A number of popular workouts didn't make this list. Here's why: In order to make sure we were comparing apples to apples in making this ranking, we exclusively used data from a single, sweeping review of exercise science.
There simply isn't a dataset more thorough or well-grounded out there, and we didn't want to muddle this one up by introducing numbers obtained using different methods, from branded advertising or without exact comparisons.
That said, it's worth keeping in mind that there are plenty of ways people love to exercise that aren't among these 36. Here are a few, along with the calories per hour counts that have been attributed to them.
Take these numbers with a grain or two of salt, especially when comparing their numbers with numbers from the peer-reviewed comparative research.
SoulCycle/Spinning: The stationary-bike-class company has its issues, but reports that its attendees can expect to burn 500 to 700 calories in a session. This tracks closely with other data on stationary cycling.
Pilates: We found only one 2005 publication offering anything like science on the calorie efficiency of pilates (though it appears to have been published without normal peer review). It claims pilates burns 4.0 to 7.5 calories per minute. Assuming this translates over longer time spans, that's about 240 to 450 calories per hour.
Zumba: A Zumba-funded study conducted on young, healthy women found that a single 39 minute Zumba class burns an average of about 360 calories.
At the top of the list, though, are two very simple activities: jumping rope and running fast (8 mph to be precise). Do either of those things for an hour, and a 200-pound person will burn 1,074 calories.
Taekwondo is the most intense competitive sport on this list, burning 937 calories per hour in a 200-pound person.
"Vigorous" swimming is even better, churning through 892 calories per hour.
Run up a StairMaster (or up a particularly long flight of stairs), and a 200-pound person will burn 819 calories per hour.
A moderate 5-mph run will burn about 755 calories per hour in a 200-pound person.
A basketball game, touch or flag football, and singles tennis all offer great exercise, burning about 728 calories per hour in a 200-pound person.
Rollerblading is intense, burning 683 calories per hour.
High-impact aerobics can use 664 calories per hour.
Want to burn even more? Go backpacking. Like ice skating and racquetball, a 200-pound person will use about 637 calories per hour on a hike with a heavy backpack.
Cross-country skiing is even more rigorous, burning 619 calories per hour in a 200-pound person.
Hiking, stationary rowing, and water skiing all burn about 546 calories per hour in a 200 pound person.
Swim light or moderate laps in a pool, and a 200-pound person can burn 528 calories per hour.
Edging out the first major sport on this list: water aerobics. The pool exercise can burn as many as 501 calories per hour in a 200-pound person.
Low-impact aerobics burn about 455 calories per hour in a 200-pound person. The same is true of a moderate workout on an elliptical machine, weight/resistance training, and softball and baseball.
If you golf, carry your own clubs around the course, and if you weigh 200 pounds you can expect to burn 391 calories per hour. The same is true of typical downhill skiing and a 3.5-mph walk.
Power yoga, or vinyasa, is a more movement-centered exercise practice than hatha. This article includes more information about the different kinds of yoga and how beginners can get started.
Leisure cycling, defined as a pace under 10 mph, burns about 364 calories per hour in a 200-pound person. The same is true for a typical (though probably not Olympic) game of volleyball, or the movement-based, intensive "power" yoga.
Next up: canoeing. A leisurely paddle down a river will burn 319 calories in an hour for a 200-pound person.
Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art and form of exercise, often practiced with slow, deliberate movements.
Bowling, along with the next two items on this list, ballroom dancing and Tai Chi, burns 273 calories per active hour.
Next up: going for a stroll. For every hour walked at 2 mph, a 200-pound person burns 255 calories.
Hatha yoga, a version of the exercise practice centered on holding specific poses, sits at the bottom of this list, burning an average of about 228 calories per hour in a 200-pound person.
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