Why sprinting expends more calories than cruising

7th August 2023

The faster you work, the more effort is required so the more calories you will burn. This is because the speed-to-power relationship is exponential… the energy requirement keeps growing more and more as you increase your speed.

When jogging or ‘cruising’, you naturally move as efficiently as possible to maintain a steady pace, so you use smaller, softer strides, fewer muscles and a less powerful foot strike. Accelerating into a sprint however increases is the amount and the intensity of muscle fibre recruitment – your muscles need to generate much more power and much bigger movements in a sprint.

This is really relevant when using our cardio machines in the gym – the bikes, rowers and ski ergs. You will burn more calories over the same distance in meters by pushing the pace. For example rowing for 15 calories at a very steady 2:30 per 500m pace will mean rowing for 270+ meters, whereas increasing to a very nifty 1:30 per 500m pace means you can chew throw 15 calories in just 150m!

Workouts for calories on these machines are therefore all about generating effort and intensity. This is great for fat loss, as you are burning more energy and training your muscles to grow stronger and more efficient too. This is what makes interval training (alternating between sprints and rest) so effective.