Burning 5,000 calories in a day is not an easy feat. In fact, it is extremely challenging, and only certain types of exercises can help you achieve this goal.
While it is possible to burn 5,000 calories in a single day, it can be taxing on your body, and without proper guidance and equipment, it can pose serious health risks.
In this article, we will explore the best exercises that can help you burn 5,000 calories in a day, with a focus on low-impact exercises that can help you manage the strain of such an intense workout safely.
How to Burn 5000 Calories a Day
The main low-impact exercises that can help you burn 5,000 calories in a day include walking, hiking, swimming, cycling, jumping jacks, treadmill walking, and jump rope.
The most obvious and easiest way to burn 5,000 calories in a day is by walking. It will take around 8-10 hours, but with proper preparation—such as wearing good running shoes, having some experience walking long distances, and staying hydrated—you can achieve this goal.
It’s also a good idea to mix different workouts to minimize the impact on your joints. For example, you could walk for 5 hours, swim for 2 hours, cycle for 2 hours, and do jumping jacks for 1 hour.
Let’s dive deeper into this topic and examine the effort required to burn 5,000 calories in a day.
Basal Metabolic Rate
First of all, you might not need to burn 5,000 calories entirely through exercise, as your body naturally burns calories daily to maintain essential functions. Below are the average calories burned by an average person at rest:
- Average BMR for Men:
- An average man burns between 1,600 to 2,200 calories per day at rest (BMR).
- Average BMR for Women:
- An average woman burns between 1,400 to 1,800 calories per day at rest (BMR).
To calculate your exact BMR, you can download the Workit app and use the free BMR calculator tool, which is based on the Harris-Benedict equation.
Considering these numbers, you might need to burn around 3,000 additional calories to reach the 5,000-calorie mark, as your body naturally burns about 2,000 calories without any extra effort.
Best Exercises to Burn 5000 Calories a Day
Let’s dive deep into the exercises that can help you achieve your goal and help you burn 5,000 calories in a single day. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the best activities, including estimated times, conditions, and factors that may affect calorie burn:
1. Swimming
- Calories Burned: 500-1,000 per hour.
- Factors: Intensity, stroke type (for example, butterfly burns more than breaststroke), water temperature (swimming in cold water burns more calories).
- Time Needed: 5-10 hours.
- Distance: 8-12 miles (13-19km).
- Example: If a person weighs 180 lbs (81kg), he will burn around 700 calories per hour with moderate swimming intensity. Based on this assumption, he would need to swim for approximately 7 hours to burn 5,000 calories.
2. Walking
- Calories Burned: 200-500 per hour
- Factors: Speed, body weight, incline, terrain, and weighted vest.
- Time Needed: 10-25 hours.
- Steps: Approximately 100-150 calories per mile (1 mile = 1.6km), with moderate pace of 3 mph.
- Steps Needed: 0.04 calories per step.
- 5,000 Calories: Roughly 125,000 steps (0.04 calories/step).
- Distance: Approximately 60 miles (96km).
3. Running
- Calories Burned: 600-1,000 per hour.
- Factors: Speed, incline, body weight, and weighted vest.
- Time Needed: 5-8 hours.
- Example: A 150 lbs (68kg) person running at 6 mph burns 700 calories per hour. Based on this calculation, a 150 lbs person will need to run 7.5 hours or 45 miles (72km) to burn 5,000 calories.
4. Jumping Jacks
- Calories Burned: 8 calories per minute.
- Factors: Speed, intensity, rest periods, and weighted vest.
- Reps Needed: 4,500-6,000 jumping jacks.
- Example: A 160 lbs (72kg) person will burn 8 calories per minute doing jumping jacks. It will take around 10 hours with minimal rest times to burn 5,000 calories. In total, you will need to do around 6,000 jumping jacks, spread throughout the day.
5. Cycling
- Calories Burned: 500-1,000 per hour.
- Factors: Speed, resistance, terrain.
- Time Needed: 5-10 hours.
- Example: A person weighing 200 lbs (90kg) burns 800 calories per hour cycling, assuming he is cycling at 16-20 mph. They would need to cycle for about 6 hours to burn 5,000 calories, covering a distance of more than 100 miles (160 km).
