Calories burned
high intensity interval exercise
662 kcal / hour High intensity interval exercise burns approximately 662 calories per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, and 331 calories in 30 minutes. Across the normal adult weight range the hourly figure runs from about 473 to 1,134 kcal.
It carries a MET value of 9 in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which lists 2 measured variations of this activity from MET 7 to 11.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REVIEWED JUL 2026
MET 9 × 3.5 × 70 kg ÷ 200 = 11.03 kcal/min × 30 min = 331 kcal
Source—2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities—ACSM energy equation—retrieved 2026-07
How this is worked out
- Take the MET value for high intensity interval exercise from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: MET 9, the median of its 2 measured variations (MET 7–11).
- Convert MET to a rate using the ACSM relationship: multiply by 3.5, then by body mass in kilograms, then divide by 200. That gives kilocalories per minute.
- Multiply the rate by the number of minutes actually spent.
- Round to whole kilocalories. Nothing else is applied — no age factor, no sex factor, no proprietary adjustment, because the underlying data does not support one.
kcal/min = MET × 3.5 × mass(kg) ÷ 200 kcal = kcal/min × minutes 9 × 3.5 × 70 ÷ 200 = 11.03 kcal/min 11.03 × 60 min = 662 kcal
Calories burned high intensity interval exercise 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) | 118 | 236 | 354 | 473 | 709 |
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 142 | 284 | 425 | 567 | 850 |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | 165 | 331 | 496 | 662 | 992 |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 189 | 378 | 567 | 756 | 1,134 |
| 90 kg (198 lb) | 213 | 425 | 638 | 851 | 1,276 |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | 236 | 473 | 709 | 945 | 1,418 |
| 110 kg (243 lb) | 260 | 520 | 780 | 1,040 | 1,559 |
| 120 kg (265 lb) | 284 | 567 | 850 | 1,134 | 1,701 |
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.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Every official intensity of high intensity interval exercise
The Compendium lists 2 separate high intensity interval exercise entries, each with its own measured MET value — from 7 to 11. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| moderate effort | 7 | 515 | 662 | — |
| burpees, mountain climbers, squat jumps, Tabata, vigorous effort | 11 | 809 | 1,040 | — |
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.
SOURCE·2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities·2 coded rows·REVIEWED JUL 2026
What 662 calories an hour actually means
At MET 9, high intensity interval exercise counts as very vigorous activity — it uses about 9 times the energy your body burns sitting still. For a 70 kg adult that works out to roughly 11 kcal per minute, or 662 kcal across a full hour.
Within conditioning exercise, that ranks 11th of 53 activities by energy cost, a little below stair treadmill ergometer (MET 9.3) and above pound (MET 8.5).
Put differently: one hour of high intensity interval exercise costs about the same energy as 135 minutes of ordinary walking.
On the food side, a chocolate bar (about 235 kcal) takes roughly 21 minutes of high intensity interval exercise 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.
A number this clean is a model. It does not know your gradient, your gear, the wind, or how hard you were actually trying.
Questions
How many calories does high intensity interval exercise burn per hour?
About 662 kcal per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, using the Compendium MET value of 9. A 90 kg adult burns closer to 851 kcal in the same hour, because energy cost scales almost directly with body mass.
How many calories does 30 minutes of high intensity interval exercise burn?
Roughly 331 kcal at 70 kg, 284 kcal at 60 kg and 473 kcal at 100 kg. Halving the time halves the calories — the relationship is linear.
What is the MET value of high intensity interval exercise?
9, taken as the median of the 2 high intensity interval exercise entries in the 2024 Adult Compendium, which range from 7 to 11 depending on intensity. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, so MET 9 means 9 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.
MET value from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. 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.
