When comparing exercises or activities in terms of the number of calories burned, you are really asking how much energy is required for each activity. To explain this further, the body actually needs the calories you eat every day for energy; which means that the more you train, the more calories you will burn. Math varies drastically based on factors like age, gender, weight, fitness level, and more. When it comes to how much you burn in swimming and other cardiovascular exercises, an estimate can be made by measuring the amount of oxygen consumed during the activity.
It takes a long time to learn to swim, a lot of skill and technique to do the exercise well. Compared to other cardio exercises, many people know how to run, jog, row, and bike with ease. However, to be able to swim, one needs to practice properly. That being said, someone who is not proficient in said water sport would burn more calories than someone who is already an expert, since less effort is made. Experience also plays an important role. For example, if you are not very familiar with some sport and you feel that you are pushing yourself too hard, you may think that you are burning a lot of fat but the truth is that you are only working at a medium intensity, but I just feel that it is already intense.
Swimming at a speed of 1:15 per 100 meters will burn between 15 and 25 kcal per minute. An hour of extreme activity in the water would burn approximately 1000-1500 kcal. Just looking at these values proves that sport is one of the best exercises that can be used to combat obesity as it melts fats due to the number of body parts involved. Compared to other cardio exercises, running at 8:00 per mile will burn 10-20 kcal per minute. This means that an hour would only consume 800-1000 kcal. Bicycling at 10 miles per hour uses 6 to 10 kcal per minute, which means only 900 to 1,200 kcal per hour.