6. Rowing
- Calories Burned: 600-1,000 per hour.
- Factors: Intensity, resistance, rowing technique.
- Time Needed: 5-8 hours.
- Example: A 180 lbs person rowing burns 800 calories per hour. It will take more than 6 hours to burn 5,000 calories.
7. Treadmill Walking/Running at Incline
- Calories Burned: 600-1,200 per hour.
- Factors: Speed, incline angle, body weight, weighted vest.
- Time Needed: 5-8 hours.
- Example: A 200 lbs (90kg) person walking at 4 mph with a 6% incline will burn 1,000 calories per hour. It will take 5 hours to burn 5,000 calories if the walking speed and incline is kept consistently.
8. Weightlifting/Strength Training
- Calories Burned: 400-600 per hour.
- Factors: Exercise type, weight used, rest between sets.
- Time Needed: 8-12 hours.
- Example: Lifting lighter weights with high reps can maintain a calorie burn of 500 per hour. A person would need about 10 hours of lifting throughout the day, focusing on compound movements like squats and deadlifts, ideally spread out to prevent fatigue.
9. Jump Rope
- Calories Burned: 10-16 calories per minute.
- Factors: Speed, rope weight, jumping style.
- Time Needed: 5-8 hours.
- Example: A person weighing 160 lbs (72 kg) will burn approximately 900 calories per hour, taking around 6 hours to burn 5,000 calories.
10. Hiking
- Calories Burned: 500-700 per hour.
- Factors: Terrain, weight of the backpack, pace.
- Time Needed: 7-10 hours.
- Example: Hiking with a 20 lbs (9kg) backpack burns 600 calories per hour. It will take around 9 hours to burn 5,000 calories.
As you can see, completing any of these exercises for a few hours straight without proper preparation can be dangerous, and even deadly for some. It’s better to combine multiple activities like swimming, walking, cycling, and hiking for the best results.
If you decide to burn 5,000 calories a day, the best approach and recommended exercise would be walking, as it is low-impact and achievable to get 100,000 steps in a day. Remember, you might not even need to burn the full 5,000 calories since your body already burns around 2,000 calories daily on its own. If this applies to you, you’ll need to walk even less, making the goal more realistic.
Is There a Better Approach?
The reason you’re interested in how to burn 5,000 calories in a day is most likely because you want to lose weight. That’s great, and I assume you’re aiming to lose more than just a few pounds, perhaps around 20 pounds or more.
The best approach to weight loss is to go steady, stay consistent, and achieve small daily goals and milestones. If you push too hard and burn 10,000 calories in a few days, you won’t feel good in the days that follow.
The key to weight loss is building healthy habits. You can’t develop these overnight; it takes effort, so focus on small wins rather than going all out.
Did you know that 1 lb of fat contains around 3,500 calories? To burn 20 pounds of fat, you would need to burn 70,000 calories—an extremely challenging goal that should not be attempted in a week, as it’s not sustainable.
Burning 5,000 calories a day is not sustainable and is not recommended for beginners, as it poses serious health risks if done incorrectly.
To lose weight effectively, you need a quality workout program and a nutrition plan tailored to your personal needs. You can download Workit App as it can help by providing personalized workout programs and meal plans.
Remember, as you build muscle, eat a healthy, protein-rich diet, and maintain a calorie deficit, you’ll burn more calories over time. In 6-8 weeks, you’ll notice significant physical and mental changes.
Conclusion
Overall, it is definitely possible to burn 5,000 calories in a day. There are multiple exercises you can do to achieve this goal, depending on your preferences.
The best exercise to burn 5,000 calories in a day is walking, as it is low-impact and easy on your joints. Walking 100,000 steps in a day can nearly reach your target of burning 5,000 calories.
Remember, your body naturally burns around 2,000 calories on its own to sustain essential bodily functions, so your actual goal might be to burn 3,000 additional calories. This is quite achievable and would require about 75,000 steps.
If you decide to burn 5,000 calories in a day, stay mindful of the risks involved. This level of activity can be dangerous for beginners and those with minimal exercise experience. Always prioritize your health.
To minimize the risks associated with burning 5,000 calories, mix different exercises like swimming and walking, or cycling and hiking. This approach will yield great results while reducing the risk of serious injuries.