
Physical exercise is an ideal activity that makes us stay healthy and fit. And one of the many physical exercises people love is sit-ups. So if you do 100 sit-ups how many calories can you burn?
Depending on your weight, height, or gender, in this case, the average weight for a man in the US is 199.8lbs and for a woman is 170.8. So for the average man, 100 sit-ups can burn 17 calories. On the other hand for the average woman, 100 sit-ups can burn 20 calories.
Sit-ups are a great bodyweight exercise that makes a person fit. You can easily do sit-ups in the comfort of your home. However, many are wondering how many calories 100 sit-ups burn. This is a major question that piqued people’s interest.
If you don’t know how many calories are burnt when doing sit-ups, then you are in the right place.
How Many Sit-Ups To Burn 100 Calories?
With the help of a monitor, you can determine the number of calories you burn when doing sit-ups. Burning calories depends on the health and shape of your body. Generally, if you do sit-ups properly and intensively, you can burn a quantifiable number of calories.
Holding other factors constant, on average as a man you can do 100 sit-ups for 4 minutes and burn 18 calories while a woman on average can do 100 sit-ups for 5 minutes and burn 19 calories.
Here are the calculations:
According to CDC:
-The average weight for men in the US is 199.8 lbs
-The average weight for women in the US is 170.8
-The average number of sit-ups a man can do from age 18 to 65 is 26 per minute (source)
-The average number of sit-ups a woman can do from age 18 to 65 is 19 per minute
To get the average time of sit-ups you should divide the number of sit-ups you want by the average sit-ups. For example, if I want to do 200 sit-ups, it will be 200/26 = 7 minutes
Now if you want to know how many calories, you can use insert your weight and time into this calculator. In my case I get can burn 26 calories in 7 minutes
Sit-ups to Calories Burned Table For Men
Number of Sit-Ups | The time it takes: | Calories Burned |
50 sit-ups | 2 minutes | 9 calories |
100 sit-ups | 4 minutes | 18 calories |
150 sit-ups | 6 minutes | 27 calories |
200 sit-ups | 8 minutes | 36 calories |
250 sit-ups | 10 minutes | 45 calories |
300 sit-ups | 12 minutes | 54 calories |
Sit-Ups to calories Burned Table For Women
Number of Sit-Ups | The time it takes: | Calories Burned |
50 sit-ups | 3 minutes | 12 calories |
100 sit-ups | 5 minutes | 19 calories |
150 sit-ups | 8 minutes | 31 calories |
200 sit-ups | 11 minutes | 43 calories |
250 sit-ups | 13 minutes | 50 calories |
300 sit-ups | 16 minutes | 62 calories |
The calculation may look simple, but some factors will affect the number of sit-ups and time you will take burn calories like;
1. Total Weight
Variation in individual body weight causes calorie burn range to vary. As you gain weight, the more energy you will need to move your body; hence you’ll burn more calories undertaking a certain activity.
2. Intensity And Duration
The intensity of sit-ups will determine the number of calories you burn in one minute. For instance, using our above calculations, you can do 50 sit-ups and burn less than five calories due to low intensity. The time you take during sit-up workouts also determines the number of calories you burn.
3. Gender
Men have more muscle mass than women, which explains why they have a faster metabolism. For instance, when a man does sit-ups for 20 minutes at a moderate pace, he burns a little over 150 calories. When a woman runs for the same amount of time, she burns about 100 calories.
4. Age
The pace of our metabolism slows as we become older. The body’s energy requirements decrease with time. It occurs as a result of muscular tissue loss, hormonal alterations, and neurological abnormalities. 50 sit-ups burn about 8 calories for a 21-year-old young woman. A 31-year-old woman of the same weight and height burns 5 calories in the same number of sit-ups.
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What Are The Sit-Ups?
Sit-ups are physical exercises aimed at strengthening and tightening abdominal muscles. Sit-ups involve a person sitting up from a flat supine position without supporting her body with hands.
What Are The Calories?
Calories refer to a unit of energy from foods. Calories are measured in standard amounts for various macronutrients. A gram of protein contains four calories, while Carbohydrates have four calories per gram. There are nine calories in one gram of fat.
