How to Burn 500 Calories

Doing Conventional Exercises

Run at a brisk pace. Running, whether on a treadmill or outdoors, or solo or with a partner, is a great way to burn calories. Running at a pace of 6 mi (9.7 km) per hour—or 10 minutes per 1 mi (1.6 km)—can burn 500 calories in roughly 45 minutes. To shorten this time down to 30 minutes, you'll need to run at a pace of 8 mi (13 km) per hour. Running interval sprints can shorten the time even further, down to about 25 minutes. Note that all mentions of calories burned and time required are estimates, and will vary based on many factors, including your body weight and metabolism. Unless otherwise noted, the estimates throughout this article assume a person who weighs between 140–150 lb (64–68 kg).

Jog slowly or walk for at least an hour. If you prefer not to do a full run, you can try jogging at slow, steady pace. Since jogging isn't quite as intense, though, you'll need to do it for about 60 minutes at a speed of 5 mi (8.0 km) per hour to burn 500 calories. If you choose to walk at a more leisurely 3.5 mi (5.6 km) per hour, you'll burn 500 calories in roughly 90 minutes.

Take a hike in the woods for 1-2 hours. If you take a nature hike on an easy trail at a walking pace, you'll burn 500 calories in around 90 minutes. If you move at a faster pace, or go over a more diverse terrain, like hills and rocky paths, the time can be decreased to about 60 minutes or even less. With so many variables due to terrain and other factors, it's difficult to pin down a specific amount of hiking needed to burn 500 calories. But plan for at least an hour.

Swim laps in your local pool. Swimming laps at an easy pace for 60 minutes will burn around 500 calories for a typical person. If you pick things up to a more moderate pace, you may be able to burn 500 calories in 40-45 minutes. In this case, a moderate pace equates to swimming 66 laps in a 36.4 yd (33.3 m) pool—which equals roughly 1 mi (1.6 km)—over the course of 40 minutes.

Ride a stationary or outdoor bicycle. Roughly 40 to 70 minutes of cycling, depending on your pace, will burn 500 calories. This is true regardless of whether you use a standard bike or a stationary exercise bike. At a moderate pace—i.e., neither racing speed nor a leisurely cruise around the neighborhood—it will take around 60 minutes to burn 500 calories. However, chugging along in a spinning class can get you to your goal in around 40-45 minutes, and perhaps as little as 25-30.

Use a stair climber. This is a great way to burn 500 calories quickly. Exercising for 45-50 minutes on a stair-climbing machine will accomplish the goal for the average person. However, if you're jogging up and down stairs at home or somewhere else, add another 30 minutes or so to the overall time needed. Or, you could try jogging up the stairs of the Empire State Building!

Jump rope throughout the day. Roughly 50 minutes of jumping rope will allow you to reach your goal, but that may not be realistic for you to do in a single stretch. Thankfully, you get similar calorie-burning benefits by doing 5 intervals of 10 minutes each, or 10 intervals of 5 minutes, throughout the day. This might be a good candidate for a mix-and-match approach—for instance, jumping rope for 25 minutes and jogging for 30 minutes throughout the day will burn about 500 calories.

Practice aerobics at your preferred intensity. Taking an aerobics class can be a great way to spend time with old friends or make new ones. If you're practicing high-impact step aerobics, you should be able to burn 500 calories after 50 minutes. When practicing low-impact step aerobics, increase this to 70 minutes. Water aerobics are less intense due to the buoyancy of the water, so it takes about twice as long to burn 500 calories.

Try yoga for a couple hours. You'll need a full 2 hours of yoga to burn 500 calories. However, if you combine this with another activity, you can put in 1 hour of yoga to reach the halfway mark of your daily goal. It takes about 2 hours of Pilates to burn 500 calories as well.

Burning Calories with Recreational Exercise

Play sports like basketball or tennis. The amount of time you'll need to spend will vary based on the type of exercise you choose to perform. In general, sports that require more vigorous activity will require a shorter time than leisurely sports, though. Play a singles match of tennis for 60 minutes. If you choose to play doubles, increase the amount of time to about 90 minutes. Head to the beach and play volleyball for 60 minutes. You can also practice this sport at the gym, but you may need to add another 30 to 45 minutes to achieve the same effect. Try playing racquetball for approximately 55 minutes, or punch a heavy boxing bag for around 60 minutes. Play rugby for around 45 minutes, touch football for 50 minutes, or a game of full-court basketball for 50 minutes.

Spend the morning on the golf course. Even relatively slow-paced sports can help you reach your goal, so grab a few buddies and hit the links. Golfing for 90-100 minutes can burn 500 calories if you walk the course briskly and carry your own clubs—so skip the cart or caddie! Also, 2 hours of bowling or Frisbee sports can accomplish the same task.

Practice martial arts for roughly 50 minutes. For the average person, actively engaging in any form of martial arts for this amount of time should burn roughly 500 calories. However, remember to subtract any inactive time spent watching instruction (for instance, during a class).

Climb aboard a horse and take a ride. Roughly 2 hours of general horseback riding will burn around 500 calories. However, you'll burn the same amount at a somewhat faster pace if you're competing or training for a competition. Remember to only include time that you're actively riding, not when you're taking breaks. So a 3-hour ride that includes an hour of break time would burn about 500 calories.

