Calories Burned Doing push-ups at 55 kg — 209 kcal per Hour
Doing push-ups at 55 kg (110–132 lb) burns about 209 kcal per hour. That figure comes from the activity's MET value of 3.8 in the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities, multiplied by body weight: 3.8 × 55 kg × 1 hour = 209 kcal. This page works the numbers out in full — for 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 minutes, across all four weight bands, and against four comparable activities at the same weight — so you can plan sessions with real figures instead of guessing.
A push-up is a bodyweight pressing exercise: hands on the floor, body in a straight line from head to heels, lower the chest to the floor and press back up. It works the chest, shoulders and triceps, with the core and glutes holding the plank position throughout. At 3.8 METs — the Compendium's moderate calisthenics value, used here because the Compendium has no separate push-up entry — it is a moderate activity, and the calorie figure on this page is for continuous sets of push-ups, not for a session that is mostly resting between sets.
Push-ups suit almost everyone, because the difficulty scales: knee push-ups for beginners, standard push-ups for most people, and harder variations — feet elevated, close grip, archer — for advanced trainees. They need no equipment and no space, which is why they turn up in home workouts, military fitness tests and warm-ups everywhere. The headline number to remember is the hourly figure at your weight, or about half of it for a 30-minute session of steady sets. That is 209 kcal per hour at 55 kg, or about 104 kcal for a 30-minute session. Everything below is an estimate: MET values are population averages, and your own burn will vary with fitness, technique and conditions. That does not make the numbers useless — it makes them a planning tool, and a good one, as long as you treat them as approximate.
Calculate your own numbers
Use the Calorie calculator to work out your own burn for doing push-ups at your exact weight and session length. Enter your weight, pick the activity and set the duration, and the tool applies the same MET formula shown below. You can also try the TDEE calculator to see how this session fits into your total daily energy use.
Related pages in this section:
- Calories Burned Doing push-ups at 65 kg — 247 kcal per Hour
- Calories Burned Doing push-ups at 75 kg — 285 kcal per Hour
- Calories Burned Doing push-ups at 85 kg — 323 kcal per Hour
- Calories burned hub
The formula, shown and cited
The standard way to estimate the energy cost of an activity is the MET formula from the Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2011; 43(8): 1575–1581):
Calories (kcal) = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours)
One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly at rest — about 1 kcal per kilogram of body weight per hour. An activity rated at 3.8 METs therefore uses 3.8 times as much energy as resting. The Compendium's MET values come from published studies that measured oxygen use during each activity, so they are measured averages, not guesses. The Compendium has no exact entry for push-ups, so the data file uses the closest published value: calisthenics at a moderate effort, 3.8 METs.
Worked through for this page:
- MET for doing push-ups: 3.8
- Body weight: 55 kg (the midpoint of the 50-60 kg band, 110–132 lb)
- Duration: 1 hour
- Calculation: 3.8 × 55 × 1 = 209 kcal
For a 30-minute session the same calculation is 3.8 × 55 × 0.5 = 104 kcal. Nothing else is hidden in the maths — if your weight or duration changes, only those two numbers change.
Your numbers at 55 kg
| Duration | Calculation | Calories burned |
|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 3.8 × 55 × 0.25 | 52 kcal |
| 30 minutes | 3.8 × 55 × 0.5 | 104 kcal |
| 45 minutes | 3.8 × 55 × 0.75 | 157 kcal |
| 60 minutes | 3.8 × 55 × 1 | 209 kcal |
| 90 minutes | 3.8 × 55 × 1.5 | 314 kcal |
That is about 3.5 kcal per minute of doing push-ups at this weight. A short session still counts: even 15 minutes burns 52 kcal, and three 15-minute sessions across a day add up to the same 157 kcal as one 45-minute session.
How the burn changes with body weight
The MET value stays the same — it describes the activity, not the person — but the calorie total scales with weight, because a heavier body costs more energy to move:
| Body weight | Calories per hour | Calories per 30 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | 209 kcal | 104 kcal |
| 65 kg | 247 kcal | 124 kcal |
| 75 kg | 285 kcal | 142 kcal |
| 85 kg | 323 kcal | 162 kcal |
Two people doing the same activity for the same time can therefore burn quite different amounts, and that is expected — it is physics, not a mistake in the formula. If your weight sits between two rows, your figure sits between the two values.
At 55 kg (121 lb), the absolute numbers are the smallest of the four weight bands on this page, because a lighter body costs less energy to move. That does not mean the workout is easier — the effort, the heart rate and the relative intensity are the same as for a heavier person doing the same activity. What changes is only the calorie total, and that is exactly what the MET formula predicts: the same MET value multiplied by a smaller weight gives a smaller number. If your weight is near the bottom of the 50–60 kg band, the 55 kg figures are your best guide; if you are nearer 60 kg, your true figure sits a little above them.
