How many calories does mowing the lawn burn?

At 5.5 METs, a 70 kg person uses about 193 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 mowing the lawn?

5.5 METs, listed under Compendium code 08095. 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 mowing the lawn leaves about 82 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 mowing the lawn

Energy used during mowing the lawn, computed from its metabolic equivalent of 5.5. 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: 5.5
Compendium code: 08095
Listed as: Mowing lawn, general, walking, moderate effort
Category: Home and garden

At 5.5 METs, mowing the lawn is in the moderate band 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
     = 5.5 × weight × hours

net of resting:
kcal = (5.5 − 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 mowing the lawn at 5.5 METs, that means about 82 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 mowing the lawn, 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 385 kcal an hour, of which roughly 315 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	76	101	151	227	303	454
65 kg	89	119	179	268	358	536
75 kg	103	138	206	309	413	619
85 kg	117	156	234	351	468	701
95 kg	131	174	261	392	523	784
110 kg	151	202	303	454	605	908

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
Mowing the lawn	5.5	193
Gardening	3.8	133
Raking leaves	4	140
Shovelling	5.5	193
Brisk walking	4.8	168
Housework	3.3	116

Questions

How many calories does mowing the lawn burn?: At 5.5 METs, a 70 kg person uses about 193 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 mowing the lawn?: 5.5 METs, listed under Compendium code 08095. 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 mowing the lawn leaves about 82 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.