How To Burn 500 Calories 7 Best Exercises To Do

Biking is a great cardio workout for weight loss that torches plenty of calories.

Image Credit: Morsa Images/E+/GettyImages It’s simple math: If you burn more calories than you consume, you’ll lose weight. But when you’re looking to shed some pounds, it’s easy to get caught up — or even obsessed with — counting calories, including how many you eat and how many you torch through exercise. This trap is especially common if you wear a fitness tracker.

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 But you shouldn't only think of working out as a means to an end or a way to burn off what you've put on your plate. This type of mindset can lead to an unhealthy relationship with exercise and food. For a healthier approach, find an activity you love and do it regularly because it makes you feel good.

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  That said, if you're committed to shedding some pounds, exercise can help you reach your goal.

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 For slow and steady weight loss, you'll need to slash your calories by about 500 a day to drop 1 pound per week, according to the Mayo Clinic. Though you shouldn't fixate on numbers, it's helpful to have a general idea of how many calories you're burning so you can adjust your diet and weekly workout strategy accordingly.

Related Reading Why You Should Stop Thinking of Food in Terms of Calories You Need to Burn How Do You Measure Calories Burned? True, the general equation is straightforward — if you eat fewer calories than you expend, you lose weight — but determining how many calories you burn every day is actually quite complex.

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 That's because the amount depends on three factors: your BMR (basal metabolic rate), TEF (thermic effect of food) and activity level, says Brooke Van Paris, CPT, a certified personal trainer at Life Time Deerfield Township.

BMR deals with how many calories your body needs to survive and function daily (i.e. the amount your body burns at rest), while TEF relates to how many calories your body needs to digest the foods you consume, Van Paris says.

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 Your activity level, which accounts for approximately 20 percent of the calories you burn daily, is a function of how long you exercise (duration in minutes), your weight and your metabolic equivalent for task (MET), or the amount of energy used in physical activity, Van Paris explains.

Sound complicated? It is. That’s why you might lean on fitness trackers to help you calculate.

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 Exercises That Burn 500 Calories

To eliminate the guesswork for you, below, with the help of the Calorie Control Council’s ‌Get Moving! Calculator‌, we’ve computed general estimates to show you how many minutes you need to spend doing some of your favorite (and most common) exercises to burn approximately 500 calories.

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 Keep in mind that doing a mix of both strength training and cardiovascular activity is the most effective weight-loss strategy, Van Paris says.

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New to exercise? Walking is the perfect place to start.

Image Credit: gbh007/iStock/GettyImages 1. Brisk Walking (4 Miles Per Hour) Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 103 minutes 180 pounds 92 minutes 200 pounds 83 minutes 220 pounds 75 minutes 250 pounds 66 minutes Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.” “Great for exercise newbies, people with big weight-loss goals or those with lower-body injuries, walking is an ideal low-intensity activity that can be used for starting off your fitness journey, limiting impact on the lower body and is great for an active recovery day,” Van Paris says.

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 If you're walking on a treadmill, you may even kick up the intensity by raising the incline. Just don't make it so steep that you're forced to hold onto the railings. Doing that creates a way less effective workout, Van Paris says.

Related Reading ‘I Lost 100 Pounds in a Year by Walking and Cutting Processed Foods’ 2. Running (12-Minute Mile) Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 52 minutes 180 pounds 46 minutes 200 pounds 42 minutes 220 pounds 38 minutes 250 pounds 33 minutes Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.” High-energy cardio exercises like running are great for weight loss. “Cardio will help your heart get bigger, stronger and more efficient at burning calories,” Van Paris says.

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 To torch a ton of calories and fat, Van Paris recommends incorporating high-intensity intervals into your runs.

Unlike vigorous steady-state cardio — which uses up your stored carbohydrates after only about 20 minutes of effort and forces your body to metabolize muscle (instead of fat) for energy — interval training promotes fat burn and a higher VO2 Max, according to Van Paris, who suggests aiming for one minute of maximum effort followed by two easy minutes (repeated 10 times).

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 Related Reading Beat Boredom and Torch Fat With This 40-Minute Treadmill Workout
  
When injuries prevent you from running or walking for exercise, try hitting the pool.

Image Credit: Thomas Barwick/Stone/GettyImages 3. Swimming Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 70 minutes 180 pounds 62 minutes 200 pounds 55 minutes 220 pounds 50 minutes 250 pounds 44 minutes Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.” Van Paris recommends swimming for those with lower-body injuries and large weight-loss goals, since splashing around in the pool “limits the impact on the joints significantly.” Plus, you can swim at all levels of intensity, making this cardio exercise ideal for vigorous workouts and recovery days alike. 4. Biking (10-11.9 Miles Per Hour) Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 70 minutes 180 pounds 62 minutes 200 pounds 55 minutes 220 pounds 50 minutes 250 pounds 44 minutes Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.” Don’t have a bike? No worries. You have plenty of options to ride at your gym. For a higher-calorie burn, Van Paris suggests using a spin bike. This type simulate outdoor riding “because you’re moving up and down off the saddle and driving hard for big climbs,” she says. Conversely, recumbent bikes will be best for lower-intensity activity or recovery days. That’s because “your heart doesn’t have to work as hard when you’re sitting down or in a reclined position,” Van Paris says, adding that these bikes are great for those with lower-body injuries and bigger weight-loss goals. Related Reading How to Turn a Bicycle into a Stationary Bike How to Start Cycling to Get Fit and Strong Break a Sweat With This 20-Minute Indoor Cycling Interval Workout

Circuit training is a flexible kind of workout that can be done at home or in the gym.

