Calories burned doing push-ups
Short answer: a push-up burns roughly 0.3–0.6 kcal, depending mostly on your body weight. So 100 push-ups is somewhere around 30–60 kcal — real, but not a licence for a second dessert. Push-ups earn their keep through strength and habit, not the calorie counter.
How it's calculated
The calculator uses the standard MET formula: kcal per minute = METs × 3.5 × weight in kg ÷ 200, with push-ups rated at 8 METs (vigorous calisthenics in the Compendium of Physical Activities). Your pace setting converts reps into minutes of work.
About those error bars: MET values are population averages measured in labs. Your actual burn depends on body composition, form, rep depth, and how long you rest — so I show ±30% around the estimate rather than pretending to single-kcal precision. The formula also ignores any small after-burn effect.
Calculations run in your browser; your weight never leaves the page.
Keep reading
Prefer nudges over browser tabs?
Pyup turns this into a habit: it pings you for movement breaks and walks you up a push-up pyramid, one small set at a time. Free on iPhone and Mac.
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