How Many Sit-ups to Burn 100 Calories

Anything and everything we do, physical activities I mean, helps us burn calories. Let that be walking down the block, doing dishes in the house, washing the car, climbing up the stairs, etc.; I think you get the idea. In today's more health conscious society, many of us have started to opt for healthier meal options, do exercise on a regular basis, and pay close attention to their health and well-being. Although this sounds good on a larger scale (losing weight and staying in shape), what happens when it's only a matter of 100 odd calories? To come to think of it, 100 calories doesn't seem like that huge of a number and can be burned in a small amount of time; perhaps 20 to 30 minutes. There are various exercises that can help you lose 100 calories easily, but when you wish to achieve this target by doing only sit-ups and crunches, you can wonder how many sit-ups would it take for you to burn 100 calories. It's obvious that when you do sit-ups, you are bound to burn calories; that fact we are clear on. Now let's find out the "how many" answer to the question.

Burn 100 Calories with Sit-ups

Depending on how healthy and in shape you are, the number of sit-ups will vary. But to generalize it, so that we can get to a consensus, if you vigorously perform crunches and sit-ups, and are determined to do them properly, then you will burn about 5 - 7 calories in 1 minute by doing 50 sit-ups. So when we do the math, you need to do about 1000 sit-ups in 20 minutes to burn 100 calories.

Even though the math looks pretty simple and straightforward, there are certain factors that can affect the number of sit-ups, the time it will take you to achieve that, and the total calories. Hence, why don't we take a look at these factors and get a better perspective to our question.

Factor #1 - Your Overall Weight
You'll agree with me when I say that an individual's weight and health will determine how many calories he/she will lose, regardless of the workout. Every individual has different levels of workout intensity and the fitness level that he/she can exercise on. So if a person is let's say, 170 or 180 lbs., he/she will have to work a little harder than someone who is about 120 to 130 lbs.

But as a baseline, let's take a person who weighs about 100 lbs. He/she will burn approximately 6 calories in 1 minute by doing sit-ups. Now if we add about 10 lbs. weight, the amount of calories burned will also increase by 1. So a person weighing about 110 lbs. will burn 7 calories in 1 minute by doing sit-ups. This calculation will go on further as we increase the amount of weight.

Factor #2 - Total Number of Sit-ups in 1 Minute
After you have calculated the number of calories that can be burned by doing sit-ups in 1 minute, depending on your weight, you can determine how many calories you will burn in that time. This requires you to do a test first. Time yourself, set the clock at 1 minute, and do as many sit-ups as you can. When the time is up, divide the number of calories you can burn in 1 minute (according to your weight) by the exact number of sit-ups you can do in 1 minute. So let's say that your weight is 110 lbs. and you can burn 7 calories in 1 minute. So the calculation will be 7 calories ÷ 30 sit-ups in 1 minute = 0.23 calories per sit-up.

Factor #3 - Your Intensity and Duration
If you happen to do sit-ups at home, taking breaks between each sets, the intensity of the workout won't be as effective as let's say, an abs workout class at the gym. When you consistently work your abs and give it your 100%, then and only then can your body deliver the results you want. The body fat percentage and the muscles in our body, both play an important role in burning the desired amount of calories. More muscles you use, the more calories you can burn and tone your abs.

This article not only gave you information on how many sit-ups to burn 100 calories, but also provided you with reasons and the method behind it. I guess now when you have a cookie or something and want to burn those extra 100 calories, you know what to do.