The Calories Burned on a Treadmill from Mixed Walking and Running

Alternating walking and running on a treadmill is an effective way to burn calories.


It can be hard to find time to fit a calorie-burning workout into your busy day, and while the tried-and-tested method of running on a treadmill might not have the excitement of a Pilates class or dance lesson, it gets the job done. If your fitness isn't quite at the level of being able to run for long, alternate walking and running to get a solid workout.

Running Calories

Running provides one of the best ways of burning calories, and running on a treadmill offers the same calorie-burning benefits as traditional road running. The faster you run, the more calories you will burn. Someone who weighs 155 pounds will burn 563 calories in an hour of running at a pace of 5 miles per hour. If she increases her speed to 7 miles per hour, she'll burn 809 calories.

Walking Calories

Walking doesn't require your muscles to work as hard as running, which means you won't burn quite as many calories as you walk. A 155-pound person can expect to burn 176 calories in an hour of walking at 2 miles per hour, whereas she'll burn 232 calories if she can maintain a pace of 3 miles per hour.

Running and Walking

Figuring out the calories you'll burn while mixing walking and running on the treadmill is as simple as knowing how many calories you'll burn during each type of exercise. If your weight and speed dictate that you'll burn 800 calories of running in an hour and 250 calories of walking in an hour, and you spend 30 minutes doing each activity, you'll burn 525 calories.

Treadmill Display

Fortunately, you don't need to tap on your calculator while you're on the treadmill to figure out how many calories you're burning; the machine will do it for you. Most treadmills track your speed, distance and the calories you burn. When you increase your speed, the treadmill automatically knows that you're burning more calories, and vice versa. Every time you make a speed adjustment, the treadmill will adjust your calorie burning appropriately.

Video of the Day

Brought to you by LIVESTRONG.COM
Brought to you by LIVESTRONG.COM

About the Author


Photo Credits

  • Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images