Outside

Outdoor activities such as jogging, cycling or swimming are wonderful sports for getting fit in fresh air and at the same time dropping the pounds. And on top, they make exercise fun!

Those who are untrained, overweight or suffer from joint problems should first choose sports that are gentle on the joints, such as walking, Nordic walking, swimming, cycling or cross-country skiing. For those at ideal weight, there is no reason not to try out other sports.

Calorie burn depends on the sport, the participant's weight and the amount of time spent on the exercise.

Calories (kcal) burned after 15 minutes of sport

Sports / Body weight (kg) 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95
Mountain hiking 110 119 128 137 146 156 165 173
Football 119 129 139 149 159 169 179 189
Inline skating 180 195 210 225 240 255 270 285
Jogging 174 188 202 217 231 246 260 274
Cycling 90 98 106 113 121 128 136 143
Swimming 146 158 170 182 194 207 219 231
Cross-country skiing 129 140 151 162 172 183 194 205
Downhill skiing 89 96 103 111 118 126 133 140
Tennis 99 107 115 123 132 140 148 156
Walking 72 78 84 90 96 102 108 114

Fat burning with endurance training

Pay attention to heart rate during endurance training, because optimal fat burn occurs only at certain heart rates. Always run with a heart rate monitor.

Heart rate and optimal fat burning

Age Heart rate
20 120 – 150
25 117 – 146
30 114 – 142
35 111 – 138
40 108 – 135
45 105 – 131
50 102 – 127
55 99 – 123
60 96 – 120
65 93 – 116
70 90 – 113

Training plan for beginners

1st to 3rd week

Walk 30 minutes briskly at least three times a week to build endurance. Ideally, take one day off between training days to allow muscles to recover.

4th to 5th week

Increase speed and gradually move into power walking. Use a heart rate monitor to maintain a heart rate in the optimal range.

6th week 2 minutes running 4 minutes walk
7th week 3 minutes running 3 minutes walk
8th week 5 minutes running 2 minutes walk
9th week 7 minutes running 3 minutes walk
10th week 8 minutes running 2 minutes walk

...and so on, until a full 30 minutes. The heart rate should always fall within the specified range for an age group.