Calories Burned Doing sit-ups at 85 kg — 323 kcal per Hour
Doing sit-ups at 85 kg (176–198 lb) burns about 323 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 × 85 kg × 1 hour = 323 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 sit-up is a trunk-flexion exercise done lying on your back: knees bent, feet anchored or flat, curl the torso up towards the knees and lower back down under control. It works the abdominal muscles and hip flexors, and it is one of the oldest and most widely tested core exercises. At 3.8 METs — the Compendium's moderate calisthenics value, used here because the Compendium has no separate sit-up entry — it is a moderate activity, and the figure on this page is for continuous sets, not for a session that is mostly rest.
Sit-ups suit people who want a simple core exercise with no equipment, and they appear in fitness tests and home routines for that reason. They are not the only core exercise, and many coaches now prefer planks and dead bugs for people with back sensitivity — but for a healthy person, controlled sit-ups remain a straightforward way to train the abdominals. 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 323 kcal per hour at 85 kg, or about 162 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 sit-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 sit-ups at 55 kg — 209 kcal per Hour
- Calories Burned Doing sit-ups at 65 kg — 247 kcal per Hour
- Calories Burned Doing sit-ups at 75 kg — 285 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 sit-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 sit-ups: 3.8
- Body weight: 85 kg (the midpoint of the 80-90 kg band, 176–198 lb)
- Duration: 1 hour
- Calculation: 3.8 × 85 × 1 = 323 kcal
For a 30-minute session the same calculation is 3.8 × 85 × 0.5 = 162 kcal. Nothing else is hidden in the maths — if your weight or duration changes, only those two numbers change.
Your numbers at 85 kg
| Duration | Calculation | Calories burned |
|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 3.8 × 85 × 0.25 | 81 kcal |
| 30 minutes | 3.8 × 85 × 0.5 | 162 kcal |
| 45 minutes | 3.8 × 85 × 0.75 | 242 kcal |
| 60 minutes | 3.8 × 85 × 1 | 323 kcal |
| 90 minutes | 3.8 × 85 × 1.5 | 484 kcal |
That is about 5.4 kcal per minute of doing sit-ups at this weight. A short session still counts: even 15 minutes burns 81 kcal, and three 15-minute sessions across a day add up to the same 242 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 85 kg (187 lb), the absolute numbers are the largest of the four weight bands, because a heavier body costs the most energy to move through the same activity. That also means the joints carry more load with every rep and every landing, so warming up properly and keeping good form matter more, not less, at this weight. The MET value itself does not change with weight — it describes the intensity of the activity — but the calorie total scales directly with it, as the table above shows.
How doing sit-ups compares
Here is doing sit-ups against four other activities at the same 85 kg, all using the same MET formula:
| Activity | MET | Calories per hour at 85 kg |
|---|---|---|
| doing sit-ups | 3.8 | 323 kcal |
| doing push-ups | 3.8 | 323 kcal |
| calisthenics at a moderate effort | 3.8 | 323 kcal |
| Pilates | 3 | 255 kcal |
| stretching | 2.3 | 195 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 sit-ups into your week
| Sessions per week | 30 minutes each | 60 minutes each |
|---|---|---|
| 2 sessions | 323 kcal | 646 kcal |
| 3 sessions | 484 kcal | 969 kcal |
| 5 sessions | 808 kcal | 1615 kcal |
At 3.8 METs, doing sit-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 484 kcal a week at 85 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 10–20 reps with 45–60 seconds of rest between sets, for three or four sets, moving slowly and breathing out as you curl up. Do not pull on your neck — hands crossed on the chest or at the temples, elbows wide — and keep the lower back in contact with the floor at the bottom of each rep. Use the numbers on this page to plan, not to chase a burn: sit-ups are a modest calorie burner, and their real value is core strength. 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 sit-up session is mostly rest between sets — the working minutes are short, so an hour-long session with normal rests burns far less than the hourly figure. Read the table as the cost of continuous work. It also does not account for fitness or body composition, and it says nothing about the spine: repeated full sit-ups load the lower back, so people with back problems should choose a different core exercise and check with a healthcare professional first.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories do I burn doing sit-ups for 30 minutes at 85 kg?
About 162 kcal. The maths is 3.8 METs × 85 kg × 0.5 hours = 162 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 85 kg, use the weight table above to read your own figure.
Is doing sit-ups good for weight loss?
It can help, but only as part of an overall calorie deficit. At 85 kg, an hour of doing sit-ups burns about 323 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 sit-ups compare with doing push-ups?
At 85 kg, doing sit-ups burns about 323 kcal per hour against 323 kcal for doing push-ups — 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 sit-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 323 kcal per hour as a planning estimate, not a precise measurement of your own body.
How many calories do I burn doing sit-ups in an hour at 85 kg?
About 323 kcal — the maths is 3.8 METs × 85 kg × 1 hour. That works out at about 5.4 kcal per minute. Over a week, three one-hour sessions would add up to about 969 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.