A couple of the struggles of losing weight is figuring out how many calories an activity burns and determining how much time you'll need to spend sweating and dieting before you see results. While a balance board can help improve your balance and coordination, balance board activities can range from blissfully easy to fat-burning tough. How many calories you burn depends on the intensity of your exercise routine, your weight and your overall health.
Balance Board Exercises
Some balance board activities are designed to help you gain balance and coordination; many of these exercises can be done sitting down. This won't burn many more calories than reading a book or walking to the other side of your house. But high-intensity balance board activities can rev up your cardiovascular routine and help build muscle. If you hold weights or do other exercises while on a balance board, you'll burn more calories, particularly if you exercise for as long as an hour.
Weight and Calories
Your weight plays a major role in how many calories you burn. Heavier people burn more calories because it takes more energy to move their bodies and supply their organs with blood and oxygen. Harvard Health Publications lists the calories burned in 30 minutes of skateboarding -- an activity that uses many of the same movements as higher-intensity balance board activities. A person weighing 125 pounds can expect to burn about 150 calories -- and 300 in an hour -- while a person weighing 185 pounds can expect to burn about 222 -- 444 in an hour.
Intensity and Calories
The intensity of your exercise greatly affects how many calories you burn. You can judge intensity by how difficult the exercise is and how much your rate of breathing and pulse increase. If you can easily carry on a conversation, you're probably doing low-intensity balance board activities, but if you have to struggle to talk, your activities are high-intensity. High-intensity exercises burn more calories. Similarly, cardio routines burn more calories because they exercise large groups of muscles rather than just targeting a few spots.
Health and Calories
Individual health and fitness factors can affect how many calories you burn. If you're out of shape, a relatively easy exercise could burn more calories because it will get your heart pumping and your muscles working. Your muscle mass also plays a major role; muscles burn more calories than fat, so if you're pretty toned already, you can expect to burn more calories.
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Writer Bio
Van Thompson is an attorney and writer. A former martial arts instructor, he holds bachelor's degrees in music and computer science from Westchester University, and a juris doctor from Georgia State University. He is the recipient of numerous writing awards, including a 2009 CALI Legal Writing Award.