Calories Burned Crunches
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About crunches
Crunches are the exercise where the calorie answer disappoints everybody. The Compendium files them under light effort, code 02024, at 2.8 METs, which is 3.3 calories a minute for a 155 lb person and 98 across a full half hour. A hundred crunches takes about three and a half minutes and burns 11. That is not a reason to skip them, it is a reason to stop counting them: the abs are a small muscle group moving a short distance, and calorie burn tracks how much air you move.
Calories Burned by Body Weight
Calories burned per 30 minutes of crunches at moderate intensity (MET 2.8)
| Body Weight | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 120 lbs (54 kg) | 76 cal |
| 140 lbs (64 kg) | 89 cal |
| 155 lbs (70 kg)Reference | 98 cal |
| 170 lbs (77 kg) | 108 cal |
| 185 lbs (84 kg) | 117 cal |
| 200 lbs (91 kg) | 127 cal |
| 220 lbs (100 kg) | 140 cal |
Calories Burned by Duration
Calories burned at 155 lbs body weight, moderate intensity
| Duration | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 49 cal |
| 30 minutesReference | 98 cal |
| 45 minutes | 148 cal |
| 60 minutes | 197 cal |
| 90 minutes | 295 cal |
Calories by Intensity
Different intensities burn different calories. MET (Metabolic Equivalent) measures exercise intensity.
Food Equivalent
30 minutes of crunches burns enough calories to offset:
Based on 98 calories burned (30 min at 155 lbs)
Tips for Crunches
- Lift only until the shoulder blades clear the floor, the rest of the way up is the hip flexors taking the job
- Keep a fist of space under your chin, hauling on the back of the neck is the usual reason crunches start to hurt
- Breathe out on the way up, holding your breath makes the set feel harder without loading the abs any more
- Take about three seconds to lower, most of the useful work in a crunch happens on the way down
- Once bodyweight sets pass roughly 25 reps, add a plate on the chest rather than another hundred reps