How Many Calories Do You Burn Nordic Walking? The Study Figures

An hour of Nordic walking burns about 300 kcal for a 70 kg person at an easy pace, 370 kcal at a steady pace and nearly 600 kcal at a fast pace. That is more than walking without poles at the same speed, because your arms and back work too. The most widely cited studies measure about 20% more energy expenditure. Here are the figures, the method to calculate your own energy expenditure and what really pushes it up.

How many calories in an hour of Nordic walking?

Energy expenditure depends mainly on your weight, your pace and the terrain. Here are the values for one hour, calculated with the Compendium of Physical Activities, the international reference for the energy cost of more than 1,100 activities (Herrmann et al., 2024).

For 30 minutes, divide these values by two; for 90 minutes, multiply them by 1.5. A 90-minute club outing at a steady pace therefore burns 557 kcal for a 70 kg person.

What the studies measure on walking with and without poles

Since the 1990s, several teams have compared walking with and without poles in the same people. All find a higher energy cost with poles, but the gap varies from one study to another.

The most cited study comes from the Cooper Institute in Dallas. With poles, energy expenditure rose from 4.6 to 5.4 kcal per minute in women and from 5.7 to 6.9 kcal in men, that is 324 and 414 kcal per hour and about 20% more than without poles (Church et al., 2002).

The gap comes from the work of the upper body. Without poles, your arms swing; with poles, they push, and your triceps, shoulders and back muscles work with every step. The review by Tschentscher et al. (2013), covering 16 randomised trials and 11 observational studies, accordingly ranks Nordic walking ahead of brisk walking without poles for heart rate and oxygen uptake. A review of 42 studies also observes that with poles, stride length increases by about 10% and cadence falls by about 6% (Roy et al., 2020).

What makes the gap vary

• Technique. The more active the arm push, the wider the gap. The study that measured up to 67% attributes it to its participants’ very vigorous technique (Hansen and Smith, 2009). Our guide to basic Nordic walking technique gives you the key points.
• Slope. Uphill, the legs do most of the work and the gap due to the poles narrows, from 22% on the flat to 7% on a 15% slope (Pellegrini et al., 2015). Climbing nevertheless remains the most demanding pace, at 8.8 MET.
• Pole length. It makes little difference. With poles 7.5 cm shorter, energy expenditure does not change on the flat and rises by about 3% uphill (Hansen and Smith, 2009). Choose a comfortable length, equal to your height × 0.68, and take the shorter one if you are between two lengths (size guide).
• Perceived effort. In Church’s and Grainer’s studies, it did not rise despite the higher energy cost; in Porcari’s, it rose slightly. In the mountains, instructors even walked 7% faster with their poles for the same perceived effort (Grainer et al., 2017).

Where does the 46% figure come from?

You read everywhere that Nordic walking “burns up to 46% more calories”. This figure is attributed to the Cooper Institute study (Church et al., 2002), which actually measured 17% more in women and 21% more in men. For an ordinary outing on the flat, count on 10 to 20%.

Walking, Nordic walking and jogging compared

In the Compendium, at a comparable speed, Nordic walking burns 10 to 20% more than walking. Jogging stays ahead per hour, but fast Nordic walking, above 7 km/h, catches up with it.

The big difference with jogging is impact. When you walk, one foot always stays on the ground, with no flight phase and no landing. For anyone returning to exercise or with weight to lose, that is often what makes it possible to keep going. You will find our full comparison of Nordic walking, brisk walking and jogging on the blog.

Calculate your own calories with the MET method

The MET, or metabolic equivalent, compares the energy cost of an activity with that of rest. One MET corresponds to about 1 kcal per kilo per hour, sitting quietly. An activity at 5 MET therefore burns five times as much.

You get your energy expenditure by multiplying the MET by your weight and by the length of the outing, using the formula kcal = MET × weight (kg) × time (h).

