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Leaf raking calculator
Put your weight, minutes and MET in: 180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 4 burn 326.59 kcal — 326.59 kcal an hour, 5.44 kcal a minute.
★ SPORTS · LEAF RAKING · CALORIES
Leaf Raking Calories Calculator: 326.59 kcal in 60 Minutes
On the defaults — 180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 4 — leaf raking calories are 326.59 kcal, or 5.44 kcal a minute. This is the leaf raking calories tool: turn pounds into kilograms, multiply by the MET value for calories an hour, then scale by the minutes — a session guessed from the minutes alone tells you nothing until the weight and intensity behind it are known.
What does 326.59 kcal mean?
It means a 180 lb person, raking leaves for 60 minutes at MET 4, burns three hundred and twenty-six point five nine calories, which is 326.59 kcal an hour and 5.44 kcal a minute. The weight sets how much body is moving, the MET sets how hard each minute works, and the minutes set how long the burn runs: one more minute adds 5.44 kcal without raising the intensity, and a higher MET adds calories to every minute without adding a single extra minute. The only judgement is the MET — 4 must be the average intensity actually worked, raking and bagging and pauses included, not the hardest stretch alone.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Weight in kg | pounds × 0.45359237 | 81.65 kg — 180 × 0.45359237. |
| Calories an hour | MET × kg | 326.59 kcal — 4 × 81.65. |
| Total calories | per hour × minutes ÷ 60 | 326.59 kcal — 326.59 × 60 ÷ 60. |
| Calories a minute | total ÷ minutes | 5.44 kcal — 326.59 ÷ 60. |
Three things to check before you trust the number
First, check the weight honestly: 180 lb must be the weight actually doing the raking, not a weight remembered from last autumn — a weight remembered from last autumn is a burn remembered from last autumn too. Second, check the MET against the whole job, not the highlight: 4 must be the average across raking, gathering, and bagging, because a job that mixes steady raking with standing and chatting is not a 4 all the way through, and a MET borrowed from the hardest stretch lifts the whole job. Third, check the minutes against working time: 60 minutes must be minutes actually raking, not minutes in the yard — minutes fetching bags, taking breaks, and admiring the pile are not minutes raking.
Worked example
180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 4. Kilograms: 180 × 0.45359237 = 81.65 kg. Per hour: 4 × 81.65 = 326.59 kcal. Total: 326.59 × 60 ÷ 60 = 326.59 kcal. Per minute: 326.59 ÷ 60 = 5.44 kcal. In practice that means an hour of moderate raking burns about three hundred and twenty-seven calories — the number to set against a daily target, and the 326.59 figure to use when a longer job is weighed against a harder one.
Every branch, checked
At 90 minutes instead of 60, the burn rises to 489.89 kcal. At 150 lb instead of 180, the burn falls to 272.16 kcal. At MET 5 instead of 4, the burn rises to 408.23 kcal. At 45 minutes instead of 60, the burn falls to 244.94 kcal.
The reverses, worked backwards
The minutes behind 326.59 kcal are 60: at 45 minutes the burn is 244.94 kcal; at 90 minutes it is 489.89 kcal. The weight behind 326.59 kcal is 180 lb: at 150 lb the burn is 272.16 kcal; at 200 lb it is 362.87 kcal — the weight never touches the rate per kilogram, only the total the body burns.
What the defaults assume
The defaults assume 180 lb, 60 minutes of moderate general leaf raking at MET 4, with steady work and short pauses. They do not assume wet, heavy leaves, a steep slope, or hours of hauling full bags to the curb — wet leaves and hauling need a higher MET, so treat 326.59 as the moderate dry-leaf burn, not the wet-leaf haul burn.
Who uses this
- A homeowner counting yard work: the 326.59 kcal turns an autumn chore into counted activity.
- Someone tracking daily movement: the 5.44 kcal a minute prices raking fairly against a walk.
- A gardener planning the day: the hourly rate sizes jobs before the afternoon is promised away.
- A person watching weight: the per-minute figure turns yard time into calories.
Accuracy & limitations
The arithmetic is exact for the inputs entered; the judgement is the weight, the minutes actually raking, and the true average MET. Real raking varies with leaf wetness, slope, and bagging effort — so treat 326.59 as the planning burn for 180 lb at MET 4 for 60 minutes, and check it against one timed yard session before quoting it to anyone else.
Cite this calculator
Bright Side Kit, “Leaf Raking Calories Calculator: 326.59 kcal in 60 Minutes”, https://brightoolbox.com/leaf-raking-calories-calculator/, accessed 3 November 2026. Students and researchers: cite the calculator name, the page URL and the date you used it, and quote the defaults (180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 4) so the result can be checked.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories does raking leaves burn in an hour?
326.59 kcal on the defaults: 180 lb, 60 minutes, MET 4 — 4 × 81.65 = 326.59 kcal an hour.
What does MET 4 mean?
A MET value is how many times harder an activity is than sitting still: raking at MET 4 works four times as hard as resting, which is why an hour of it burns more than three hundred calories.
Why convert pounds to kilograms first?
Because the MET formula is defined in kilograms: 180 × 0.45359237 = 81.65 kg, and multiplying MET by pounds instead overstates the burn by more than double.
How many calories does 90 minutes of raking burn?
489.89 kcal on the defaults: the hourly rate of 326.59 kcal scaled by 90 minutes — 326.59 × 90 ÷ 60.
Does bagging the leaves count?
Yes, if it is part of the working minutes — bagging and hauling are part of the job the MET averages over. Minutes spent standing and chatting are not.
Does raking burn more than walking?
At the same weight, moderate raking burns more per hour than a gentle walk because its MET is higher — compare the hourly rates, not totals from different lengths.