Are Sit-Ups Effective in Burning Calories?
Sit-ups are a simple ab-strengthening workout that requires no equipment. Sit-ups not only improve your abdominal muscles but also burn calories—the number of calories you can depends on your body weight and exertion level.
At a moderate speed, sit-ups can burn three calories per minute, and at a robust pace, they can burn up to nine calories per minute.
When it comes to increasing your calorie burn, intensity appears to be the most crucial factor. You may raise the intensity of your workout by completing more repetitions in a given time or by adding more weight.
Related article: Causes and Health Effects of Fat Belly on Girls?
How To Do Sit-ups?
If you are a beginner, follow the following steps to do your sit-ups.
- Lie flat on your back while bending your knees with your feet on the floor.
2. Put your two hands behind your head.
3. Raise your body off the ground by bending your hips and waist. Maintain a comfortable posture by keeping your chin off your chest and staring straight ahead.
4. Return down to the original position with control, starting with your lower back, middle back, and finally head.
5. Repeat the movement until you feel satisfied.
To do sit-ups correctly, avoid the following mistakes.
- Avoid making sudden or quick movements.
- When lying back, be gentle to avoid back injury.
- Do not rely on your hands to keep yourself afloat.
- Do not overwork yourself.
- If you experience any pain in your lower back, stop doing the activity.
- When you have back problems, first consult with health providers before doing sit-ups.
Should You Do Situps Before Or After Eating?
Doing exercise before or after will depend. Some people experience stomach problems when they do sit-ups after eating. Others are just fine. However, it is advisable to do sit-ups 30 minutes after taking the meal.
Eating before doing sit-ups is crucial for better performance. However, it is better to take high carbohydrates, low fiber, and low fats because they work as fuel during exercise.
Doing sit-ups after eating also increases the metabolism rate of the body and improves the digestion rate. It also curbs other gastrointestinal complications like bloating.
Related article: How Long Does It Take For Anyone to Lose 50 Pounds?
What Are the Benefits of Sit-ups?
For a variety of reasons, sit-ups are a very beneficial workout. Their health benefits are far more extensive than you might think, going far beyond mere muscle growth and burning calories.
Sit-ups develop a synchronized environment in your body, allowing your muscles and organs to work together to achieve peak performance. The following are the benefits offered by sit-ups.
1. Build Muscles Endurance
Sit-ups enable your abdominal muscles to contract against resistance and withstand the weight for an extended time. It is essentially a physical endurance workout. Slow-twitch fibers are found in muscles that are used for endurance exercises.
2. Strengthens Your Core
All motions, such as walking and lifting something off the ground, begin from the core. Sit-ups activate the core muscles, which helps to strengthen the core. The rectus abdominis, internal and external obliques, and transverse abdominis are all worked out.
Sit-ups can also aid with core stability and core strength. When your core is solid, you may efficiently perform typical daily activities and avoid back discomfort as you become older. A strong core is better suited to prevent falls, which helps to decrease fall injuries.
3. It Is Easy to Perform
A sit-up is something that everyone can do. Sit-ups are simple to make because the style isn’t complex. Unless you are told otherwise by a professional or have an underlying health issue, you can easily execute a sit-up regardless of your gender, age, or fitness level.
4. Strengthens Your Heap Flexor
One of the muscles that sit-ups assist in strengthening is the hip flexor. The hip flexors are responsible for most of our daily motions, such as walking, leaping, and bending. All of these motions become simpler when you have a strong hip flexor.
5. Improves Your Stability And Balance
Due to a strong core, your body gets balanced and steady—sit-ups aid in coordinating your pelvic, lower back, and hip muscles with your abdominal muscles. You are less likely to fall and harm yourself if you have a good balance.
6. Improves Flexibility of Your Body
Stiffness in your spine and hips can be relieved by moving your spine. Sit-ups enhance hip and back flexibility, allowing you to move more freely and reduce stress and tightness. Flexibility increases concentration, and energy levels and reduces stress.
7. Targets a Wide Variety of Muscles
Sit-ups work your lower back, hips, pelvic, and abdominal muscles. During a sit-up, one of the significant muscles addressed is the rectus abdominis. When this muscle is well-defined, and your body fat percentage is low enough, you’ll look to have a six-pack.