• For 60 kg and 45 minutes at an easy pace, the calculation gives 4.3 × 60 × 0.75 = 194 kcal.
• For 70 kg, one hour at a steady pace then 30 minutes uphill, it gives 5.3 × 70 × 1 + 8.8 × 70 × 0.5 = 371 + 308 = 679 kcal.

Total or extra energy? The formula also counts what you would have burned sitting down. To know what the outing made you burn on top of that, subtract 1 MET and calculate (MET − 1) × weight × time. For 70 kg and one hour at a steady pace, the outing burns 371 kcal in total, of which 301 are due to walking. That second figure is the one that matters for a weight goal.

Why figures differ from one website to another. Many websites still use the 2011 Compendium (Ainsworth et al., 2011), which gives 4.8 MET for Nordic walking at 5.6 to 6.4 km/h (code 17302) and 9.5 MET at 8 km/h (17305). The 2024 update, which we use, gives lower values on the flat (4.3, 5.3 and 8.5 MET depending on pace) and a higher one uphill, with 8.8 MET instead of 6.8 (17310).

The limits of the calculation. The values are set for people aged 19 to 59; after 60, resting energy expenditure falls, and since 2024 the Compendium has published values specific to the over-60s. Terrain and load matter too. With 9 to 15 kg on your back, the Compendium uses 10.8 MET.

What the studies show on Nordic walking and weight loss

To lose weight, your weekly energy expenditure must exceed your intake. The usual rule counts about 7,700 kcal of deficit per kilo lost, an approximation that is more accurate in people with a lot of body fat (Hall, 2008). Three one-hour outings a week at a steady pace represent, for 70 kg, about 900 kcal due to walking (3 × 301). With an unchanged diet, they lead to a loss of about one kilo in two months. The loss is real but slow, and exercise works best alongside a suitable diet.

• Verona, six months. The study involved 38 overweight adults aged 50 to 80, who followed a diet and did three sessions a week. The Nordic walking group went from 83.1 to 78.2 kg on average and lost 5.9 cm of waist circumference; the walking group went from 81.5 to 78.1 kg and lost 3.3 cm. The difference between the groups is not significant, with a trend in favour of Nordic walking for waist circumference (Muollo et al., 2019).
• Women with obesity, 12 weeks. With or without poles, both groups lost weight and body fat. The Nordic walking group also improved its aerobic capacity, without higher perceived effort, and stuck to the programme better, with 91% attendance versus 81% (Figard-Fabre et al., 2011).
• Meta-analysis of 12 studies. In overweight people, body fat, abdominal fat and fasting blood glucose improve compared with baseline, with no significant difference compared with control groups (Sanchez-Lastra et al., 2020).

Nordic walking therefore helps you lose weight like any endurance activity, with three advantages: a slightly higher energy cost at the same speed, an effort that often does not feel harder, and an activity people stick with. The WHO recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate activity a week, that is three outings of 50 to 100 minutes. If you are very overweight or have heart disease or diabetes, talk to your doctor first. Our practical 12-week weight-loss programme sets out the progression.

Do curved poles make you burn more?

It is a natural question, and the answer is no. Université Grenoble Alpes compared straight poles with our Arcs de Marche® in eight regular walkers, at 5 and 6 km/h, and measured the same oxygen uptake and the same heart rate with both. The differences concern the push, vibration and perceived effort.

The curve directs the push forward. The push angle drops from 46° to 33°, and propulsion becomes 22% more efficient with no extra effort. Vibration transmitted to the arms falls by 22% at 5 km/h and 26% at 6 km/h. The walkers also felt less effort at 5 km/h, and more comfort and enjoyment at 6 km/h. For the same energy, walking thus becomes more efficient and more enjoyable. An enjoyable outing is easier to extend, and energy expenditure rises with its length. The study involved eight people and its authors call for larger studies; you will find the details on our page Université Grenoble Alpes study.

