How To Burn 1000 Calories In One Day

Bodybuilder stretching after burning 1000 CaloriesBurning 1000 calories in one day is not as difficult as it sounds. In an intensive martial arts class you can expect to burn up to 700 calories in 60 minutes of kickboxing. On an exercise machine such as an elliptical you can burn 400-500 Calories in an hour. The easiest way to burn 1000 Calories in a day is to do 3 workouts. You could combine two of the following if that is more convenient.

The First 250 Calories

Start the day with a 3-4 mile run, or if you prefer use an exercise machine such as elliptical / cross trainer for around 30 – 45 minutes. Keep the intensity to a moderate level. You will be exercising again later in the day. You should aim to burn around 7-8 Calories per minute.

The Next 500 Calories

This will be the main workout of the day. It will be a weight training workout. Thee actual total calories burnt will depend on your strength, so this is just a guide.


This will be an intensive weight training session that will burn a lot of calories and leave you feeling totally exhausted. It is not recommended that you do this on a regular basis, it is just one way to burn a lot of calories in one day. If you are a regular lifter then to burn these extra calories you need to lift more weight that you usually do – add an extra work set with more weight added.

Usually you would split these exercises over 2 or 3 sessions to ensure that you do not overtraining, however, to burn 1000 calories you need to work hard, and that may mean overtraining. You should not do this type of routine every day. If you wish to burn 1000 Calories every day you will have to split your weight training sessions and possible increase the cardio workouts.

  • Squats: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Deadlifts: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Barbell bench press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Incline dumbbell press: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • One-arm dumbbell rows: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Lateral pull downs to front: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Seated cable rows: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Dumbbell lateral raise: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Bent-over lateral raise: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Barbell curls: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Concentration curls: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Triceps push-downs: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Lying triceps extensions: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Leg extensions: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Seated leg curls: 2 sets of 8-12 reps
  • Seated calf raise: 1 set of 12-15 reps
  • Standing calf raise: 2 sets of 12-15 reps
Instruction for these exercises can be found on our beginning weight training article.

This will be very hard to complete. Aim to ensure good form and work hard. You will probably need some intra-workout nutrition to keep you going.

The Last 250 Calories

Calories recorded on an elliptical trainer
Over 250 Calories in 30 Minutes

This will be done in the evening, ideally after a long afternoon rest, maybe a sleep, then some more food and plenty of liquids. A medium to high intensity cardio session of 30-45 minutes should allow you to burn 250 Calories.

The image here shows how 264 Calories were burned with a 30 minutes session on an elliptical. This was at a rate of 8.8 Calories per minute, which is a good steady workout with one sprint at a higher resistance near the end.


This workout can be the same as the morning one or you can increase the intensity to work quicker. Work those muscles and burn more energy. You could do this workout straight after the weight training session. If you do be sure to take an energy drink afterwards to replenish your glycogen levels (otherwise muscle wastage may occur).

1000 Calories Burned Off

Well done, that’s 1000 calories burned off. Now rehydrate, eat some proteins and healthy carbohydrates to refuel the muscles. And sleep well.

Many athletes and bodybuilders routinely burn a lot more than 1000 Calories a day through exercise. With a little extra work and some planning you can quickly increase the effectiveness of an exercise plan to get back in shape. To do this in one session would require a steady cardio workout of around 2 hours 20 minutes, which is something few people have the fitness levels required to perform.

6 Comments on “How To Burn 1000 Calories In One Day”

  1. hi! this looks like a great workout program! how many times a week should i practice this plan and also maybe recommend a diet to go with this.

  2. MotleyHealth says:

    This is pretty intense. You may not want to do this more than once a week.
    What are your goals? To get much fitter, to lose fat, or both?
    The MCD Weight Loss Plan should provide you with a good workout plan and diet, but if there is anything else you need, just ask. That basically follows the “caveman” approach to diet. A weekly exercise routine as at the bottom of that page.

  3. Could I do the wright training of this program as a three day spilt.

  4. I luv this it really working

  5. Shannon Jones says:

    A 30 – 45 minute session of HIIT or MRT could land you a whopping 500+ calorie burn also. This will put some variety in the workouts, and stimulate different neuromuscular pathways keeping your body from settling into the expected habit patterns we tend to develop.

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