Exercising in Heat

  • Do you burn more calories exercising in hot weather? For example, an hour workout in the gym I probably burn around 400. Would I burn more calories doing the same exercise for the same time outside in the hot weather? I know the heart has to work harder to keep the body cooler when your in the hot sun, but does it burn more calories?
  • Well, I am not entirely sure but... I think it is possible you will lose more weight when you exercise in the heat but this is only due to sweating and you will put that weight back on when you re-hydrate... I dont believe you are actually burning MORE calories, just losing water weight..

    However, when your body is cold and shivering you will burn more calories..

    Hope this helps
  • I don't know if you burn more calories. I have noticed that my heart rate gets higher, faster, in the hot weather. So I guess a higher heart rate burns more? But if your heart rate goes high even though you're running more slowly, is that really burning more? Good question.

    I'll second the thing about burning more when you're cold, though! My senior year of college, we had a cold snap so cold that our sorority house could not get above 50 degrees. We were all eating like crazy because we were burning so many calories just to stay warm!
  • lol really Amy? Thats so funny! What sorority were you in?
  • Probably not. In the heat, people move slower, even elite athletes (although they are still blazing fast). We burn more energy in the cold than heat. Our metabolisms are faster in a cold winter than a hot summer.

    I'd stay at the gym where you'll feel cooler and thus move better.
  • If you did the same exercise the same way in a room temperature environment, and then did it in hot weather, you WOULD burn more calories in the hot weather.

    Your body is working harder to cool you off when the weather is hot. Because of this, your heart is more than likely beating faster. And always remember that your heart is a muscle, and just like any other muscle, more contractions per minute means more calories burned. It might not be a significant amount (the dehydration factor is what to mainly look out for) but it is still occurring.