Michael Phelps said he ate 8,000 to 10,000 calories per day at his peak. It’s not crazy to think about how one can eat thousands of calories and stay in shape.
However, how many calories are burned while swimming?
If you train like Olympic swimmers, spend hours after hours swimming in a vigorous effort alongside other training, you are going to burn a lot of calories.
So much so that Phelps could eat so many calories a day and still hit sixes – Is – Eight packs.
But for the average person who just wants a good, low-impact workout from their swimming routine, there’s very little chance of having more than an hour in your pool.
Still, it can burn a lot of calories, even if you stay in the water for half an hour.
This is mainly because swimming is a deadly cardio workout that challenges your whole body and builds heart endurance.
Below we calculate the number of calories burned by swimming, including freestyle strokes, in a vigorous and moderate effort for 30 minutes.
(The calculations range from a summary of physical activity and a calorie calculator to Cornell University Ergonomics web METS.)
How many calories are burned while swimming?
Look at the charts to find out how many calories you will burn in a half hour workout based on your weight, then dive!
Remember, though, these are just guesses. Actual calorie burning depends much more than just weight.
Your body composition, age, gender, genetics and fitness level will also affect your total energy expenditure during exercise.
Swimming burns calories in a vigorous effort
Weight in pounds.) | Burn calories (30 minutes) |
130 | 290 |
140 | 312 |
150 | 334 |
160 | 356 |
170 | 379 |
180 | 401 |
190 | 423 |
200 | 446 |
Swimming burns calories in a moderate effort
Weight (lbs.) | Burn calories (30 minutes) |
130 | 171 |
140 | 185 |
150 | 198 |
160 | 211 |
170 | 224 |
180 | 237 |
190 | 251 |
200 | 264 |
Swimming tips and workouts
Now you know how many calories you can burn while swimming, while it’s working!
Need some guidance? We got you: