The Olympic Sports that Burn the Most Calories
Top Overall Burners
It’s no surprise that distance races comprise the top three Olympic sports
that burn the greatest total number of calories.
1. Marathon: America’s fastest marathoner Ryan Hall will strive to beat
his 2:04:58 record in London. At this blazing pace, he burns nearly
2,500 calories for the entire race (heavier runners would burn even
more). Sprint distance (think 100 meters) runners burn more calories
per minute, but fewer per their event. No matter the race, however,
“running utilizes a lot of musculature,” says Gary Hunter, an exercise
physiologist with the American College of Sports Medicine and
professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Your legs,
arms and core are engaged, which leads to significant calories
burned.”
2. Triathlon: The Olympic triathlon consists of a 1.5K swim, 40K bike
and 10K run, taking the average elite athlete slightly less than two
hours to complete. A 150-pound person would burn more than 1,600
calories in one race, which when broken down looks like: swim—223
calories; bike—818 calories; run—650 calories.
3. Mountain biking: Relatively new among Olympic sports, mountain
biking can burn more than 1,000 calories per hour, thanks to the
varied terrain and elevation. The London 2012 course consists of a
rugged 5K loop that competitors must circle for a set number of laps,
with races lasting a minimum of 90 minutes. Road and track cycling
also burns a significant number of calories—more than 800 per hour.
“Biking burns a fair number of calories, but since you are isolating the
legs more, most people can’t average as high of a calorie expenditure
as in running,” Hunter says.
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Top Hard and Fast
These Olympic sports burn lots more calories per minute, but are over in a
fraction of the time.
1. Butterfly: The longest race for the explosive butterfly stroke is 200
meters and takes the fastest swimmers in the world (ahem, Michael
Phelps) less than two minutes to complete. A 150-pound swimmer
burns about 100 calories per 200 meter race, but working toward the
ability to do so is no easy feat. The butterfly works just about the
entire body, and to prepare for it and other strokes, “Olympic
swimmers train for hours a day, in the pool and on land,” Hunter says.
2. Boxing: Olympic boxing matches involve three three-minute rounds,
totaling less than 150 calories burned, “but the energy burned per
minute is high,” Hunter says. Boxers spar, and do hours of strength,
conditioning and technique training leading up to the Olympics.
3. Rowing: “Rowing uses a lot of muscles in the legs, back, shoulders,
arms and core,” Hunter says, leading to a strong calorie burn. Rowing
races are either sculled (with two oars per person) or swept (one oar
per person), and are five to eight minutes in length. Athletes can burn
more than 100 calories per race, or about 14 per minute. If that
sounds low, consider this: Rowing at that rate for 30 minutes would
burn 420 calories.
Lowest Burners
The Olympic sports with the lowest calorie burn may or may not surprise
you.
1. Shooting: The rifle, pistol and shotgun events require concentration,
precision and mental toughness, but little physical exertion compared
to other action-packed Olympic sports. Most shooting events will not
burn more than 200 calories per hour.
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2. Diving: If you’ve seen the body of an Olympic diver, it’s hard to
believe their sport is low on calorie-burn. Diving requires intense
strength, but is done in quick bursts, resulting in low overall energy
expenditure, averaging 3.4 calories per minute. In order to perform
their complex routines, however, divers must train fulltime, practicing
their dives in the pool and on trampolines, and performing cardio,
strength and flexibility training.
3. Archery: Like shooting events, archery, which utilizes a bow and
arrow instead of firearms, calls for balance and calm under pressure,
but more upper-body and core strength. Archery can burn nearly 300
calories per hour, about the same as you’d burn while circuit training
at a moderate effort. Some archers utilize a regular yoga practice in
addition to their shooting drills, to improve focus, strength and
balance.
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