	138	206	275	413	550
60 kg (132 lb)	83	165	248	330	495	660
70 kg (154 lb)	96	193	289	385	578	770
80 kg (176 lb)	110	220	330	440	660	880
90 kg (198 lb)	124	248	371	495	743	990
100 kg (220 lb)	138	275	413	550	825	1,100
110 kg (243 lb)	151	303	454	605	908	1,210

Doing water aerobics: calories by pace or effort

The Compendium rates doing water aerobics on 3 lines, from 3.8 METs (Resistance exercises) up to 7.5 METs (High intensity). Each row below is one of those codes with the calories it works out to.

Calories burned doing water 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)
Resistance exercises	18356	3.8	114	133	152	266
General	18355	5.5	165	193	220	385
High intensity	18358	7.5	225	263	300	525

The Compendium’s own wording for each code: 18356, “Water aerobics, resistance exercises”; 18355, “Water aerobics, water calisthenics, general”; 18358, “Water aerobics, high intensity”.

What changes the number for doing water aerobics

Pace is the biggest lever. The hardest listed way of doing water aerobics (High intensity) is rated at 7.5 METs, 2.0 times the 3.8 METs of the gentlest (Resistance exercises). For a 70 kg (154 lb) person that is 525 kcal an hour against 266 kcal.

Body weight is the second: the same 5.5 METs of doing water aerobics for 30 minutes comes to 138 kcal at 50 kg (110 lb) and 303 kcal at 110 kg (243 lb). To reach 100 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) takes about 16 minutes at the starting pace.

Laid out in half-hour terms for 70 kg (154 lb): resistance exercises is 133 kcal; general is 193 kcal; high intensity is 263 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 water aerobics at 5.5 METs, a 70 kg (154 lb) person for 30 minutes: 5.5 × 70 × 0.5 = 193 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 water aerobics in 30 minutes?

About 193 kcal at 5.5 METs (General). The whole range for doing water aerobics on this page runs from 133 kcal (Resistance exercises) to 263 kcal (High intensity) in the same half hour.

How many calories does doing water aerobics burn in an hour?

At 5.5 METs, about 330 kcal for a 60 kg (132 lb) person, 385 kcal at 70 kg (154 lb) and 440 kcal at 80 kg (176 lb). Heavier people burn more because they move more mass.

How long does doing water aerobics take to burn 100 calories?

For a 70 kg (154 lb) person, about 16 minutes at 5.5 METs (General). At the gentlest listed pace (Resistance exercises, 3.8 METs) it takes 23 minutes, and at the hardest (High intensity, 7.5 METs) about 11.

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

Yes. Of the 5.5 METs, 1 is the resting cost, about 18% of the total here, so the activity itself adds about 158 of the 193 kcal in 30 minutes at 70 kg (154 lb).

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

A watch uses its own model, often with heart rate, age and sex, while this page uses the Compendium’s average. For doing water aerobics that average already spans 3 entries from 3.8 to 7.5 METs, a 2.0-fold range, so a gap between the two is normal.

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

Pick the row that best describes how you did it: this page starts from “General”, about 46% of the way up the 3.8 to 7.5 MET range. The rows are separate Compendium entries (18356, 18355, 18358).

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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.