Calories in Swimming: How Many Calories Does Swimming Burn Compared to Other Cardio Exercises?

When comparing exercises or activities in terms of how many calories are burned, you are actually wondering how much energy is required for each activity. To explain this in more detail, the body really needs the calories it consumes every day as a source of energy; which means the more you exercise, the more calories you burn. Mathematics varies drastically based on factors such as age, gender, weight, fitness level, and others. When it comes to how much you burn when swimming and other cardiovascular exercise, an estimate can be made by measuring the amount of oxygen consumed during activity.

Swimming requires a lot of time to learn, a lot of skill and technique to do the exercise well. Compared to other cardio exercises, many people know how to run, jog, row, and bike easily. However, to be able to swim, you need to practice correctly. That said, someone who is inefficient at such a water sport would burn more calories than someone who is already an expert, since less effort is exerted. Experience also plays an important role. For example, if you are not very familiar with a sport and you feel like you are trying too hard, you might think that you are burning a lot of fat but the truth is that you are only working at a medium intensity, but it just feels like it is already intense.

Swimming at a speed of 1:15 per 100 yards will burn 15-25 kcal per minute. An hour of extreme activity in the water would burn approximately 1000-1500 kcal. Just looking at these values, sport has been shown to be one of the best exercises that can be used to combat obesity as it melts away fats due to the number of body parts involved. Compared to other cardiovascular exercises, running at 8:00 a mile will consume 10 to 20 kcal per minute. This means that an hour would only consume 800-1000 kcal. Cycling at 10 miles per hour uses 6 to 10 kcal per minute, that is, only 900 to 1200 kcal per hour.