How many calories does cycling, vigorous effort burn?

At 10 METs, a 70 kg person uses about 350 kcal in thirty minutes. Energy use scales with body weight, so a 90 kg person uses roughly a third more for the same session.

What is the MET value for cycling, vigorous effort?

10 METs, listed under Compendium code 01040. A MET is a multiple of resting metabolic rate.

Should I subtract my resting metabolism?

If you are adding this to a maintenance figure that already includes rest, yes. The net figure removes the roughly one MET-hour per hour your body would have spent anyway, which for cycling, vigorous effort leaves about 90 per cent of the gross total.

Why does body weight change the answer?

A MET value is energy per kilogram of body mass, so the same activity costs more for a heavier body. That is why weight is an input rather than an assumption, and why generic calories-burned figures without a weight are close to meaningless.

How accurate is this figure?

It is an estimate from a population average. Published comparisons against indirect calorimetry find individual discrepancies of twenty to thirty per cent, so use it to compare activities rather than as a ledger to eat back.

Calories burned cycling, vigorous effort

Energy used during cycling, vigorous effort, computed from its metabolic equivalent of 10. The table below covers common weights and durations if you would rather not enter anything.

Result

These are estimates from population-level equations, not a measurement of you and not medical advice. Individual results vary widely. Talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian before making significant changes to how you eat or train.

The MET value and where it comes from

MET value: 10
Compendium code: 01040
Listed as: Bicycling, 14 15.9 mph, racing or leisure, fast, vigorous effort
Category: Cycling

At 10 METs, cycling, vigorous effort is toward the demanding end relative to the full range of activities the Compendium lists, which runs from 1.0 for sitting quietly to above 20 for elite competition.

kcal = MET × kg × h
     = 10 × weight × hours

net of resting:
kcal = (10 − 1) × weight × hours

Source: Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. "2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities." Journal of Sport and Health Science 13(1), 2024, pp. 6–12. MET values are population averages; roughly 18% of Compendium entries are estimated rather than measured.

Gross and net differ by roughly one MET per hour. For cycling, vigorous effort at 10 METs, that means about 90 per cent of the total is genuinely attributable to the activity.

Accuracy is limited by what a MET value can represent. It is one number standing in for everyone doing cycling, vigorous effort, and real cost shifts with how hard you work, how efficient you are, and the conditions.

Calories burned by body weight and duration

Gross energy in kilocalories. Read across from your weight and down from your duration. A 70 kg person uses about 700 kcal an hour, of which roughly 630 is above what resting would have cost.

Calories burned by body weight and duration
Body weight	15 min	20 min	30 min	45 min	60 min	90 min
55 kg	138	183	275	413	550	825
65 kg	163	217	325	488	650	975
75 kg	188	250	375	563	750	1,125
85 kg	213	283	425	638	850	1,275
95 kg	238	317	475	713	950	1,425
110 kg	275	367	550	825	1,100	1,650

Compared with related activities

Energy used per thirty minutes at 70 kg, so the activities are directly comparable.

Comparison with related activities
Activity	METs	kcal / 30 min
Cycling, vigorous effort	10	350
Cycling, moderate effort	8	280
Indoor cycling class	8	280
Running at 11 km/h	11	385
Rowing machine	7.3	256
Swimming, fast freestyle	9.8	343

Questions

How many calories does cycling, vigorous effort burn?: At 10 METs, a 70 kg person uses about 350 kcal in thirty minutes. Energy use scales with body weight, so a 90 kg person uses roughly a third more for the same session.
What is the MET value for cycling, vigorous effort?: 10 METs, listed under Compendium code 01040. A MET is a multiple of resting metabolic rate.
Should I subtract my resting metabolism?: If you are adding this to a maintenance figure that already includes rest, yes. The net figure removes the roughly one MET-hour per hour your body would have spent anyway, which for cycling, vigorous effort leaves about 90 per cent of the gross total.
Why does body weight change the answer?: A MET value is energy per kilogram of body mass, so the same activity costs more for a heavier body. That is why weight is an input rather than an assumption, and why generic calories-burned figures without a weight are close to meaningless.
How accurate is this figure?: It is an estimate from a population average. Published comparisons against indirect calorimetry find individual discrepancies of twenty to thirty per cent, so use it to compare activities rather than as a ledger to eat back.