Calories Burned Gardening
Calorie Calculator
Now track what you ate after gardening
You have the burn. Calvin does the other half: photograph a meal and it reads the calories back, food by food.
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About gardening
Gardening has two entries in the Compendium and they sit nearly two METs apart. Code 08066 rates it 2.0, barely above standing about. Attach moderate effort to it and code 08245 puts it at 3.8, which is 267 calories an hour for a 155 lb gardener and comfortably over the line that counts as moderate activity. Which of the two describes your Saturday depends on the job rather than the hours. Deadheading and watering live near the bottom, while turning a bed over with a spade is rated 5.0, and doing that hard is 7.3.
Calories Burned by Body Weight
Calories burned per 30 minutes of gardening at moderate intensity (MET 3.8)
| Body Weight | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 120 lbs (54 kg) | 103 cal |
| 140 lbs (64 kg) | 121 cal |
| 155 lbs (70 kg)Reference | 134 cal |
| 170 lbs (77 kg) | 147 cal |
| 185 lbs (84 kg) | 159 cal |
| 200 lbs (91 kg) | 172 cal |
| 220 lbs (100 kg) | 190 cal |
Calories Burned by Duration
Calories burned at 155 lbs body weight, moderate intensity
| Duration | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 67 cal |
| 30 minutesReference | 134 cal |
| 45 minutes | 200 cal |
| 60 minutes | 267 cal |
| 90 minutes | 401 cal |
Calories by Intensity
Different intensities burn different calories. MET (Metabolic Equivalent) measures exercise intensity.
Food Equivalent
30 minutes of gardening burns enough calories to offset:
Based on 134 calories burned (30 min at 155 lbs)
Tips for Gardening
- Change job every 20 minutes or so, an hour in the same stoop is how backs go
- Kneel on a pad at bed level rather than folding forward from the waist
- Keep a compost bag close to your body when you lift it and let the legs do the work
- Do the digging first while you are fresh and save watering and deadheading for the end
- Drink earlier than you think you need to, garden work is easy to underestimate because it never feels like training