Treadmills are a great piece of equipment when it comes to burning some serious calories. They are very versatile because you can run, jog, walk and combine all three and still burn calories. Furthermore, you can use the incline to really ramp up the effort level, so you’re maximising those 30-minute treadmill workouts.
But how many calories can you expect to burn in 30-minutes on a treadmill? Is it better to run outside or stay indoors on a treadmill? Here I’ve analysed and given you some statistics on how many calories you could burn on a treadmill in 30 minutes if you decide to run, jog, walk or use incline.
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How Many Calories Will I Burn Running For 30 Minutes on a Treadmill?
On average, a male that weighs between 180-200lbs running at a 10-minute mile pace can burn 450-500 calories in 30 minutes on the treadmill. A female weighing between 160-180lbs running at the same pace can burn 350-450 calories.
| Weight | Intensity Level (30-minutes) | Calories Burned |
| 150-160lbs | Medium 6mp (10 minute mile) | 375 |
| 160-170lbs | Medium 6mp (10 minute mile) | 400 |
| 180-190lbs | Medium 6mp (10 minute mile) | 420 |
| 190-200lbs | Medium 6mp (10 minute mile) | 445 |
| 200-210lbs | Medium 6mp (10 minute mile) | 465 |
| 210-220lbs | Medium 6mp (10 minute mile) | 490 |
| 220 plus | Medium 6mp (10 minute mile) | 525 |
Unsurprisingly, you burn more calories when running compared to walking. However, the same rules apply when calculating the exact figure – age, weight, and sex all play a part in your calorie burn, as well as the speed that you run at.
Although most treadmills have an in-built calorie counter, if you aren’t able to input your weight and sex, the final figure is likely to be inaccurate. Runner’s calorie calculators are easily found online and can help you better understand the calories you can burn during a run.
The most accurate way to determine your calories burned is using a heart rate monitor; it will give you the best results. Your calories burned will be individual to user heart rate exertion level, instead of an estimated number. Here’s the exact heart rate monitor I use, which links up to your mobile phone easily using the Polar app, and it does all the calculations for you.
Want more detail and explanation for these statistics? Read the complete article here.
The average pace for someone new to running is around 6 mph, giving you a 10-minute mile average. However, if you run faster, you are going to increase the number of calories you burn. But you might only increase the number of calories burned by 7-10%. Therefore, it is better to be consistent and run 30 minutes every day (want to know if that’s a good idea? read this) at a comfortable pace instead of running hard and taking 2-3 days off because you have over-exert yourself.
How Many Calories Will I Burn Jogging For 30 Minutes on a Treadmill?
On average, a male that weighs between 180-200lbs jogging at a 12-14-minute mile pace can burn 300-350 calories in 30 minutes on the treadmill. A female weighing between 160-180lbs jogging at the same pace can burn 290-320 calories.
| Weight | Intensity Level (30-minutes) | Calories Burned |
| 150-160lbs | Jogging 4-5mph | 270 |
| 160-170lbs | Jogging 4-5mph | 290 |
| 180-190lbs | Jogging 4-5mph | 320 |
| 190-200lbs | Jogging 4-5mph | 340 |
| 200-210lbs | Jogging 4-5mph | 360 |
| 210-220lbs | Jogging 4-5mph | 380 |
| 220 plus | Jogging 4-5mph | 400 |
How Many Calories Will I Burn Walking For 30 Minutes on a Treadmill?
On average, a male that weighs between 180-200lbs walking at 3-4mph can burn 135-150 calories in 30 minutes on the treadmill. A female weighing between 160-180lbs waling at the same pace can burn 110-130 calories.
| Weight | Speed | Calories |
| 125 pounds (57kg) | 4.5mph (very brisk) | 125 calories |
| 185 pounds (84kg) | 4.5mph (very brisk) | 220 calories |
| 205 pounds (92kg) | 4.5mph (very brisk) | 290 calories |
| 125 pounds (57kg) | 3.5mph (brisk) | 113 calories |
| 185 pounds (84kg) | 3.5mph (brisk) | 167 calories |
| 205 pounds (92kg) | 3.5mph (brisk) | 177 calories |
| 125 pounds (57kg) | 2.5mph (moderate) | 98 calories |
| 185 pounds (84kg) | 2.5mph (moderate) | 145 calories |
| 205 pounds (92kg) | 2.5mph (moderate) | 150 calories |
Everyone burns calories differently, and your exact number depends on your age, weight, sex, and muscle mass. You can find calorie burn calculators online which use the general formula:
Calories burned = exercise duration (in minutes) x (MET x 3.5 x weight in kilograms)/200
MET stands for metabolic equivalent for task and is an estimation of how much energy is being used by your body during a particular exercise. These calculators will ask you to specify what type of exercise you will be doing to adjust the MET units accordingly. As well as the type of exercise you do, your weight also affects your calorie burn. People who weigh more will burn more calories.
