Raising the incline is the easiest way to burn more on a treadmill without running faster. Enter your speed, incline and time to see your burn, how far you climbed, and how much extra the hill gave you compared with walking flat.
Calories burned
0 kcal
Same speed, same time, different hill. This shows what each incline is worth at your weight.
| Incline | Calories | vs flat |
|---|
Calculated with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) metabolic equations for walking and running, at about 5 calories per litre of oxygen.
It's a simple routine that went viral on social media: set the treadmill to a 12% incline and 3 miles per hour (about 4.8 km/h), then walk for 30 minutes. It feels like a steady hike, it's easy on the knees, and it burns far more than walking on the flat.
For a 75 kg (165 lb) person, it comes out to roughly 320 calories, more than twice a flat walk at the same speed. If 12% feels too steep, start at 6 to 8% and build up. Try to let go of the handrails, since holding on cuts the work your legs do.
Walking at 5 km/h (3.1 mph) on a 10% incline burns roughly 9 to 10 calories a minute for a 75 kg (165 lb) person, about twice as much as the same walk on the flat.
For calorie burn per minute, running usually still wins. Incline walking comes close, is gentler on your joints, and is easier to keep up for longer, so many people burn more in total with it.
Yes, a lot. Leaning on the rails takes weight off your legs and makes the incline feel easier, which can cut your burn by 20% or more.
Any incline you can keep up while breathing hard but still able to talk works well. For most people that's 5 to 12%. Steeper isn't better if it forces you to grab the rails.
Treadmills guess using a default weight and can't see if you hold the rails. This calculator uses your weight and the standard ACSM equations, so it's usually more realistic.
Want to know your full daily burn, not just the treadmill? Try the TDEE calculator.
Open the TDEE calculator