The average person weighing 180 pounds burns 172-969 calories per hour doing hunting (birds, deer, elk, large game), the total calories burn depends on the your weight, intensity and type of activity.
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Hunting is an activity that humans have been doing for thousands of years out of the need for survival. Today, hunting is a recreational sport as well as a source of food for humans. Continue reading to find out exactly how many calories you can expect to burn while doing various hunting activities.
Hunting has a long and rich history and pre-dates the rise of Homo sapiens, which are considered to be modern-day humans. In fact, the earliest evidence of hunting was found to be about 1.7 million years ago.
Today, many hunters aren’t hunting out of the need for survival. Modern-day hunters do so for various reasons including selling the pelts and carcasses of the animals for profit, hunting for recreation, as well as for food, although most hunters don’t depend on their hunting activities for food in order to survive.
Hunting is an activity that requires plenty of physical activity, and the best hunters are people who can move fast to track the animals they are hunting and also have exceptional hand-eye coordination and skills using weapons like rifles or bows and arrows.
Depending on the type of hunting you’re doing, you can expect to burn plenty of calories. If you happen to score a large animal, you then need to take the carcass back to your base which requires a lot of energy and manpower. Many hunters also wear heavy clothing to blend in with their surroundings which can weigh up to 100 pounds.
How To Use The Calculator
Using the calculator to determine how many calories you’ll burn while hunting is easy and only requires a few steps. To calculate the number of calories that you’ll burn, just input your weight and the time that you’ve spent or plan to spend hunting. Then select the specific hunting activity and hit CALCULATE.
Using the calculator step-by-step:
- Choose your unit of measurement (pounds or kilograms)
- Enter your weight in the corresponding unit of measurement
- Find the hunting activity that you’re doing
- Enter the amount of time you’re playing hunting for
- Hit CALCULATE
How the Calculator Works
Our calculator uses MET values to give you an accurate estimate of how many calories you can expect to burn while hunting and doing other activities. The higher the MET value, the more calories you will burn.
MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task)
MET stands for metabolic equivalent of task, and MET values allow us to give you an estimated expenditure of energy for many different activities, such as hunting.
A MET value is a ratio between the working metabolic rate and the resting metabolic rate [1], which is the rate of energy that is used relative to the duration of time spent doing hunting and other similar activities.
So a MET value of 1 is the equivalent of the amount of energy you expend while at rest, and a MET value of 5 means you are expending 5 times as much energy compared to being at rest.
Almost all activities that you can think of have MET values assigned to them. Some activities with MET values are common, and some are not so common. For example, there are MET values assigned to activities like skydiving, painting, and meditating.
Most activities come with varying levels of intensity and have different MET values assigned to them. For instance, hunting from a car has a MET value of 2, while hiking with hunting gear has a MET value of 9.5.
Formula
The formula that our hunting calculator uses to determine the number of calories burned per minute is (MET x bodyweight in Kg x 3.5) ÷ 200.
Examples
A person weighing 180 pounds will burn approximately 174 calories per hour from hunting from a car or boat. This activity has a MET of 2, which means that it burns 2 times as many calories as you do at rest.
This is what the formula for calculating the calories burned while hunting will look like for a 180-pound individual at a MET value of 2.
- Calories burned (per minute) = (body weight in kg x MET x 5) ÷ 200
- Calories burned (per minute) = ( 81.6 x 2 x 5 ) ÷ 200
- Calories burned (per minute) = 9 calories x 60
- Calories burned (per hour) = 174 calories per hour
However, there are plenty of other hunting activities that also burn a significant amount of calories. For example, hunting large game and dragging carcasses has a MET value of 11.3 and is a very strenuous activity since some carcasses can weigh over 100 pounds.
This is what the formula for calculating the calories burned while hunting large game will look like for a 180-pound individual at a MET value of 11.3.
- Calories burned (per minute) = (body weight in kg x MET x 5) ÷ 200
- Calories burned (per minute) = ( 81.6 x 3 x 3.5 ) ÷ 200
- Calories burned (per minute) = 1 calories x 60
- Calories burned (per hour) = 966 calories per hour
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A Brief History of Hunting
Hunting is something that non-humans do as well. Any predator that is looking for food in the wild is said to be hunting. However, hunting by humans is a skill that has developed over thousands of years, and humans have been able to perfect the craft of hunting to be able to survive over the millennia.