To dramatically increase the number of calories you burn while walking use a weighted vest. It will burn substantially more calories than walking alone. Here’s my top 5 best weighted vests for walking.
How Many Calories Will I Burn On An Incline Treadmill In 30 Minutes?
| Weight | Speed | Incline | Calories |
| 150-200 pounds | 2.5mph | 0% | 98 calories |
| 150-200 pounds | 2.5mph | 10% | 188 calories |
| 150-200 pounds | 2.5mph | 15% | 214 calories |
| Weight | Speed | Incline | Calories |
| 150-200 pounds | 6mph | 0% | 298 calories |
| 150-200 pounds | 6mph | 10% | 420 calories |
| 150-200 pounds | 6mph | 15% | 481 calories |
All of the calorie estimations above assume that running and walking are on a flat incline. If you really want to see your calorie burn going up in the gym, then consider increasing your treadmill incline. When you walk or run on an incline, you engage more muscles in your legs, back, and core. All of these muscles need extra oxygen and blood flow, so your heart and lungs will have to work harder to keep up with the demand. (Here’s everything you need to know about incline treadmills and calories burned).
Of course, as you increase the speed of your treadmill workout, you will also increase the number of calories you burn. If you want to incorporate inclines into your treadmill workout but aren’t ready for 30 minutes of hillwalking, try using incline instead of speed during a HIIT session.
If you want to rack up some serious calorie burn on a treadmill, then your best tactic is to increase your speed and incline. This won’t happen overnight. With consistency and carefully planned training, real progress and a move towards higher calorie-burning goals will happen.
Because of its short bursts of intense activity and stretches of recovery – HIIT training is one of the most efficient ways to increase the calories you burn on the treadmill. You can incorporate elements of speed, incline, or both into the ‘work’ stages of the workout to maximise your calorie burn.
How To Burn More Calories in 30 Minutes On a Treadmill
Blending interval training inclines and good techniques will help you achieve your calorie-burning goals. Before modifying your speed or treadmill incline, make sure your technique is as polished as possible. The better technique facilitates better efficiency, and you will burn more calories without running the risk of injury.
Make sure you are starting your treadmill workout with a warmup, just a few minutes of brisk walking, to get your muscles awake and engaged. When you are running or walking during your exercise, try to hold your arms at a 90-degree angle to your body and avoid holding onto the rails. Moving your arms as you work out will help burn more calories and keep your upper body and core engaged.
Once you’ve got your warmup and technique sorted, you can start looking at other ways to boost your calorie burn. As well as increasing the overall speed and incline that you run or walk at, you can also experiment with high-intensity interval training or HIIT.
HIIT sessions are great for boosting calorie burn as they push you to maximum effort but give you a recovery period in between. You burn calories when your muscles, heart, and lungs work harder, and HIIT workouts help you achieve this.
A good introduction to a 30-minute HIIT session involves:
- A 5-minute walking warm-up
- 2-3 minutes of walking or running at a higher pace, but not enough to leave you breathless
- 30-60 seconds of walking or running fast enough to push your breathing and heartrate as much as possible
- Return to the 2-3 minute ‘rest’ stage, then push yourself for the 30-60 second’ work’ stage
- Continue to cycle between the ‘rest’ and ‘work’ stages until your 30-minute workout is done
If you want to use incline instead of speed, follow the same rest/work pattern but with higher and lower treadmill inclines.
Conclusion
Obviously, it depends on the method you use when doing your treadmill workouts to estimate how many calories you will burn. It’s not always best to run as fast as you can on a steep incline because this will be highly challenging for your cardiovascular system, muscles, joints and tendons. It’s best to have a workout plan to have HITT days, low-impact sessions and combining walking, jogging and running. Want to know if running is better than spinning? Read this cause it might shock you!
