What are my treadmill calories?
Choose walking or running, then enter the treadmill speed, incline, your weight and the minutes. See the calories burned from the ACSM walking and running equations.
- Calories burned
- 126
30 minutes on the treadmill at 3 mph and 0% incline burns about 126 calories.
- Above resting
- 88
- Calories per hour
- 251
- METs
- 3.3
- Oxygen uptake (mL/kg/min)
- 11.5
Calories burned: 126. 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3 mph and 0% incline burns about 126 calories.
Calories burned by incline
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 walking or running on a treadmill from speed, incline, body weight and minutes, with the ACSM metabolic equations.
Example with the default inputs (Walking or running Walking, Speed 3 mph, Incline 0%, Weight 160 lb, Minutes 30): 30 minutes on the treadmill at 3 mph and 0% incline burns about 126 calories.
Method: VO₂ = 3.5 + 0.1 × speed + 1.8 × speed × grade (walking) or 3.5 + 0.2 × speed + 0.9 × speed × grade (running), speed in m/min; calories per minute = VO₂ × kg ÷ 200.
- The ACSM equations hold for walking at 1.9 to 3.7 mph and for running (or jogging) at 3 mph and up, on a treadmill without holding the rails.
- A litre of oxygen burns about 5 kcal, so kcal per minute = VO₂ (mL/kg/min) × kg ÷ 1,000 × 5.
- The result is an estimate for an average person; fitness, stride and holding the handrails change it.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Walking or running Walking, Speed 3 mph, Incline 0%, Weight 160 lb, Minutes 30 gives Oxygen uptake (mL/kg/min) 11.54672, METs 3.299063, Calories burned 125.700098, Calories per hour 251.400196, Above resting 87.598339.Source: ACSM walking equation, 3 mph = 80.4672 m/min
- Walking or running Walking, Speed 3.5 mph, Incline 5%, Weight 154.3 lb, Minutes 45 gives Oxygen uptake (mL/kg/min) 21.336896, Calories burned 336.056112, Above resting 280.931112.Source: ACSM walking equation, 3.5 mph = 93.8784 m/min, grade 0.05
- Walking or running Running, Speed 6 mph, Incline 2%, Weight 176.4 lb, Minutes 30 gives Oxygen uptake (mL/kg/min) 38.583699, METs 11.023914, Calories burned 463.00439.Source: ACSM running equation, 6 mph = 160.9344 m/min, grade 0.02
How it works
Speed and grade. The speed S is in metres per minute: S = speed in m/s × 60, so 1 mph = 26.8224 m/min exactly. The grade G is the incline as a fraction: 5% is 0.05.
Oxygen uptake (VO₂, in mL per kg per minute), from the ACSM metabolic equations:
- Walking: VO₂ = 3.5 + 0.1 × S + 1.8 × S × G
- Running: VO₂ = 3.5 + 0.2 × S + 0.9 × S × G
The 3.5 is the resting oxygen uptake (1 MET). The first term is the cost of moving forward; the second, of climbing.
Calories. With your weight W in kilograms (1 lb = 0.45359237 kg):
- calories per minute = VO₂ × W ÷ 1,000 × 5 = VO₂ × W ÷ 200 (about 5 kcal per litre of oxygen);
- calories burned = calories per minute × minutes;
- above resting = (VO₂ − 3.5) × W ÷ 200 × minutes;
- calories per hour = calories per minute × 60;
- METs = VO₂ ÷ 3.5.
Limits. Walking must be from 1.9 to 3.7 mph (both included), and running 3 mph or faster; otherwise there is no answer, with a message. Speed can be 0.5 to 15 mph, incline 0% to 30%, weight 20 to 350 kg, minutes 1 to 600. The results are rounded for display only.
The chart shows the calories for inclines from 0% to 15%, with everything else as you entered it.
Assumptions
- The equations describe steady walking or running on a treadmill without holding the rails, for an average adult.
- A litre of oxygen releases about 5 kcal.
- This calculator gives an estimate for general information. It is not medical advice.
Worked examples by hand
Walking at 3 mph on the flat for 30 minutes at 160 lb (72.575 kg). S = 3 × 26.8224 = 80.467 m/min. VO₂ = 3.5 + 0.1 × 80.467 + 0 = 11.547 mL/kg/min (3.3 METs). Per minute: 11.547 × 72.575 ÷ 200 = 4.190 kcal, so 125.7 calories in 30 minutes, 251 an hour, and 87.6 above resting.
Walking at 3.5 mph up a 5% incline for 45 minutes at 70 kg. S = 93.878 m/min. VO₂ = 3.5 + 9.388 + 1.8 × 93.878 × 0.05 = 21.337. Calories: 21.337 × 70 ÷ 200 × 45 = 336.1; above resting: 17.837 × 70 ÷ 200 × 45 = 280.9.
Running at 6 mph up a 2% incline for 30 minutes at 80 kg. S = 160.934 m/min. VO₂ = 3.5 + 0.2 × 160.934 + 0.9 × 160.934 × 0.02 = 38.584 (11.0 METs). Calories: 38.584 × 80 ÷ 200 × 30 = 463.0.
Other questions people ask
How many calories does walking on a treadmill burn?
At 3 mph on the flat, a 160 lb person burns about 126 calories in 30 minutes. At a 5% incline the same walk burns about 205 calories. The incline adds a lot, because lifting your body takes much more energy than moving it forward.
Does incline burn more calories than speed?
In the ACSM walking equation, each 1% of grade adds 1.8 × speed × 0.01 mL of oxygen per kg per minute, while each m/min of speed adds 0.1 plus that grade term. At 3 mph, a 5% incline raises the oxygen cost, and so the calories, by about 63%.
Why can I not enter 4 mph for walking?
The ACSM walking equation was built from walking at 50 to 100 metres a minute, 1.9 to 3.7 mph. Above that, most people start to jog. If you jog at 3 mph or faster, choose Running: the ACSM running equation applies from 5 mph, or from 3 mph if you are truly jogging.
Does holding the handrails change the result?
Yes. Holding on takes some of your weight and lowers the energy cost, so the equations overestimate the calories. They assume you walk or run without holding on.
What does "above resting" mean?
The part of the calories that came from the exercise itself: the oxygen uptake above the resting 3.5 mL per kg per minute. Your body would have burned the rest anyway.
Are treadmill console calorie counts accurate?
A console may not know your weight, or may use a different formula. Entering your own weight here gives the ACSM estimate for you, which is still an average, not a measurement.