There is plenty of ancient artwork depicting hunters searching for food to provide their villages and civilizations with food. Hunting is something that men sought to do in the cold winters in hopes of bringing back food for their wives and children. Hunters throughout history have risked their lives in search of food for themselves and the people in their villages.
Today, hunting is a controversial subject in many domains. Animal rights activists often condemn recreational hunting and advocate for the humane treatment of animals. However, hunting is permitted during specific seasons in some jurisdictions and there are limitations put in place on the amount of hunting that you’re able to do.
Is Hunting Good Exercise?
Hunting can be a great form of exercise no matter what type of activity you’re doing. Since hunters are constantly moving around and tracking animals, you may find yourself walking several miles on a single hunting trip during the day.
Hunting large game is the best way to make the most out of your hunting experience. Larger animals are typically faster and require more effort by hunters to track and kill. As we mentioned previously, once you find large animals to hunt you then need to take the carcass back to either skin the animal or preserve the carcass.
Other types of hunting include hunting marine animals, trap shooting, and hunting with a bow and arrow. All these activities have different MET values and require different levels of intensity to perform.
Benefits of Hunting
Hunting is an activity that provides many benefits to the people who partake in the activity. First, hunting can be a source of food for hunters. Although less common today, some people in the developed world, as well as indigenous peoples around the world, still depend on hunting as their main source of food.
As you know by now, hunting is also great exercise. By going out with a few friends on the weekend to hunt game, you’re expending plenty of energy which helps to burn calories and stay in shape. When you’re tracking animals while hunting, you’re getting cardio in which raises your heart rate and improves your physical endurance.
Equipment
Hunters use plenty of equipment in order to be the best at tracking animals and capturing them. The most common equipment that you’ll see hunters use include:
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- Bow and arrows
- Ghillie suits
- Animal bait
- Nightvision goggles
- Traps
- Video recording equipment
The equipment that hunters use largely depends on the type of people who are doing the hunting. For example, modern-day hunters in the United States may use rifles to hunt while indigenous tribes may use a bow and arrow or traps.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What are the health benefits of hunting?
Hunting has been shown to provide many different benefits for those that participate. In addition to physical exercise that’s required to track and hunt animals, there are also mental benefits that hunters experience. For example, hunters often find that their stress levels are reduced and that the sunlight provides them with Vitamin D which boosts their mood.
How do you get in shape for hunting?
Believe it or not, hunting requires you to be in peak physical condition since you’re often running through the woods or hauling animal carcasses. The best exercises that hunters can do to improve their craft are lunges, shoulder presses, deadlifts, leg presses, and high-volume calf raises.
What muscles do archers use?
Archery is a discipline that requires full-body strength and primarily works your deltoids, traps, biceps, triceps, forearms, core, and hip muscles. Many archers spend a lot of time working out in the gym in order to hold the bow steadily to increase their accuracy when shooting.
What muscles are used when holding a rifle?
Holding and shooting a rifle is something that takes plenty of skill and physical strength. In order to absorb the recoil of a rifle, you need to have a strong core, lower back, and upper body. These muscles provide stabilization as you raise and aim your weapon as well as absorb the kickback of the rifle.
The Bottom Line
While hunting today is certainly much different than the trials and tribulations that hunters experienced thousands of years ago, the sport is still thriving and is used by humans for a variety of different purposes.
Hunters today practice this for recreation as well as for business purposes and food. Indigenous peoples living in some societies and tribes around the world still depend on hunting as their source of food and remain in a hunter-gatherer society.
Getting involved in hunting is easier than ever, and there are plenty of different hunting clubs that you can be a part of to get started practicing this rewarding skill.
Use our hunting calculator to get an idea of how many calories you can expect to burn while hunting, and be sure to check out all the other calculators that we have to offer at Fitness Volt!
References:
- Jetté, M., Sidney, K., & Blümchen, G. (1990). Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clinical cardiology, 13(8), 555–565. https://doi.org/10.1002/clc.4960130809
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