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How many rucking calories burned?

Type your body weight, the pack weight, your speed, the grade, the terrain and how long you ruck. The rucking calorie calculator estimates the calories you burn with the Pandolf load-carriage equation, a formula from military research on walking with loads.

Your numbers

Units
Calories burned
331

Rucking for 60 minutes burns about 331 calories.

Calories per hour
331
Metabolic rate (W)
385
Pack as a share of body weight
16.7%

Calories burned: 331. Rucking for 60 minutes burns about 331 calories.

This calculator gives general information only. It is not medical advice and does not replace a doctor or other health care provider. Talk with a professional about your results. Terms of use

How to calculate

Estimates the calories burned rucking (walking with a weighted pack) from body weight, pack weight, speed, grade, terrain and time, with the Pandolf load-carriage equation.

Example with the default inputs (Body weight 180 lb, Pack weight 30 lb, Speed 3 mph, Grade (%) 0, Terrain Paved road or treadmill (1), Minutes 60): Rucking for 60 minutes burns about 331 calories.

Method: M (W) = 1.5W + 2.0(W + L)(L ÷ W)² + η(W + L)(1.5V² + 0.35VG); calories = M × minutes × 60 ÷ 4,184.

  • W is body weight and L pack weight in kg, V speed in m/s, G grade in percent, η the terrain factor.
  • The equation was built for walking with loads uphill or on the flat; it does not cover downhill walking or running.
  • 1 kcal = 4,184 J.

Machine-readable copies: Markdown, JSON.

Worked examples

Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.

  1. Body weight 176.4 lb, Pack weight 44.09 lb, Speed 3.355 mph, Grade (%) 0, Terrain Paved road or treadmill (1), Minutes 60 gives Metabolic rate (W) 470, Calories burned 404.397706, Pack as a share of body weight 25%.Source: Pandolf KB, Givoni B, Goldman RF, Predicting energy expenditure with loads while standing or walking very slowly, J Appl Physiol 1977;43:577 (M = 1.5W + 2.0(W + L)(L/W)² + η(W + L)(1.5V² + 0.35VG)), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/908672/
  2. Body weight 180 lb, Pack weight 30 lb, Speed 3 mph, Grade (%) 5, Terrain Dirt road (1.1), Minutes 45 gives Metabolic rate (W) 656.36191.Source: Pandolf KB, Givoni B, Goldman RF, Predicting energy expenditure with loads while standing or walking very slowly, J Appl Physiol 1977;43:577 (M = 1.5W + 2.0(W + L)(L/W)² + η(W + L)(1.5V² + 0.35VG)), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/908672/; Wikipedia, Pandolf equation (terrain factors after Soule and Goldman 1972), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandolf_equation (retrieved 2026-10-05)
  3. Body weight 154.3 lb, Pack weight 0 lb, Speed 2.796 mph, Grade (%) 0, Terrain Loose sand (2.1), Minutes 30 gives Metabolic rate (W) 449.53125, Pack as a share of body weight 0%.Source: Pandolf KB, Givoni B, Goldman RF, Predicting energy expenditure with loads while standing or walking very slowly, J Appl Physiol 1977;43:577 (M = 1.5W + 2.0(W + L)(L/W)² + η(W + L)(1.5V² + 0.35VG)), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/908672/; Wikipedia, Pandolf equation (terrain factors after Soule and Goldman 1972), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandolf_equation (retrieved 2026-10-05)

How it works

Pandolf equation (Pandolf, Givoni and Goldman, 1977), metabolic rate M in watts:

M = 1.5 × W + 2.0 × (W + L) × (L ÷ W)² + η × (W + L) × (1.5 × V² + 0.35 × V × G)

  • W = body weight in kg; L = pack weight in kg; V = speed in m/s; G = grade in percent (5 for a 5% slope); η = terrain factor.
  • Terrain factor η: paved road or treadmill 1.0; dirt road 1.1; light brush 1.2; heavy brush 1.5; swampy bog 1.8; loose sand 2.1.
  • Calories burned = M × minutes × 60 ÷ 4,184 (1 kcal = 4,184 J). Calories per hour = M × 3,600 ÷ 4,184.
  • Pack as a share of body weight = L ÷ W × 100%.

Rules. Body weight 30 to 250 kg; pack 0 to 100 kg; speed 0.2 to 2.7 m/s (about 0.45 to 6 mph); grade 0% to 25% (no downhill); 1 to 1,440 minutes.

Exact arithmetic and output format. Each typed value is read as the exact decimal you typed, in its unit (180 lb is exactly 81.6466266 kg, 3 mph exactly 1.34112 m/s, 5 km/h exactly 25/18 m/s). The result is exact and rounded once, half up: calories and watts to whole numbers, the pack share to 1 decimal.

Assumptions

  • Walking with a load on level ground or uphill; the equation does not cover downhill walking or running.
  • The result includes the energy the body uses at rest.

Worked examples by hand

80 kg, 20 kg pack, 1.5 m/s, flat, paved, 60 minutes. 1.5 × 80 = 120. 2 × 100 × (20 ÷ 80)² = 200 × 0.0625 = 12.5. 1.0 × 100 × (1.5 × 1.5²) = 100 × 3.375 = 337.5. M = 470 W. Calories = 470 × 3,600 ÷ 4,184 = 404.4 (shown 404). Pack share 25%.

180 lb, 30 lb pack, 3 mph, 5% grade, dirt road, 45 minutes. W = 81.6466266 kg, L = 13.6077711 kg, W + L = 95.2543977 kg, V = 1.34112 m/s. 1.5 × W = 122.470; 2 × 95.2544 × (1 ÷ 6)² = 5.292; 1.1 × 95.2544 × (1.5 × 1.79860 + 0.35 × 1.34112 × 5) = 104.780 × (2.69790 + 2.34696) = 528.600. M = 656.36 W. Calories = 656.36 × 45 × 60 ÷ 4,184 = 423.6 (shown 424).

70 kg, no pack, 1.25 m/s, loose sand, 30 minutes. 1.5 × 70 = 105; the pack term is 0; 2.1 × 70 × (1.5 × 1.5625) = 147 × 2.34375 = 344.53. M = 449.53 W. Calories = 449.53 × 1,800 ÷ 4,184 = 193.4 (shown 193).

Other questions people ask

How many calories does rucking burn?

It depends on your weight, the pack, speed, slope and ground. An 80 kg (176 lb) person carrying 20 kg (44 lb) at 1.5 m/s (3.4 mph) on a flat paved road burns about 404 calories an hour by the Pandolf equation.

How is the rucking calorie burn calculated?

With the Pandolf equation: metabolic rate in watts = 1.5W + 2.0(W + L)(L ÷ W)² + η(W + L)(1.5V² + 0.35VG), where W is body weight and L pack weight in kg, V speed in m/s, G grade in percent and η the terrain factor. Watts × seconds ÷ 4,184 gives kilocalories.

Does a heavier pack burn more calories?

Yes. The pack adds to the weight you move at every step, and the (L ÷ W)² term adds extra cost when the pack is heavy compared with your body weight. Doubling the pack does more than double that term.

How much does walking uphill add?

A lot. The grade term 0.35 × V × G grows with both speed and slope, so a 5% grade at 3 mph adds more energy than the level-walking term at the same speed.

What terrain factor should I use?

Use 1.0 for a paved road or treadmill, 1.1 for a dirt road, 1.2 for light brush, 1.5 for heavy brush, 1.8 for a swampy bog and 2.1 for loose sand. Soft ground makes each step cost more.

Is rucking better than walking for calories?

At the same speed and time, yes, because you move more weight.