How Many Calories Does Mowing the Lawn Burn?

Mowing the lawn is a necessary chore, but at least you burn calories when you do it. If you have a push mower instead of a power mower, you gain even more workout benefits.

Calories Per Minute

If you use a manual mower you'll burn 3.8 calories per minute if you weight 125 lbs, 4.6 calories per minute if you weigh 150 lbs or 5.2 calories per minute if you weigh 175 lbs, according to "The Calorie Counter," by Karen J Nolan and Jo-Ann Heslin. That compares to 3.4 calories per minute if you weigh 125 lbs, 4.1 calories per minute if you weigh 150 lbs or 4.7 calories per minute if you weigh 175 lbs. when using a power lawnmower.

Calories Per Half Hour

If your lawn mowing job takes a half hour and you use a manual mower, that translates to 114 burned calories for a 125-lb. person, 138 burned calories for a 150-lb. person and 156 calories for a 175-lb. person. Using a power mower for a half-hour translates to 102 burned calories for a 125-lb. person, 123 burned calories for a 150-lb. person and 141 calories for a 175-lb. person.

Considerations

You burn more calories mowing your lawn than you would dusting the furniture. When dusting, you burn 2.3 calories per minute if you are a 125-lb. person, 2.6 calories per minute if you are a 150-lb person and 3.1 calories per minute if you weight 175-lbs. In a half hour, that's 69, 78 or 93 calories respectively, depending on your weight.