Go rock climbing. This can be a great way to experience nature and burn calories at the same time. If you have adequate training and experience, try rock climbing outdoors for 40 to 60 minutes. Otherwise, you can practice the same amount on an indoor rock climbing wall at a gym. The energy expended while rock climbing (outdoors or indoors) will vary quite a bit based on the difficulty of the climb.

Take to the snow with your skis or snowboard. For a 140–150 lb (64–68 kg) individual, practicing roughly 65 minutes of moderate-level downhill skiing or snowboarding should be enough to burn 500 calories. But remember to subtract your time on the ski lift! If you switch to cross country skiing, you'll only need to go at it for about 50 minutes to accomplish the same result. Similarly, you can try water-skiing for 65 minutes to burn off the same amount, too.

Grab a pair of ice- or roller-skates. Both ice skating and rollerblading can burn off 500 calories in approximately the same amount of time—50 minutes to 1 hour. This assumes moderate-intensity skating on fairly level terrain (for rollerblading).

Row, row, row your boat. Rowing a boat for 60 minutes should do the trick, but if you're not a fan of the water, you can also practice for the same amount of time on a rowing machine at the gym. Remember that this only includes the time actively rowing, not when you're enjoying the view out on the lake!

Surf. This means surfing the waves, of course, and not the Internet! Roughly 60 minutes of surfing at an ocean-side beach will do the trick. If you only have access to a lake, consider paddle boarding for the same amount of time. Just as an aside, it takes around 5-7 hours of surfing the Internet to burn 500 calories, depending on how much fidgeting and moving around you do!

Dance the night away. This might be the most fun way to burn calories! Rapid dancing can burn 500 calories in about 50 minutes, but the exact amount of time will vary depending on the type of dance you choose to practice. For instance, an hour of salsa dancing will burn 290 calories, but an hour of modern dance or ballet will burn roughly 310 calories. Belly dancing will only burn 250 calories per hour. On the other hand, doing a dance workout like Zumba can burn 500 calories in around 50-60 minutes.

Engaging in Everyday Activities

Mow the lawn. Mowing grass for approximately 2 hours in one day will give you the calorie loss you desire, but you'll need to use a push mower and not a riding mower. If you're dealing with a lot of hilly terrain, though, it may only take 75 minutes to burn 500 calories. Unless you have a really big yard, you may have to offer to mow your neighbors' lawns as well to burn all 500 calories this way. Therefore, consider combining this exercise with something else. For instance, if you mow the lawn for 1 hour, you've burned about 250 calories. Jogging for 30 minutes or performing another similar exercise can help you burn the remaining 250 calories.

Shovel snow. This might not be your favorite chore, but at least it's a calorie-burner! In general, shoveling snow for 50 to 80 minutes in one day will let you burn 500 calories before going to bed. Plan on 80 minutes for light, powdery snow, and 50 minutes for heavy, wet snow. Pushing a snowblower will burn calories at roughly the same rate as using a push lawnmower—it will take about 2 hours to get to 500.

Clean the house. Roughly 2 hours of physically active housework can burn 500 calories. This includes most chores, like vacuuming, mopping, dusting, scrubbing toilets, and lugging around heavy piles of laundry. You might be able to reduce the time by 15-20 minutes by putting on headphones so you can sing and dance along to the music while you clean. You'll also have more fun!

Play the guitar. Playing the guitar while standing can burn 500 calories in about 2 hours and 10 minutes. If you're shredding it like your favorite rock star, it'll take less time; if you're plucking away like a folk singer, it'll take a bit longer. The 130-minute estimate only holds true if you play while standing. Sitting while playing can double the necessary amount of time.

Play with your kids. If you have young kids, 90 minutes of moderate-level playtime can burn off 500 calories. You'll need to be actively involved in the play, though, and the activities should involve consistent motion. In other words, opt for things like playing tag, practicing soccer, or having snowball fights. Kids should get at least 60 minutes of moderate-level physical activity per day anyway, so add a half-hour to that and you'll all be healthier and happier!

Go shopping—at the mall, not online! If you keep up a brisk pace while you work your way from store to store, you can burn off 500 calories in about 2 hours and 15 minutes. This only includes the times when you're in motion, though. Subtract any breaks you take during the middle of your shopping adventure. Sitting on a bench outside the department store or in a seat at the food court won't help you reach your goal.

Fidget while you sit. Fidgeting will help you burn calories without realizing it. While you'd have to be really fidgety to burn 500 calories in a day this way, every bit of movement can help you reach your goal. This includes activities like tapping your foot, bouncing your leg as you sit, and pacing while talking on the phone. By consciously fidgeting throughout the entire day, you can burn up to 350 calories.

Spend time in your manual wheelchair instead of a motorized one. If you use a wheelchair for mobility purposes, you can burn 500 calories with around 2 hours of moving at 2 mi (3.2 km) per hour on level ground. You can reduce this time by half an hour or more by moving at a faster pace. It will take you 3 times as long (6 hours) to burn 500 calories in motorized wheelchair. You can burn around 500 calories by playing 1 hour of full-court wheelchair basketball.