We've got good news: if you hate the treadmill, running isn't the only form of cardio to burn calories and torch fat. Yes, running is free and pretty accessible, and you can head outdoors if staring at yourself in the gym mirror isn't cutting it, but there's plenty of ways to do cardio.
On average, a person burns between 85 and 140 calories per mile, or between 280 and 520 calories per 30 minutes of running. But if you have an injury or prefer other forms of cardio, other workouts can be as (if not more) effective.
Below, we cover the five best exercises to burn calories, including estimated calorie burn, what muscles they target, and the benefits of each exercise. So grab your fitness tracker, dig out one of the best jump ropes, and get ready to sweat.
The cardio exercises that burn more calories than running
Hate running? Add these killer cardio exercises to your routine instead.
1. HIIT training: up to 450 calories in 30 minutes
High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT as it’s often known, is a series of short bursts of exercise, followed by a period of rest. A typical HIIT workout will consist of burpees, high knees, medicine ball slams, and mountain climbers.
As your heart rate is continually increasing and decreasing throughout its duration, calorie burn is often high. Unless you’re at a Barry’s class, when you head out for a run, you’ll usually continue to move at a consistent pace, keeping your heart rate relatively stable and therefore burning fewer calories.
What’s more, a big part of calorie burn is the body’s excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, or EPOC. EPOC relates to how many calories the body burns post-workout as it tries to heal the wear and tear caused. As, by its nature, HIIT is very high impact, calorie burn post-workout is often high.
Workout inspiration:
- Best beginner HIIT workouts you can do at home
- All you need is 1 dumbbell and 4 exercises to work your entire body
- Hate running? This HIIT workout raises your heart rate with just 4 exercises
2. Cycling: up to 600 calories per 60 minutes
If running is too much impact on your joints, cycling is another great way to torch calories. While a gentle bike ride around the park is likely to burn around 364 calories per hour, an intense spin class can burn up to 600 calories per hour.
Cycling has a much lower impact on your joints, meaning you can often keep going for longer. A 2014 study conducted by The University of North Carolina compared competitive cyclists and runners who exercise for two and half hours for three days. The study found that runners had 87% more muscle soreness and 133% more muscle damage over a 48-hour recovery period compared to cyclists. Check out our picks for the best exercise bikes.
Workout inspiration:
- Here's what 30-minutes on an exercise bike does to your body
- Peloton Bike vs Peloton Bike Plus — Which should you buy?
- How to lose weight using an exercise bike
3. Trampolining: up to 1000 calories per 60 minutes
You might not have been on a trampoline since you were a kid, but just ten minutes of bouncing can torch as much fat as 30 minutes of running. On average, men will burn 12.4 calories per minute jumping on a trampoline, and women will burn 9.4. Research conducted by Nasaalso found that trampolining can build more bone and muscle mass than running, due to the increase in G force as you bounce.
Before you head out to buy a trampoline, let’s talk technique. In order to optimize your calorie burn, stay on the balls of your feet, lean forward, and bend the knees. Bounce deep into the trampoline and squeeze the core. This ensures that all muscles in the body are being used.
4. Indoor rowing: up to 662 calories per 60 minutes
Indoor rowing is fast becoming one of the most popular ways to work out at the gym and at home, with brands like Peloton rumored to be adding a rower to their collection. It’s great for people who sit down all day, as it forces them to sit with a straight back whilst running. (Here are the best exercises if you sit down all day).
Plus, if your technique is right, it can also be a full-body workout, as rowing targets the hamstrings, glutes, quads, core, lats, shoulders, back, triceps, and biceps. It’s also lower impact than heading out for a run.
If sitting on an indoor rower for an hour sounds as hellish as plodding on the treadmill, try joining your local rowing club.
5. Jump rope: up to 375 calories per 30 minutes
Another one that you might not have practiced since you were in the school playground, jump rope is a great way to boost coordination, balance, stamina and circulation. Thanks to the TikTok skipping trend, more of us are investing in one of the best jump ropes, or adding a weighted jump rope for a more intense workout.
We even answered does jumping rope burn more calories than running here. Spoiler, it does. But we recommend mixing it as part of a HIIT or circuit routine to maximize jump rope benefits.
Workout inspiration:
- I tried jumping rope every day for a week — here’s my results
- Forget deadlifts — sculpt your glutes, quads and hamstrings using this 5-move leg workout
- This four-move jump rope HIIT workout blitzes calories and builds strength in eight minutes
Verdict: 5 cardio exercises that burn more calories than running
It’s important to note here, that exercise is about far more than burning calories or losing weight. Exercise releases endorphins that improve your mood, promote better sleep, and help compact health conditions that impact on your mental health.
For a workout routine to stick, you need to enjoy it, so if you prefer hiking, yoga, or Pilates to any of the exercises mentioned above, that’s fine too!
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