Quick Answer
It is possible for some people to burn 600 calories in a single workout, but it requires a high intensity, sustained effort, and factors like your weight also determine how many calories you can burn. For most people, burning 300-500 calories is more realistic for a vigorous 60 minute workout.
How Many Calories Does Exercise Burn?
The number of calories burned during exercise depends on:
- Your weight – Heavier people burn more calories for the same exercise.
- Exercise intensity – More intense exercise burns more calories per minute.
- Length of workout – Longer workouts burn more calories overall.
- Aerobic vs. anaerobic – Aerobic activities like running burn more calories than anaerobic like weightlifting.
- Efficiency – Your body’s efficiency at the exercise impacts calories burned.
Factors like age, gender, genetics, and fitness level also play a role. As a general estimate, here’s how many calories are burned per hour with various activities:
| Activity (1 hour) | Calories Burned (for 150 lb person) |
|---|---|
| Walking (brisk pace) | 300 |
| Jogging (5 mph) | 460 |
| Running (6 mph) | 580 |
| Swimming laps | 420 |
| Bicycling (moderate effort) | 290 |
| Aerobics class | 480 |
| High intensity interval training | 520 |
| Weight training | 220 |
As you can see, most common exercises burn 300-500 calories per hour for a 150 pound person. Activities like running or aerobics class can get up to around 600 calories burned per hour.
How to Burn 600 Calories in a Workout
While it’s very difficult for most people to hit 600 calories in a single workout, it can be done with the right type of training. Here are some tips:
Do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
HIIT workouts alternate short bursts of maximum intensity exercise with recovery periods. This allows you to elevate your heart rate and burn more calories in a shorter time. Aim for exercises like sprints, bike intervals, or heavy kettlebell swings during the intense periods. Just 20-30 minutes of HIIT can burn around 400-500 calories or more.
Run for Long Distances
Going for a long run is one of the surest ways to rack up a lot of calories burned. A 150 pound person can burn around 100 calories per mile ran. So running 6 miles in an hour, which requires being able to sustain a 10 minute per mile pace, could result in around 600 calories burned. Those who weigh more will burn even more calories.
Do Vigorous Cardio for 60+ Minutes
Any cardio exercise like running, biking, swimming, rowing, or aerobics done at a vigorous effort for over an hour is a good prescription for burning 600+ calories. The longer you can sustain the activity, the more calories burned. This may require building up your endurance over time to prevent fatigue.
Incorporate Hill Climbs or Intervals
Adding hills or intervals to your cardio workout increases the intensity, leading to greater calorie burn. Seek out routes with large hills or do intervals like 1 minute hard effort followed by 2 minutes easy recovery during your cardio session. This can help add an extra 100+ calories per hour.
Do Calorie Burning Strength Training Circuits
Full body circuits using heavier weights and minimal rest can rev up calorie burning. Complexes like kettlebell swings, lunges, and squat to press done back to back can burn around 20 calories per minute. Do these circuits for 30-45 minutes to burn 300+ calories to combine with cardio.
Boost Your Overall Calorie Burn
Achieving a 600 calorie workout may be easier if you start with a higher metabolism. Eat a filling, protein-rich meal 1-2 hours before your workout and stay hydrated to fuel your muscles. Caffeine can also help give an energy boost. Ensure you get good sleep so you can exercise vigorously.
Workout Ideas to Burn 600 Calories
If you want to try to burn 600 calories here are some vigorous workout ideas:
4 Mile Run
Running 4 miles in under 1 hour results in burning around 600 calories for a 150 pound person. Those who weigh more will torch even more calories.
5 Miles on Exercise Bike
Cycling vigorously for 60 minutes can burn 600+ calories depending on your weight. Added hills and intervals will further increase calorie burn.
High Intensity Circuit Training
Combine 30 minutes of high intensity intervals like sprints, rowing or jumping rope with 30 minutes of full body strength circuits using multi-joint lifts like squats, lunges and presses done back to back with minimal rest.
Swimming Laps for 90 Minutes
Swimming at a moderate-high effort for 90 minutes allows you to accumulate the calorie burn needed to hit 600 calories or more. Doing some intervals in the pool can further boost the numbers.
30 Minute HIIT Class + 30 Minute Weights
Take a high intensity interval class like a spin or boot camp class for 30 minutes followed by a strength training session focusing on larger muscle groups to get your calorie burn up to the 600+ range.
2 Hour Zumba or Aerobics Class
Doing a longer duration cardio dance-style class can result in over 600 calories burned, especially if you maintain a high intensity and minimize rest periods for the full 2 hour session.
Is Burning 600 Calories Realistic?
While it is possible for some very fit individuals to burn 600 calories in an hour workout, for most moderately active people, burning 300-500 calories in an hour is a more realistic range.
| Activity Level | Calories Burned in 60 Min |
|---|---|
| Sedentary | 200-300 |
| Moderately Active | 300-400 |
| Very Active | 400-500 |
| Extremely Active | 500-600 |
As you increase your cardio endurance and fitness level over time through training, you may eventually be able to achieve calorie burns approaching 600 per workout. But for most, focusing on sustaining a moderate to high intensity for 45-60 minutes is a more achievable goal.
Tips for Maximizing Calorie Burn
While 600 calories may be outside of reach for some, here are tips to maximize the calories you can burn in one workout:
- Engage in cardio exercises like running, swimming, or biking
- sustain a high intensity effort for as much of the workout as possible
- Include HIIT intervals to spike calorie burn
- Use challenging aerobics classes that keep your heart rate up
- Combine strength training with cardio for an extra boost
- Increase workout duration to 1-2 hours if possible
Focusing on burning 300-500 calories most workouts, while incorporating the occasional higher intensity 600 calorie session, can help create a good caloric deficit for weight loss over time.
The Importance of Diet for Weight Loss
While creating a caloric deficit through exercise is great, reducing your calorie intake through your diet is actually more important for losing weight.
To illustrate, a 150 pound person would need to complete one of these exercises to burn 300 calories:
- Jog for 60 minutes
- Take a 90 minute brisk walk
- Swim laps for 60 minutes
But they could also just avoid drinking a 20 ounce soda or eating a small order of french fries to save the same 300 calories.
A combination of reducing your calorie intake by 100-300 calories per day through food choices, along with burning 200-300 calories through exercise, leads to the caloric deficit needed for steady weight loss over time.
Nutrition Tips for Weight Loss
Here are some nutrition strategies to complement exercise:
- Reduce sugary beverages, junk food, takeout, and other empty calorie sources
- Eat more non-starchy vegetables since they are low in calories
- Choose lean protein sources like chicken, fish, greek yogurt and eggs
- Eat fruit for natural sweetness instead of added sugars
- Drink water before meals to help fill your stomach
- Monitor portions and stick to a consistent meal schedule
Focusing on whole, minimally processed foods prepared at home makes it easier to control calorie intake. Apps that track food and exercise can also help maximize results.
Conclusion
Burning 600 calories in a single workout is achievable but quite challenging for most people. A more realistic target is around 300-500 calories per exercise session. High intensity interval training and long duration cardio sessions at a vigorous effort are good strategies to maximize calorie burning during workouts. However, reducing excess calorie intake through diet has an even bigger impact on weight loss results. A combination of nutrition and exercise is key to lose weight successfully over the long-term.