8. Improves Posture
Your posture is directly affected by strengthening your core. Strengthening your core, which comprises a collection of muscles that support your spine, can help you improve your posture. Improved posture will help you exercise more efficiently, resulting in better outcomes.
You’ll notice fewer aches and pains when your body is in alignment, which you may achieve by practicing excellent posture.
9. Increases Athlete Performance
A strong core is vital for enhancing athleticism’s strength and power. Your core and hips provide power whenever you engage in physical activity, whether it’s in sports or in everyday life.
That’s why athletes have more defined glutes and waistlines. They rely on their core muscles to sustain and propel them through movements all the time.
10. Enhances Your Health
Sit-ups that can be done by anyone who is reasonably fit and result in health improvements. They are a type of strength and endurance exercise that helps to strengthen the spine.
Sit-ups improve your heart, enhance circulation, and promote other anti-aging effects. Their inclusion in a healthy workout program will have a significant impact on your general health.
11. Sit-ups Can be Modified to Level up the Challenge
Another advantage of adding sit-ups to your daily fitness routine is that you can simply modify them. Each variation calls you up to a new challenge, and it helps to kick off boredom.
For example, sit on an incline to give yourself more gravity to fight, or do a sit-up while holding a medicine ball or weight against your chest. These two options will increase the intensity of the sit-ups and make them more challenging to complete.
Read related article:
What Are the Alternatives For Losing Calories?
a) Running
This is a great way to get good cardio exercise. It strengthens your lower body while raising your heart. You can burn calories quickly because running is a high-intensity activity. It can burn 566 calories per hour when pacing at a speed of 10 minutes per mile.
b) Push-up
Pushups focus on the upper body muscles such as the biceps, triceps, chest muscles, and core. Doing pushups can help you burn more calories. It can burn 10 calories for every 20 pushups.
c) Kickboxing
It involves punching and kicking. Kickboxing simultaneously strengthens and tones your legs, arms, glutes, back, and core. It can help you burn more calories while also strengthening your muscles. It can burn up to 860 calories per hour.
d) Rope jumping
Rope jumping raises your heart rate and burns calories. It also strengthens your lower leg muscles. Rope jumps are very small and convenient to keep. They’re ideal for those who don’t have a lot of room at home. It can burn up to 960 calories when jumping at the rate of 120 skips per minute.
e) Stationary cycling
Try intervals of high-intensity riding if you have access to a stationary bike. In 30 minutes, stationary bicycling may burn substantial calories since it is a rigorous cardio workout. Begin with a five-minute warmup, then alternate one-minute speed intervals with two-minute rest intervals. You can burn up to 842 calories per hour.
f) Swimming
Swimming enhances muscle strength, blood flow, lung and heart capacity, and lung and heart capacity. Swimming for 30 minutes burns roughly the same amount of calories as running for 30 minutes. You can burn 396-587 calories per hour.
g) Mountain climbing
The mountain climber is a full-body workout as well as an aerobic exercise. You’ll burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time since you’ll be using your entire body.
h) Hiking
Hiking is a cardio exercise. It increases heart rate and strengthens muscles. You can burn 340-503 calories per hour.
i) Jogging
This will raise your body temperature and blood flow, preparing your body for physical activity. It also lowers your chances of getting hurt. It burns 396-587 calories per hour.
j) Circuit training
During circuit training, your metabolism rate increases leading to a high heartbeat. It burns more calories even when you are out of the gym. It can burn 480-710 calories per hour.
Note that the figure listed above are estimates, and factors such as weight, duration, and intensity are held constant.
Related article: Anaerobic Metabolism and Its Health Benefits
Final Words
Sit-ups are callisthenic exercise that primarily targets the rectus abdominis and obliques. Sit-ups are considered one of the finest ab workouts but are also highly effective in calorie burning.
With the calculations we discussed above, you can figure out how many calories you burn doing sit-ups. Only 5-7 calories are burned each minute when a person does 50 sit-ups.
So, if you want to burn a higher number of calories, it’s preferable to do more high-intensity sit-ups. Your eating habit should have a more outstanding contribution to your achievement.