Ways to Burn 400 Calories

If you're looking for ways to burn 400 calories per day, you'll likely be able to accomplish this is less than one hour — particularly if you up your intensity. In addition to exercise, you can also burn calories with household activities or recreational sports.

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week. In addition, strengthening all major muscle groups two or more times per week is recommended.

Read more: The Top 10 Calorie-Burning Cardio Workout to Try

People who weigh more burn more calories per hour at any activity, since it takes more energy to move larger bodies. Thus, a 125-pound person will naturally burn less calories than a 240-pound person as they are carrying less body weight.

This is one reason that, as people lose weight, they can't just continue with the same diet and exercise plan and expect to keep slimming down. As you get lighter, there is a chance that you need to increase the amount of exercise you do, which is a natural progression as you become more fit and able to push your body to harder intensities.

The more vigorous the exercise, the faster you burn energy in a 400-calorie workout. According to Harvard Health Publishing, 155-pound person will burn about 391 calories by vigorously riding a stationary bike for 30 minutes, but only about 205 calories during that same amount of time doing low-impact regular aerobics.

A 125-pound person needs 45 minutes of high-impact step aerobics or almost an hour doing low-impact step aerobics or high-impact regular aerobics, to burn 400 calories.

A 185-pound person can burn 400 calories in 30 minutes on an elliptical machine, but only about 200 calories doing moderate calisthenics for that same amount of time.

It can be easier to get yourself motivated to exercise if you do something you enjoy, so you may want to participate in a sport rather than trying to get all your workouts at the gym.

For a 125-pound person, an hour of ice skating, inline skating or playing soccer or tennis burns more than 400 calories, as will 30 minutes of running at 8.6 miles per hour.

A 155-pound person can burn slightly more than 400 calories by rock climbing, swimming the butterfly or the crawl or running at a 9-minute-mile pace for 30 minutes.

If you weigh 185 pounds, you can burn 400 calories in 30 minutes by running cross country or running at an 11.5-minute mile pace or sparring in the boxing ring with a friend.

Read more: 10 Activities That Burn More Calories Than You Think

A combination of daily activities can also add up to 400 calories. Thirty minutes of playing with kids plus 30 minutes of rearranging furniture adds up to about 400 calories for a 155-pound person.

Raking the lawn for 60 minutes and chopping wood for another 30 minutes add up to 400 calories for a 125-pound person, and carrying boxes for 30 minutes and cooking for 30 minutes add up to about a 400-calorie expenditure for a 185-pound person.

Recreational activities can also burn calories. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person weighing 154 pounds can burn 370 calories per hour while hiking at a moderate pace.