Did you know that you can burn 300 to 500 calories per hour just by one Canoeing session. Yes, it was that easy all along but people overlooked how beneficial this physical activity is.
But not anymore, so let’s explore this on-the-go workout sport in more detail and discuss its role in calorie burning.
How Canoeing Helps Burn Calories
Canoeing is one of the most effective ways of burning a good number of calories all with moderate effort.
This is because this water activity is very muscle intensive and requires a lot of movement and energy from our body, which in exchange burns calories.
Average Canoeing Calories Burned
The number of calories burned usually depends on the person’s weight, the distance they cover, the intensity of their paddling speed and the type of terrain they are Canoeing on.
But as a generalised answer, a person will burn 300 to 500 calories per hour canoeing. If you engage more in canoeing, the amount of calories you burn will also increase.
Here is a brief overview of how many activities you supposedly burn with Canoeing related activities.
| Type of Activity | Calories Burned |
|---|---|
| Canoeing, Rowing | 200 |
| Canoeing, Rowing (for pleasure) | 251 |
| Canoeing (on a camping trip) | 286 |
| Kayaking (moderate effort) | 358 |
| Whitewater Canoeing | 358 |
| Canoeing, Rowing | 415 |
| Canoeing, Portaging | 501 |
| Canoeing, Rowing, Crewing, Sculling | 859 |
| Canoeing, Rowing, Kayaking (In competition) | 895 |
The Formula For Calculating Calories Burned Canoeing
If you know the formula, you can manually calculate or use a calculator to see the calories you burned during your Canoeing session. This calorie calculating formula is:
Calories Burned Per Minute = (3.5 x Weight(kilograms) x MET) / 200
This will tell you how many calories do you burn per min. If you want to figure out further how many calories you burned in an hour then you will multiply your answer with 60 mins and get the total calories you burned in an hour.
The MET Values For Calculating Canoeing Related Activities
As you may have noticed, the above formula has ” MET ” written in it. “MET” is a measurement of the energy cost of physical activity for a period of time.
All Canoe related activities have a standardized “MET” value assigned to them. Here is a list:
| Activity | MET Value |
| Canoeing, Rowing, Kayaking | 6 – 12.5 mph |
| Canoeing, Portaging | 7 mph |
| Kayaking (with moderate effort) | 5 mph |
| Rowing, Canoeing, Crew Or Sculling | 12 mph |
| Whitewater Canoeing | 5 mph |
| Rowing, Canoeing (with light effort) | 2.0-3.9 mph |
Other Health Benefits Of Canoeing
- Improved fitness: Canoeing is a low-impact activity that can be quite good for your health in the long run. This water activity forces your body to get a metabolic full-body workout that improves your overall fitness.
- Strong Muscles & Joints: The best way to strengthen your muscles and joints is to make them face resistance. Canoeing is one of the best and safest ways to do that. As your muscles and joints push against the challenges, they become stronger, reducing the risk of wear and tear in your joints.
- Core Strength: You need to exert a lot of effort to stay on track while canoeing. As you utilize your core, it becomes stronger with time. Through Canoeing your endurance level increases and that automatically is a factor in building your core strength.
- Cardiovascular Health: Canoeing has proven benefits for paddler cardiovascular health. It pushes your heart to pump blood more efficiently so that it effectively reaches your entire body.
