Exercise for Weight Loss 13 Ways to Burn 100 Calories By Malia Frey facebook twitter linkedin Malia Frey is a weight loss expert, certified health coach, weight management specialist, personal trainer, and fitness nutrition specialist. Learn about our editorial process Malia Frey Fact checked by Fact checked by Shereen Lehman, MS on May 28, 2020 Shereen Lehman, MS, is a healthcare journalist and fact checker. She has co-authored two books for the popular Dummies Series (as Shereen Jegtvig). Learn about our editorial process Shereen Lehman, MS Updated on February 03, 2021 Print Did you know that you can burn calories without going to the gym? There are a variety of activities you can do that don't require joining a fitness facility. In fact, some of the best ways to burn calories are done outside the gym, so you can do them at home, while at work, or traveling. The activities you choose may vary based on how much time you have available, what you feel your body needs that particular day, the weather (if you want to burn calories outdoors), and so on. There are no right or wrong choices here. Just several options for achieving the same goal: increasing your calorie burn. The exact amount of calories your body will use doing these activities depends on your weight, sex, age, body composition, and more. Therefore, this rate is different or everyone. For simplicity's sake, the calorie counts used in this article are for a 150-pound woman. You can calculate your individual calorie burn rate for a more precise number. 1 Climb Stairs JGI/Jamie Grill Blend Images / Getty Images There's almost always a staircase nearby at work, at home, or even in a hotel when you're traveling. Walk the stairs for just ten minutes to burn 100 calories. You'll build strong legs as well. Climbing stairs help to shape the muscles in your lower body. Walking downstairs provides benefits too! 2 Stretch and Relax Hero Images / Hero Images / Getty Images If you stretch and relax or do an easy yoga workout for 30 minutes, you'll burn about 100 calories. In addition, you help to increase the range of motion in your joints, decrease stress, and it may improve the quality of your sleep. 3 Surprising Ways Stretching Helps You Lose Weight 3 Play Ping Pong Cat Dolphin / EyeEm EyeEm / Getty Images When is the last time you picked up a paddle and played ping pong? If you play for just 20 minutes, you'll burn about 100 calories. You'll improve your hand-eye coordination as well. Pick a talented opponent and you'll burn even more calories; a vigorous game of table tennis can be a challenging aerobic workout. Visit a table tennis club for a fun date night or if you just want to go out with friends. 4 Walk and Talk Wilson Lau / Getty Images When you can, take your phone calls on the go. You can even walk during business calls simply by pacing around your office (unless you are video too, of course). Do this during two 15-minute phone calls a day and 100 calories will be gone. Wear a fitness tracker to see how far you can go. 5 Stand Up Klaus Vedfelt / Taxi / Getty Images You burn about 10 extra calories for every 10 minutes you stand rather than sit at the office. And the good news is that you don't need a standing desk to take advantage of the benefit. Ask co-workers if you can hold meetings at a standing location instead of in the conference room. Better yet, take the meeting on the road and solve workplace problems while you walk. You can also stand more at home, like when watching TV or reading. It all adds up! Exercise and Stay Fit Right at Your Office Desk 6 Jump Rope Thinkstock / Stockbyte / Getty Images If you're really serious about weight loss and want to burn calories fast, jump rope. You only need to jump for seven minutes to blast away 100 calories. You'll also improve coordination and build strength in your lower legs at the same time. Can't jump for a solid seven minutes? Work your way up to it. Keep a jump rope handy at your house so you can do it in your living room, on your driveway, or in your yard—anywhere you have enough space. Keep one in your car so you can jump rope at the park. 7 Go Dancing With Friends Dan Dalton / The Image Bank / Getty Images If your friends like to hit happy hour or eat out when they get together, change the plan to burn more calories. Thirty minutes of casual dancing burns about 165 calories. You can also hold at-home dance sessions. Try new Tik Tok or YouTube moves or simply turn on your favorite playlist and dance around. 8 Tidy Up Paul Bradbury / Caiaimage / Getty Images Got a house to clean? Believe it or not, housework can be an effective exercise session. Standard housecleaning burns about 100 calories in 30 minutes. Need to burn a few more? Change up your chores to burn more calories when you clean. Simple tasks like vacuuming and dusting can be modified into exercises that build strength. 9 Take a Hike Cultura RM Exclusive / Matelly Cultura Exclusive / Getty Images Who needs an excuse to get outdoors? Lace up your hiking boots and head for the hills to burn 100 calories in just 15 minutes. Hiking burns more calories than walking because of the difference in terrain. When you hike up a hill or on unstable trails, your leg muscles have to work harder to move you forward and your core muscles have to work harder to keep you stabilized. The result? More calories burned. If you don't have a trail nearby, walking briskly for 20 minutes will burn 100 calories too. 10 Play Kickball or Tag Fuse / Fuse / Getty Images If you're home with kids during the day, put them to work. Childhood games like kickball or tag burn lots of calories. These activities are essentially high-intensity interval workouts and they make your kids happy, too. A 15-minute game burns 100 calories and builds a special bond with your loved ones. 11 Inline Skate Tom Merton / OJO Images / Getty Images If you have access to smooth trails along a beach or through the city, why not see the sights on inline skates? Rent a pair or dust off your old rollerblades, pads, and safety gear. You don't even have to be a pro. An easy beginner-level rollerblading session burns 100 calories in just ten minutes. 12 Run Blend Images - Erik Isakson / Brand X Pictures / Getty Images The simplest way to burn 100 calories fast is to run. And you don't have to be a marathoner or sprinter to blast away fat. Run one 10-minute mile to burn 100 calories. If you're not ready to run for a full mile, try run/walk intervals to build stamina while burning fat. 13 Garden Cultura RM / Matelly Cultura / Getty Images Got a green thumb? Put it to work for you! Gardening burns about 100 calories for every 25 minutes that you spend digging, weeding, and planting. The added bonus is that you enjoy the outdoors while you create a beautiful garden and maybe even grow a few healthy vegetables. A Word From Verywell Keep a 100-calorie workout jar on your kitchen counter or your desk at work. Keep these and other easy workout ideas on slips of paper in the jar. Encourage co-workers, friends, or family members to pull out a slip and complete a workout two or three times throughout the day to promote healthy movement and weight loss. 10-Minute Workouts That Burn 100 Calories Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Looking to lose weight? Our nutrition guide can help you get on the right track. Sign up for our newsletter and get it free! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physical activity for a healthy weight. Updated Oct 28, 2020. Faber I, Oosterveld F, Nijhuis-Van der Sanden M. Does an eye-hand coordination test have added value as part of talent identification in table tennis? A validity and reproducibility study. PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e85657. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0085657 Trecroci A, Cavaggioni L, Caccia R, Alberti G. Jump rope training: balance and coordination in preadolescent soccer players. J Sports Sci Med. 2015;14(4):792-8. Fischetti F, Vilardi A, Cataldi S, Greco G. Effects of plyometric training program on speed and explosive strength of lower limbs in young athletes. 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