Can You Burn More Calories Jogging or Kickboxing?

Jogging and kickboxing are excellent forms of calorie-burning, cardiovascular exercises. Both can help you maintain a healthy body weight and reduce your disease risks. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends getting at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise, such as jogging or kickboxing, on a weekly basis. Although it depends on the intensity level of your workout, you’ll burn about the same number of calories jogging as you can burn kickboxing.

  1. Calories Burned Kickboxing

    • The amount of calories you’ll burn kickboxing is based on your body weight. The more you weigh, the more calories you’ll burn during this type of exercise. Harvard Medical School reports that a 125-pound person will burn 600 calories, a 155-pound person expends 744 calories and a 185-pound individual burns about 888 calories kickboxing for one hour.

    Calories Burned Jogging

    • If you jog at a pace of 6 miles per hour, you’ll burn the same number of calories as kickboxing, or 744 calories in one hour for a 155-pound person. However, choosing a slower jogging pace means you’ll burn fewer calories. Harvard Medical School reports that a 125-pound person burns about 480 calories, a 155-pound person expends 596 calories and a 185-pound individual burns about 710 calories jogging for one hour at a pace of 5 miles per hour.

    Healthy Weight Maintenance

    • Regardless of whether you add kickboxing, jogging or both to your workout program, you’ll likely achieve – or maintain – a healthy body weight exercising regularly. The type of workout you choose should be one you enjoy and can stick with long term. Authors of a review published in a 2007 edition of the “Ochsner Journal” suggest that getting 40 to 60 minutes of aerobic exercise most days of the week is ideal. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 60 to 90 minutes of exercise most days of the week to maintain a healthy weight following weight loss.

    Alternate Exercises

    • Although jogging and kickboxing are excellent calorie-burning workouts, they are both high-impact exercises and can take a toll on your joints. If you’re seeking lower-impact alternatives to reduce your risk for injury, try swimming the breaststroke or biking at a pace of 15 mph. These exercises burn the same number of calories as jogging at a pace of 6 miles per hour and kickboxing, according to Harvard Medical School.