How doing push-ups compares
Here is doing push-ups against four other activities at the same 55 kg, all using the same MET formula:
| Activity | MET | Calories per hour at 55 kg |
|---|---|---|
| doing push-ups | 3.8 | 209 kcal |
| calisthenics at a moderate effort | 3.8 | 209 kcal |
| doing sit-ups | 3.8 | 209 kcal |
| training with resistance bands | 3 | 165 kcal |
| walking at a moderate pace | 3.3 | 182 kcal |
Use this table to choose, not to judge. A higher number means a harder session, not a better one: the activity you enjoy and repeat three times a week beats the activity that burns more per hour but that you quit after a fortnight. Mixing intensities across the week — one harder session, two easier ones — is usually more sustainable than doing the hardest activity every time.
Fitting doing push-ups into your week
| Sessions per week | 30 minutes each | 60 minutes each |
|---|---|---|
| 2 sessions | 209 kcal | 418 kcal |
| 3 sessions | 314 kcal | 627 kcal |
| 5 sessions | 522 kcal | 1045 kcal |
At 3.8 METs, doing push-ups counts as moderate activity, so it contributes directly towards the widely used adult target of 150 minutes of moderate activity a week. Three 30-minute sessions a week give you 90 of those minutes and burn about 314 kcal a week at 55 kg. Build up gradually — add 10% to your weekly total at most, and keep at least one rest day.
How to use the result
Do sets of 8–15 reps with 60–90 seconds of rest between sets, for three to five sets, keeping the body in one straight line and the elbows at roughly 45 degrees to the torso. Go down for two seconds and up for one, and stop the set when your hips start to sag or your range shortens — those are the reps that do not help. Use the numbers on this page to plan a session, not to count every rep: push-ups are a modest calorie burner, and their real value is upper-body strength and core stability. If you are aiming to lose weight, keep the deficit modest at 300–500 kcal a day and keep total intake above the safety floors of 1,200 kcal a day for women and 1,500 kcal a day for men unless a healthcare professional advises otherwise.
What the number does NOT tell you
The MET formula assumes continuous effort, and a real push-up session is mostly rest between sets — three sets of 12 reps take about two minutes of actual work, so an hour-long session with normal rests burns considerably less than the hourly figure in the table. The table is best read as the cost of the working minutes. It also does not account for fitness, body composition or technique, and it says nothing about shoulder or wrist health: if push-ups cause wrist or shoulder pain, try fists, handles or an incline, and check with a healthcare professional if pain persists.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do I burn doing push-ups for 30 minutes at 55 kg?
About 104 kcal. The maths is 3.8 METs × 55 kg × 0.5 hours = 104 kcal. That is an estimate from the Compendium average — your real burn depends on your fitness, your pace and the conditions. If you weigh more or less than 55 kg, use the weight table above to read your own figure.
Is doing push-ups good for weight loss?
It can help, but only as part of an overall calorie deficit. At 55 kg, an hour of doing push-ups burns about 209 kcal, which is a useful contribution — roughly the energy in a modest meal — but weight loss still comes from the total balance of food and activity across the week, not from one session. Aim for a gradual loss of 0.5–1% of body weight per week, and never drop below 1,200 kcal a day (women) or 1,500 kcal a day (men) without medical supervision.
How does doing push-ups compare with calisthenics at a moderate effort?
At 55 kg, doing push-ups burns about 209 kcal per hour against 209 kcal for calisthenics at a moderate effort — the two activities burn the same at this weight. The best choice is usually the one you will actually do several times a week — consistency matters more than a small difference in the hourly rate.
How accurate is the 3.8 MET value for doing push-ups?
It is a population average from the 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities (Ainsworth et al.), which compiled measured energy costs across published studies. Individuals vary by roughly 10–20% around the average because of fitness, body composition, technique and conditions. Treat 209 kcal per hour as a planning estimate, not a precise measurement of your own body.
How many calories do I burn doing push-ups in an hour at 55 kg?
About 209 kcal — the maths is 3.8 METs × 55 kg × 1 hour. That works out at about 3.5 kcal per minute. Over a week, three one-hour sessions would add up to about 627 kcal from this activity alone, before the rest of your daily movement.
Estimates only, not medical advice. Minimum safe intakes: 1,200 kcal/day women, 1,500 kcal/day men — consult a healthcare professional before a very-low-calorie diet.