# What are my treadmill calories?

Estimates the calories burned walking or running on a treadmill from speed, incline, body weight and minutes, with the ACSM metabolic equations.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/health/treadmill-calorie-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/health/treadmill-calorie-calculator.json
- Version: bb8252654746

## Default answer

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.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| gait | Walking or running | Walking uses the ACSM walking equation (1.9 to 3.7 mph); running, the running equation (3 mph and up). |
| speed | Speed | The treadmill speed. |
| incline | Incline | The treadmill grade: rise ÷ distance, as a percent. |
| weight | Weight | Your body weight. |
| min | Minutes | How long you walk or run, in minutes. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| calories | Calories burned | Total kilocalories burned, including what the body burns at rest. |
| net | Above resting | Kilocalories beyond resting: the part of the oxygen uptake above 3.5 mL/kg/min. |
| perHour | Calories per hour | Kilocalories burned per hour at this speed, incline and weight. |
| mets | METs | The oxygen uptake ÷ 3.5 mL/kg/min. |
| vo2 | Oxygen uptake (mL/kg/min) | The ACSM estimate of oxygen uptake, in millilitres per kilogram per minute. |

## 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.

## Assumptions

- 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

1. gait = walk, speed = 1.34112, incline = 0%, weight = 72.574779, min = 30 gives vo2 = 11.54672, mets = 3.299063, calories = 125.700098, perHour = 251.400196, net = 87.598339. Source: ACSM walking equation, 3 mph = 80.4672 m/min.
2. gait = walk, speed = 1.56464, incline = 5%, weight = 70, min = 45 gives vo2 = 21.336896, calories = 336.056112, net = 280.931112. Source: ACSM walking equation, 3.5 mph = 93.8784 m/min, grade 0.05.
3. gait = run, speed = 2.68224, incline = 2%, weight = 80, min = 30 gives vo2 = 38.583699, mets = 11.023914, calories = 463.00439. Source: ACSM running equation, 6 mph = 160.9344 m/min, grade 0.02.

## FAQ

### 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.

## Sources

- American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 11th ed. Wolters Kluwer; 2021. Metabolic calculations (walking and running equations). https://www.acsm.org/education-resources/books/guidelines-exercise-testing-prescription
- Compendium of Physical Activities: Unit Conversions and the ACSM metabolic equations for walking (1.9 to 3.7 mph) and running (over 5.0 mph, or 3.0 mph and up when jogging). https://pacompendium.com/unite-conversions/
- National Institute of Standards and Technology. Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (SI), NIST Special Publication 811, Appendix B (1 mile = 1,609.344 m; 1 lb = 0.45359237 kg). https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811