Image Credit: bernardbodo/iStock/GettyImages 5. Circuit Training Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 52 minutes 180 pounds 46 minutes 200 pounds 42 minutes 220 pounds 38 minutes 250 pounds 33 minutes Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.” Circuit training is a type of high-intensity workout that challenges you to perform a variety of different exercises in rapid succession, with little or no rest in between. Sets of each exercise last for as little as 20 seconds to as long as 5 minutes, with anywhere from 10 seconds to 5 minutes of rest between sets.

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 "You tend to burn a lot of calories training this way because rest times are limited, and you're constantly bouncing from one activity to the next, just as you would when doing interval-style training on cardio equipment or bodyweight HIIT," Van Paris says.

Related Reading The Most Versatile Workout You’ll Ever Do at the Gym 6. Stair Climbing Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 70 minutes 180 pounds 62 minutes 200 pounds 55 minutes 220 pounds 50 minutes 250 pounds 44 minutes Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.” “Stair climbing is a great cardio workout, specifically for the calves, quads, hamstrings and glutes,” Van Paris says. Plus, it promotes balance, increases core strength and builds your lower-body muscles while also preventing the risk of osteoporosis due to its weight-bearing characteristics, she says. However, it may not be the best option if you’re dealing with lower-body injuries or knee pain. Related Reading This Fat-Burning Stepmill HIIT Workout Only Takes 20 Minutes

Lifting weights may burn less calories in the moment, but adding muscle helps you burn more calories in the long run.

Image Credit: Zing Images/DigitalVision/GettyImages 7. Weight Lifting Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 138 minutes 180 pounds 123 minutes 200 pounds 110 minutes 220 pounds 100 minutes 250 pounds 88 minutes Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.” “Strength training is a huge piece of the puzzle in weight loss because it yields an after-burn of calories for 48 to 72 hours and helps you gain muscle, which increases your BMR, so that you burn more calories even at rest,” Van Paris says. That’s because “strength training breaks down the muscle fibers, and, to repair and recover these micro tears, your body requires energy in the form of calories,” she explains.

For weight loss, Van Paris recommends lifting two to three days a week for a minimum of 30 minutes per session with a range of 12 to 15 reps per exercise. Related Reading Here’s Exactly How Beginners Can Start Strength-Training A 20-Minute Strength Workout to Blast Calories and Boost Bone Health

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  references
  
      Mayo Clinic: “Counting calories: Get back to weight-loss basics.”
    
      Calorie Control Council: “Get Moving! Calculator.”
       




  references
  
      Mayo Clinic: “Counting calories: Get back to weight-loss basics.”
    
      Calorie Control Council: “Get Moving! Calculator.”
    




Biking is a great cardio workout for weight loss that torches plenty of calories.

Image Credit: Morsa Images/E+/GettyImages

Why You Should Stop Thinking of Food in Terms of Calories You Need to Burn

New to exercise? Walking is the perfect place to start.

Image Credit: gbh007/iStock/GettyImages

Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 103 minutes 180 pounds 92 minutes 200 pounds 83 minutes 220 pounds 75 minutes 250 pounds 66 minutes

Source: Calorie Control Council. “Get Moving! Calculator.”

‘I Lost 100 Pounds in a Year by Walking and Cutting Processed Foods’

Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 52 minutes 180 pounds 46 minutes 200 pounds 42 minutes 220 pounds 38 minutes 250 pounds 33 minutes

Beat Boredom and Torch Fat With This 40-Minute Treadmill Workout

When injuries prevent you from running or walking for exercise, try hitting the pool.

Image Credit: Thomas Barwick/Stone/GettyImages

Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 70 minutes 180 pounds 62 minutes 200 pounds 55 minutes 220 pounds 50 minutes 250 pounds 44 minutes

How to Turn a Bicycle into a Stationary Bike How to Start Cycling to Get Fit and Strong Break a Sweat With This 20-Minute Indoor Cycling Interval Workout

Circuit training is a flexible kind of workout that can be done at home or in the gym.

Image Credit: bernardbodo/iStock/GettyImages

The Most Versatile Workout You’ll Ever Do at the Gym

This Fat-Burning Stepmill HIIT Workout Only Takes 20 Minutes

Lifting weights may burn less calories in the moment, but adding muscle helps you burn more calories in the long run.

Image Credit: Zing Images/DigitalVision/GettyImages

Your Weight Activity Time 160 pounds 138 minutes 180 pounds 123 minutes 200 pounds 110 minutes 220 pounds 100 minutes 250 pounds 88 minutes

Here’s Exactly How Beginners Can Start Strength-Training A 20-Minute Strength Workout to Blast Calories and Boost Bone Health

      Mayo Clinic: “Counting calories: Get back to weight-loss basics.”
    
      Calorie Control Council: “Get Moving! Calculator.”