For those who are trying to maintain or lose weight, keeping track of caloric burn is essential. It isn't necessary to have a health club membership or enroll in a fitness program to do it -- you can burn calories rapidly at home with vigorous exercise and daily activity. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as brisk walking, swimming or mowing the lawn, per week, but to burn calories more rapidly at a rate of 400 calories in 30 minutes, you might have to amp that activity level up a bit depending on your current weight. Experts agree that it isn't necessary to endure long stretches of activity all at one time. You may break up 30 minutes per day into even smaller 10- to 15-minute sessions.
You Have Options
Scale
Television
Athletic shoes
Jump rope
Weigh yourself before attempting to calculate the number of calories you're going to burn. Your body weight determines the caloric burn rate for exercise and daily activity: The more you weigh, the more you'll burn. If you lose a lot of weight, remember to factor your new weight when you calculate caloric burn.
Use cardio equipment to burn a high number of calories in a shorter period of time. A basic model treadmill, elliptical or stationary bike will suffice; a 185-pound person will burn 400 calories running a 11.5-minute mile or using an elliptical machine for 30 minutes, and 444 calories biking a 14- to 16-minute mile. A more advanced model will be more precise, though. It will calculate your caloric burn by factoring the amount of time you use the machine, your pace, the resistance level and your weight to come up with caloric burn total.
Exercise with a video or television program. Step aerobics is a vigorous form of exercise that results in rapid caloric burn. A 185-pound person can burn 444 calories in 30 minutes of high-impact step aerobics. You'll know you're at high impact if you feel your heart and respiration increase to the point of being able to talk but not carry on a conversation without pausing to catch your breath.
Jumping rope is a high-intensity exercise that burns calories rapidly. If you don't have time to exercise for 30 consecutive minutes, consider dividing your workout into 10-minute intervals. A 185-pound person can burn approximately 444 calories during 30 minutes of rope jumping -- that's about 150 calories for every 10 minutes of jumping.
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Writer Bio
Aline Lindemann is a health, food and travel writer. She has also worked as a social worker, preschool teacher and art educator. Lindemann holds a Master of Liberal Studies in culture, health and creative nonfiction writing from Arizona State University.