Workouts That Don't Burn As Many Calories As You Think

These days, it feels like there are more choices when it comes to exercise than ever before. Between Zumba classes, park runs, spin workouts, hot yoga sessions, and YouTube fitness gurus offering HIIT blasts ... the choices are seemingly endless. And all of this has added up to a frankly colossal sum of money: the global fitness industry is, as of 2021, worth a jaw-dropping $87 billion, with the U.S. holding some of the highest numbers of fitness club memberships in the world, according to Policy Advice.

But with all that choice out there, we want to make sure we're getting proper bang for our hard-earned buck (or the limited time we have in the day) when we're working out. But what if the workout you're doing isn't as effective as you think? Somewhat surprisingly, so many of the workouts that we know and love are pretty inefficient when it comes to burning calories. And if that's your goal when it comes to exercise, you don't want to be wasting precious hours and dollars on a workout that'll leave you wanting more. Let's take a look at some of the top workouts that really don't burn as many calories as you think.

Stretching is a highly important part of any exercise regime, and its benefits could be huge: amongst other things, stretching increases blood flow to the muscles, may reduce the risk of injury during exercise, and could improve your athletic performance, says the Mayo Clinic. One thing stretching won't do, however, is burn many calories. As Healthline points out, stretching alone burns merely 2.7 calories per minute on average, so a 10-minute stretching routine would only burn 27 calories. When you consider that we burn 50 calories an hour while we're sleeping (per the Sleep Foundation), it's hardly a big difference.

However, there are certain ways we can mix up a stretching routine to make it way more effective for burning calories, says personal trainer Ngo Okafor to Business Insider. "Fire up your stretch routine by adding cardio bursts between stretch positions," says Okafor. "You will still get the benefit of stretching with cardio bursts infused, which raises your heart rate and burns a ton of calories." To put this into practice, try throwing in some jumping jacks or jogging on the spot next time you're stretching.

There are few exercise machines more divisive than the elliptical. And if you're a staunch supporter (because let's be real, all that swinging is pretty fun), one thing that may change your mind it is the fact that elliptical workouts often aren't that beneficial on a calorie-burning front. In fact, that little counter on the elliptical telling you how many calories you've burned can be hugely inaccurate, leading us to overestimate how effective it is (per US News). "That's largely because the elliptical allows people to use too much momentum and bodyweight assistance," says LA-based certified strength and conditioning specialist and personal trainer Mike Donavanik to US News. "Once an individual's foot reaches the top of the movement, it's largely bodyweight that presses the foot down, and that momentum builds and just keeps going." As a result, says Donavanik, "It gives users a false sense of calories burned and work done." However, elliptical-lovers shouldn't fear: there are ways to supercharge your elliptical workout to make sure your calorie game is strong. Simple adjustments like adding an incline or mixing up your routine with dumbbell breaks, as SELF advises, are excellent ways to add additional resistance and make your workout more effective. 

Wait... what? Running, the holy grail of cardio, is not good for burning calories? Unfortunately, folks, this may be the case, although it all depends on how you run (per SELF). While running has huge benefits for heart health, in terms of calories, your body can quickly adjust to the demands of a regular running routine. "Your body is a machine, and it just wants to do things as efficiently as possible," says Rachele Pojednic, exercise physiology and nutrition expert, to SELF. When your body adapts, it learns to expend fewer calories per workout — meaning your daily run might have diminishing returns. In addition, that run you're going on isn't that efficient when it comes to calorie expenditure per time. "Relying on running alone isn't the best way to lose weight because it burns relatively few calories for the time invested," says Pojednic. Instead, if you want to get the most from your run, mix it up by challenging yourself. Taking a route that has more hills, adding resistance bands, or simply doing a few jumping exercises in your warmup are all easy ways to boost your calorie burn during a run, according to ASICS. 

Okay, so we know this one might raise a few eyebrows ... but bear with us. Spinning is a perennial exercise class favorite, with people leaving on shaking legs, sure they've torched through their daily calories. The fact remains, though, that spinning can be pretty ineffective for burning calories due to the fact that it's a non-weight-bearing exercise, and it uses few muscles (per Business Insider). "You're sitting in a chair and not using any muscles except your legs. You don't get near the calorie burn you would using a regular bike," states spin trainer Cristy Nickel to Business Insider. Bumping up the difficulty of a spinning session by adding resistance or incorporating high-intensity interval training elements will add to your overall expenditure. Bear in mind, though, that stationary bikes can't tell what pedaling technique you're using, meaning that when you mix it up in a spin class by doing, for example, a standing climb, the calorie counter on the bike's display can end up being inaccurate (per Shape). 

Okay, so before anybody says anything: we know that you know that golf isn't hardcore exercise. But if we're classifying it as a sport (and we are), it's our duty to point out that it's a sport that doesn't burn many calories at all. "This is really more of a leisure activity than exercise," says spin trainer Cristy Nickel to Business Insider. One reason for golf's relative lack of calorie expenditure is that people are usually driving from hole to hole in a buggy. "These days it's hard to find a course that will let you walk rather than ride in a cart, but brisk walking between rounds will increase your calorie burn." If you can find a course that lets you walk as opposed to driving, however, your calorie burn could leap up quite considerably. This is especially true if you caddy for yourself. Carrying or pulling heavy golf clubs could see your calories burned per hour shoot up, according to Captain Calculator. Using a golf cart, however, will naturally mean you're burning significantly less.

People are going wild for calisthenics. A workout that uses "your own bodyweight as a means to maximize human power and athletic ability," according to military fitness instructor Tee Major (per Shape), the equipment- and hassle-free exercise form exploded in popularity during COVID when access to gyms was limited and online fitness instructors reigned supreme. In fact, Women's Fitness Magazine called calisthenics "the next big fitness trend" in 2020.

So with all this buzz, it's time to get wise to one simple fact: in comparison to other workouts, calisthenics won't burn as many calories as you think, unless you're hitting it hard. A regular calisthenics routine will, for a 200-pound person, burn roughly 200 calories per half hour, says WebMD. More intense routines, however, will boost the calorie expenditure (to a much higher 355 calories per half hour, for a 200-pound person again). To make your calisthenics routine more calorie efficient, make sure you're incorporating loads of exercises which use large muscle groups, like squats and lunges. Routines composed of these sorts of exercises, which test large portions of your body, will burn more calories than routines using smaller muscle groups, as School of Calisthenics points out. 

"Okay, come on," we hear you cry, "now cardio's not effective for burning calories? Is there nothing left?!" Let us clarify: cardio is great for burning calories, but cardio alone is less efficient when it comes to calories for several reasons (via Verywell Fit). Ideally, cardio workouts should be combined with resistance or weight training to ensure optimal fat loss, as the after-burn effects of weight training, as well as the added calorie burn that comes from increased muscle mass, maximizes your overall calories used.

More to the point, weight training keeps your muscles strong and maintained when you're hitting the cardio. "The loss of muscle [with excessive cardio] destroys your metabolism," says founder of UX3 Nutrition and International Sports Science Association director John Rowley to Popsugar. "If you are going to do cardio, do it in conjunction with a well-thought-out weight training workout." And finally, one more reason why pure cardio might not be that effective: ever felt hungry after a run? "Cardio will help burn calories but can often make you hungry, leading to excessive calorie-consuming after workouts," says Rowley. Your cardio might torch through calories, but you'll lose the benefit if you replace them right afterward.