The only rucking calorie calculator you’ll ever need, backed by military science
Use this exclusive calculator to determine your burn.
“How many calories do I burn rucking?”
This question fills my inbox. People message me their body weight, pace, vest or pack weight—the works—and ask me for an exact number.
I wanted to help everyone, but being a human activity tracker got time-consuming fast.
The solution: I worked with military researchers to access a rucking calorie burn calculator.
It’s built on a formula you can’t just find online and is based on years of military research. It’s the most accurate one in existence, and it works for backpacks and vests. It also accounts for variables most other calculators ignore.
Here’s today’s roadmap:
The science of rucking calorie burn: Why this calculator is the most accurate to date.
How I got the calculator: Insights from top U.S. military researchers.
How to use the calculator: Detailed step-by-step instructions to get the most from the tool.
The calculator: Plug in your numbers, get your accurate results.
Housekeeping:
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The science of rucking calorie burn
For a long time, scientists made educated guesses about calorie burn using various equations. But they weren’t perfect. Calculating calorie burn from weighted walking is challenging because:
It’s a rather understudied form of exercise.
It mixes strength and cardio.
It includes many factors that impact calorie burn. For example, the weight in your pack or vest, the terrain you’re walking on, and more.
It also has a muscular effect. It will lead you to burn more fat and build or maintain muscle, and your improved body composition will likely have longer-term calorie-burning effects.
For example, the popular Pandolf equation, which scientists used for years, was recently found to underestimate calorie burn. Another problem: most calorie burn estimators were based entirely on male soldiers, making them biased and off-base for half of the population.
Then David Looney changed the game.
Looney is a mathematical physiologist who conducts research with the Department of Defense and U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM). He published a study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise that developed the most accurate calculator for determining the number of calories burned from walking with weight.
It’s important to note that Looney’s study included more women than previous studies. Military research has traditionally focused predominantly on men, even though more women are now entering the military. Not to mention that far more civilian women are walking with weight to improve their health and fitness.
This means that the calorie burn figures from those old studies may not apply to all people. His model is the best existing estimate of the calories we’ll burn walking with weight.
For my upcoming book, Walk with Weight, I was able to get my hands on the calculator. This required breaking various classified protocols and using methods that were entirely at odds with the Geneva Conventions (I’m kidding. Maybe.).
Now I’m sharing it below.
In the rest of this letter, you’ll get:
The only rucking calorie calculator you’ll ever need, backed by military science
A detailed, step-by-step walkthrough on how to input your numbers to get your exact calorie burn.