How Many Calories Does Figure Skating Burn?

Figure Skating calories by weight & duration

The ~492 calories per hour figure is a general estimate for a 155 lb person skating at a moderate figure skating pace, and your actual burn will differ based on your weight, skill level, and how much of the hour you spend actively moving. You can log your figure skating sessions in the Mariposas app to track how this activity fits into your broader fitness picture over time.

Calculated as MET (7) × body weight (kg) × hours. How this works.

What to expect in a figure skating class

Most beginner figure skating sessions open with a short off-ice warm-up and a quick overview of how to fall safely and get back up, which sounds minor but genuinely changes how confident you feel once you hit the ice. The first 20 to 30 minutes are usually spent on basic forward gliding, stopping with a snowplow, and learning to shift weight from one foot to the other without grabbing the boards. Expect to feel your hip abductors and ankle stabilizers burning in ways they rarely do on dry land, because every glide requires you to actively hold a position rather than just standing still. The session pace is dictated by the ice, not a clock, so you recover naturally between practice attempts.

Tips for your first figure skating class

• Rent figure skates rather than hockey skates for your first session. Figure blades have a toe pick and a longer blade profile that makes two-foot gliding and basic turns more forgiving to learn on.
• Ask the rink staff to lace your skates firmly through the ankle eyelets. Loose ankles are the number one reason beginners feel wobbly, and a well-laced boot gives you actual edge control instead of just balancing on the soul of the boot.
• Practice the controlled fall before you need it. From a low squat position, tip to one side onto your hip rather than catching yourself with your wrists. You will fall, and knowing how to do it takes most of the anxiety out of trying new things.
• Stay off the boards as much as possible after the first few minutes. Gripping the rink wall feels safe, but it teaches your body to lean backward as a reflex, which is exactly the wrong posture for skating. Getting comfortable in the middle of the ice, even just standing, builds balance faster.

What affects how many calories figure skating burns

The 492 cal/hr estimate applies to a 155 lb person skating at a moderate recreational pace, and the figure scales directly with body weight: a heavier skater burns more, a lighter skater burns less, at the same effort level. Intensity rises sharply during jump attempts, footwork sequences, or sustained backward skating, because those elements recruit more muscle mass and spike your heart rate well above a comfortable forward glide. Conversely, long rest periods at the boards or slow, tentative movement at the walls will pull that number down considerably.

Three things move your number most: body weight (a heavier body burns more for the same activity, that's why the table runs from 125 to 225 lb), duration (calories scale with time), and intensity. A figure skating you push hard burns more than an easy one, because effort is what the MET value of 7 represents, an average for this activity. Your fitness level and how much you rest between efforts shift it too, so treat these as a solid estimate rather than an exact count.

How we calculate figure skating calories

Every number here uses the standard energy-expenditure formula: calories ≈ MET × body weight (kg) × time (hours). The MET value of 7 for figure skating comes from the published Compendium of Physical Activities, the same reference researchers and fitness trackers use. We convert your weight to kilograms and multiply through, no fudge factors. See our methodology for the full formula and sources.