The average person burns 250-330 calories per hour spinning at 40 watts and 630-840 calories per hour spinning at 100 watts.
The number of calories burned spinning depends on your weight and the intensity of the activity.
Calculator
How many calories are burned spinning?
Formula
Calories burned per minute = (MET x body weight in Kg x 3.5) ÷ 200
“MET” is a measurement of the energy cost of physical activity for a period of time. You can find an activity’s MET on the chart above.
A task with a MET of 1 is roughly equal to a person’s energy expenditure from sitting still at room temperature not actively digesting food.
A task with a MET of 2 uses twice as much energy as a task with a MET of 1. A task with a MET of 10 uses 10 times as much energy as a task with a MET of 1.
MET values “do not estimate the energy cost of physical activity in individuals in ways that account for differences in body mass, adiposity, age, sex, efficiency of movement, geographic and environmental conditions in which the activities are performed. Thus, individual differences in energy expenditure for the same activity can be large and the true energy cost for an individual may or may not be close to the stated mean MET level as presented in the Compendium.” (as quoted from the main page of the Compendium of Physical Activities).
Example
A person weighs 180 pounds (81.65kg) and spins at 90 watts (a task that has a MET value of 6.8) for 1 hour (60 minutes).
Calories Burned from spinning at 90 watts (per minute) = (6.8 x 81.65 x 3.5) ÷ 200 = 9.716
Calories Burned from spinning at 90 watts (for 60 minutes) = 9.716 x 60 = 583
Sources and External Resources
- Ainsworth BE, Haskell WL, Herrmann SD, Meckes N, Bassett Jr DR, Tudor-Locke C, Greer JL, Vezina J, Whitt-Glover MC, Leon AS. The Compendium of Physical Activities Tracking Guide. Healthy Lifestyles Research Center, College of Nursing & Health Innovation, Arizona State University. Retrieved May 11, 2015, from the World Wide Web.
https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/ - Arizona State University Healthy Lifestyles Research Center – Compendium of Physical Activities – Conditioning Exercise – provides MET values for conditioning activities, including spinning.
- Learn about “MET” and the compendium of physical activities from Arizona State University, University or South Carolina, and Wikipedia. There is a summary of general physical activities defined by intensity from the CDC and the Harvard School of Public Health.
- Recommendations on physical activity for health from the Harvard School of Public Health and the WHO.
- Learn about the health benefits of spinning with “The Top 10 Benefits of Spinning Class” by Spinning Life Blog, “Indoor Cycling Class Benefits: Are They Worth The Hype?” by Emily Cronkleton of Healthline, and “7 Benefits of Spin Class That’ll Convince You To Sign Up” by Danielle Zickl of Bicycling.com.
- Learn spinning with “A Beginner’s Guide to Spinning” by Shannon Farrell of StyleCaster, “11 Things to Know Before Your First Spinning Class” by Michelle Arthurs-Brennan of Total Women’s Cycling, and “10 Ways to Have a Better Indoor Cycling Class” by Jessica Smith and Cassie Shortsleeve of Shape.