Calories burned
digging
368 kcal / hour Digging burns approximately 368 calories per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, and 184 calories in 30 minutes. Across the normal adult weight range the hourly figure runs from about 263 to 630 kcal.
It carries a MET value of 5 in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which lists 3 measured variations of this activity from MET 3.5 to 7.3.
Calories burned digging by body weight
Energy cost scales with the mass you move, so body weight changes the answer more than anything else.
| Body weight | 15 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min | 90 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg (110 lb) | 66 | 131 | 197 | 263 | 394 |
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 79 | 158 | 236 | 315 | 473 |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | 92 | 184 | 276 | 368 | 551 |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 105 | 210 | 315 | 420 | 630 |
| 90 kg (198 lb) | 118 | 236 | 354 | 473 | 709 |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | 131 | 263 | 394 | 525 | 788 |
| 110 kg (243 lb) | 144 | 289 | 433 | 578 | 866 |
| 120 kg (265 lb) | 158 | 315 | 473 | 630 | 945 |
Figures in kilocalories (the "calories" on food labels). The highlighted row is the 70 kg reference adult used in the headline figure; the highlighted column is one hour.
Every official intensity of digging
The Compendium lists 3 separate digging entries, each with its own measured MET value — from 3.5 to 7.3. Most calculators collapse all of this into one number. Pick the row that matches what you actually did.
| Variation | MET | kcal/hr at 70 kg | kcal/hr at 90 kg | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| spading, filling garden, composting, light-to-moderate effort | 3.5 | 257 | 331 | 08045 |
| spading, filling garden, composting | 5 | 368 | 473 | 08050 |
| spading, filling garden, composting, vigorous effort | 7.3 | 537 | 690 | 08052 |
Codes are 2024 Adult Compendium activity codes. A dash means the code could not be read unambiguously from the published table, so it is left blank rather than guessed — the MET value and description are unaffected.
What 368 calories an hour actually means
At MET 5, digging counts as moderate activity — it uses about 5 times the energy your body burns sitting still. For a 70 kg adult that works out to roughly 6 kcal per minute, or 368 kcal across a full hour.
Within lawn & garden, that ranks 9th of 34 activities by energy cost, a little below wheel barrow (MET 5.4) and above carrying (MET 4.8).
Put differently: one hour of digging costs about the same energy as 75 minutes of ordinary walking.
On the food side, a large flat white (about 170 kcal) takes roughly 28 minutes of digging to offset at that body weight. That framing is useful for scale, but it is worth saying plainly: exercise and diet are not a ledger that cancels neatly, and appetite tends to rise with activity.
Questions
How many calories does digging burn per hour?
About 368 kcal per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, using the Compendium MET value of 5. A 90 kg adult burns closer to 473 kcal in the same hour, because energy cost scales almost directly with body mass.
How many calories does 30 minutes of digging burn?
Roughly 184 kcal at 70 kg, 158 kcal at 60 kg and 263 kcal at 100 kg. Halving the time halves the calories — the relationship is linear.
What is the MET value of digging?
5, taken as the median of the 3 digging entries in the 2024 Adult Compendium, which range from 3.5 to 7.3 depending on intensity. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, so MET 5 means 5 times that rate.
Is this an exact number of calories?
No, and no calculator can give you one. MET values are population averages measured in laboratory conditions; your own figure varies with fitness, technique, terrain, temperature and body composition. Treat these numbers as a solid estimate for planning, not a precise measurement — and treat any device or site claiming three-digit precision with suspicion.
Related activities
Three more from lawn & garden, and three with a similar energy cost from elsewhere in the Compendium.
MET value from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (activity code 08045). Calories computed as MET × 3.5 × weight kg ÷ 200 per minute. General information only — not medical, fitness or nutrition advice. Calorie figures are population estimates and vary between individuals.