How to burn more on your outings

• Walk for longer. It is the simplest lever. By going from 45 to 75 minutes at the same pace, you burn 67% more.
• Really push on the poles. Follow the pole with your arm well behind the hip and open your hand at the end of the push. It is the upper-body work that makes the difference with walking.
• Add some climbing. A steady climb takes energy expenditure from 5.3 to 8.8 MET.
• Vary your pace. A few faster minutes push expenditure up, and our article What speed for Nordic walking? helps you choose your paces.
• Walk with a club. A fixed meeting time helps you stay regular, and an instructor corrects your technique. Our guide explains how to find a club near you.

Does your club want to equip its members? With the MØNARC® Partner Club label, members get €30 off each pair of Arcs de Marche®, and the club gets preferential terms on certified training courses.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories do you burn in 30 minutes of Nordic walking?

A 70 kg person burns about 150 kcal at an easy pace and 185 kcal at a steady pace. Count 130 to 160 kcal for 60 kg and 195 to 240 kcal for 90 kg.

And in one hour or 90 minutes?

For 70 kg, count 300 to 370 kcal in one hour depending on pace and 450 to 560 kcal in 90 minutes. At a fast pace or uphill, energy expenditure approaches 600 kcal per hour.

How many calories per kilometre?

A 70 kg person burns about 55 to 65 kcal per kilometre at an easy or steady pace, a little under 1 kcal per kilo of body weight. Above 7 km/h, it approaches 80 kcal per kilometre.

Does Nordic walking help you lose belly fat?

You cannot choose where you lose fat. In the Verona study, combined with a diet, Nordic walking took 5.9 cm off the waist in six months, versus 3.3 cm for walking (Muollo et al., 2019).

Should I trust my watch or the MET calculation?

Neither is exact. The watch estimates energy expenditure from heart rate and wrist movement, which are less reliable with poles (Baek et al., 2021), and the MET calculation gives an average. Treat both as orders of magnitude and compare your outings with the same tool. You will find our advice in our selection of apps and smartwatches.

Sources

• Herrmann S.D. et al. (Compendium of Physical Activities 2024), Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2024, 13(1): 6-12.
• Ainsworth B.E. et al. (Compendium of Physical Activities 2011), Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2011, 43(8): 1575-1581.
• Porcari J.P. et al., Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 1997, 68(2): 161-166.
• Church T.S., Earnest C.P., Morss G.M., Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 2002, 73(3): 296-300.
• Schiffer T. et al., European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2006, 98(1): 56-61.
• Hansen E.A., Smith G., Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2009, 23(4): 1187-1194.
• Pellegrini B. et al., PLoS One, 2015, 10(9): e0138906.
• Grainer A. et al., International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2017, 14(10): 1235.
• Baek S., Ha Y., Park H.W., PM&R, 2021, 13(4): 379-386.
• Tschentscher M., Niederseer D., Niebauer J., American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2013, 44(1): 76-84.
• Roy M. et al., European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, 2020, 56(5): 607-615.
• Muollo V. et al., Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2019, 14: 1555-1565.
• Figard-Fabre H. et al., International Journal of Sports Medicine, 2011.
• Sanchez-Lastra M.A. et al., Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2020, 17(7): 762-772.
• Hall K.D., International Journal of Obesity, 2008, 32(3): 573-576.
• World Health Organization, Guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour, 2020.
• Termoz N., Depery E., Lorenzi G., Université Grenoble Alpes, straight poles and MØNARC® curved poles.

Disclaimer. This article provides general information. It does not replace the advice of a doctor or health professional, nor supervision by a qualified instructor. Before starting or stepping up physical activity, especially if you have a health condition, pain or ongoing treatment, consult your doctor. Exercise according to your fitness, on suitable ground and with equipment in good condition. Each reader remains solely responsible for their own practice and for the decisions they make based on this information, and MONARC SAS cannot be held liable for their consequences.