Calories Burned When Walking on Different Surfaces

Find Challenges on Flat Pavement

• The easiest surface to walk on is firm pavement. A 150-pound person can burn about 156 calories an hour walking about 3 mph. Increasing speed to 4 mph nets a 272 calorie burn for the same person. At the office or in school, every 15-minute walk burns about 17 calories. Add some books, an infant, or other weight equal to about 15 pounds and you can burn around 40 calories in 15 minutes. As you can see, you get the most out of your flat-surface walking by picking up the pace and adding some weight. You could double the number of calories you burn.

Burn More on Inclined Pavement

• Another way to increase your calorie burn is to add incline or stairs to your walk. Carrying that infant upstairs can help a 150-pound person burn about 70 calories in 15 minutes, and carrying that same amount of weight while walking uphill can burn more than 100 calories in 15 minutes. The higher the incline, the more calories you can burn. That works the other way, too: The more a surface declines, the fewer calories you burn. A 150-pound person can burn almost 100 calories more an hour by adding a 5-percent incline to their hour-long walk. A 10-percent incline almost doubles the calorie burn.

Work Muscles on Grass, Dirt or Gravel

• Walking on grass can help our 150-pound person burn about 270 calories an hour. (Reference 1) Family Circle Magazine reports that uneven surfaces like grass, dirt and gravel can burn about a quarter more calories than walking on a firm, flat surface. In order to walk on these surfaces, you must engage more muscles to maintain balance. Using more muscles mean you burn more calories. A cross-country hike over uneven dirt can help a 150-pound person shed about 350 calories an hour. As with walking on a flat surface, add some weight to burn more.

Heat Up the Sand and Cool Off in the Snow

• Walking on sand can increase calorie burn by about 50 percent, according to the University of California at Berkeley Wellness website. It has to be soft sand, however; walking on the wet sand along the water is as good as walking on the grass. Don’t let heavy snows freeze you out of walking. In addition to challenging your muscles and burning 60 percent more calories over walking on pavement, the cold temperatures can actually help you burn more calories as you try to keep warm.

Save Joints by Walking in Water

• You may feel like you’re walking in slow motion, but taking steps in a swimming pool or other water can burn just as many calories as walking on land. The benefit is lower-impact exercises for those who need to be easy on their knees. To feel the burn, submerge yourself at least chest deep and move your arms forward and backward as you walk.