How much do you know about burning caloriesfrom exercise?

Exercise scientists assign intensity ratings to different activities using a measurement called MET, which stands for metabolic equivalent of a task. One MET equals the amount of energy used to sit quietly. Light-intensity activities use between 1.6 and 3 METs, moderate-intensity activities use 3 to 6 METs, and vigorous-intensity activities use at least 6 METs. To figure out how many calories you burn during a workout, you need to know the MET for that specific activity. The MET for a 10-minute-mile is 9.8; tennis is 8; vacuuming is 3.8; vigorous skiing is 8.

The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale is a subjective way to measure the intensity of your workout as a rough proxy for heart rate. To come up with a rating, you holistically assess various sensations that you experience while working out, such as how heavily you’re breathing, how much you’re sweating and how tired your muscles feel. Then, you assign your overall exertion a rating from 6 (no exertion) to 20 (maximum effort). This range of numbers makes it easy to convert your RPE into a heart rate score: Multiply your answer by 10 to come up with a heart rate estimate. (Here’s a helpful overview of heart rate from the American Heart Association.)

There are also other ways to assess your level of exertion. One is the talk test, which determines intensity based on how comfortably you can talk out loud during exercise. If you can talk but you can’t sing, you’re at a moderate intensity level. If you can only say a few words at a time between breaths, you’re exercising vigorously.

When you do the same exercise over and over, your body becomes more efficient at performing it. Trying new activities and varying up your workout routine can help combat this issue.

Sweating it out in the sauna has been linked to numerous health benefits, such as reductions in blood pressure and stress, as well as improvements in cardiovascular health and immune function.
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Regarding weight-related outcomes, sauna bathing can cause temporary weight loss through reduced water weight. And it might even enhance energy expenditure from exercise: In one study, people who wore sauna suits during high-intensity interval training burned 23 more calories, on average, than those who exercised in regular clothing. Still, there’s no evidence that  sauna usage burns calories the way exercise does.

Resting metabolic rate is often used as a benchmark for how efficient your metabolism is. Numerous variables affect RMR, and the most precise way to measure it is through indirect calorimetry, which analyzes oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production. But outside the lab, you can use one of a few formulas to come up with an RMR estimate based on your gender, age, weight and height. There’s a lot of individual variability in RMR, but many studies report an average RMR between 1,200 and 1,500 for women and 1,500 and 2,000 for men. So, if your RMR is 1,700 calories, that means you burn 1,700 calories a day without exercising.
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Exercise directly burns calories, and it can also cause RMR to stay elevated for a few hours after working out (i.e., it causes a temporary metabolism boost). This phenomenon is called excess post-exercise O2 consumption, or EPOC. Studies suggest that certain types of high-intensity exercise, such as HIIT and sprinting, might have an especially pronounced impact on RMR.