Does Painting Burn Calories?
Yes, this is how many!

Do you enjoy painting in your free time? Well, more than just a pleasurable activity, it even burns calories!
Does Painting Burn Calories? Yes, this is how many! Thumbnail
Does Painting Burn Calories? Yes, this is how many! Thumbnail

Introduction

Painting is a pleasurable activity for the mind and soul, but it can do wonders for your body too! Whether you’re a professional artist or just a hobbyist, it doesn’t matter. The time you spend on painting will always result in some sort of calories burning. And why not? It’s an activity that captivates our mind, body and spirit equally. The calories burnt may vary from one person to another but you will always burn some!

The average number of calories burnt while painting during standing is around 175. The number of calories burnt may vary according to gender, posture during painting, the individual weight, and the total time and sessions spent painting per week. 

How much calories can painting burn?

Painting can burn as much as 180 calories per hour if you’re standing!

A painter with a palette

Painting on a canvas can burn anywhere around 150 to 180 calories while standing. 

Especially if you’re doing projects that involve a lot of physical strength, the calories can be greater. For instance, if you’re painting a giant mural or all the walls in your home, there would be an increased need of moving around and physical activity. Hence, large art projects would take more energy and time, resulting in an enormous increase in the number of calories burnt.

If you want to paint while standing, we suggest that you buy this easel as a support for your canvas or whatever surface you’re using for your painting.

U.S Art Supply Adjustable Easel

This wooden easel can be adjusted for various lengths and for painting in different postures - from sitting to standing.

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How many calories are burnt painting the walls of a house?

Painting all the walls in your house burns the most calories!

A couple painting the walls at home

Painting the walls of a house burns as much as around 1400 calories within a few hours.

If you’re fond of both painting and workouts, renovating the walls of your house is something you shouldn’t miss out! Grab a giant roller brush and a huge paint can and start painting the walls. To burn even more calories in addition to the process of painting, we recommend you move all the furniture around all by yourself!

If you’re looking for a set of giant brushes for large artistic projects, look no further than these.

Master Pro Paint Brush (Set of 6)

This set of 6 brushes is ideal for covering large areas and products such as furniture quickly and smoothly with paint, requiring minimal effort.

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Is the amount of calories burnt the same for all types of art media?

More or less, the amount of calories you burn is independent of the art medium!

Painting mediums and brushes

The calories you burn during drawing or painting is dependent more on the time and energy you take with an art medium than the medium itself.

The number of calories you burn during an artistic activity depends completely on how much you’re moving and your posture during painting. However, it could also depend on how much time and energy it takes for you to complete the painting or drawing. For instance, if you get done with a pastel artwork more quickly and with less effort compared to an acrylic painting, you would burn lesser calories compared to acrylics. On the other hand, if you use only one painting or drawing medium, then you may have become used to it and the amount of calories you burn may become lesser with time.

Does your posture while painting affect the number of calories burnt?

If you want to burn more calories while painting, try standing throughout!

A brush in hand, painting yellow

Sitting or standing while painting would relax the body, making it less likely to burn calories and lose weight.

Painting while sitting or lying down will cause lesser physical activity compared to standing, so you can also expect the number of burnt calories to decrease. You could also change your posture from time to time during the various stages of painting if you’re conscious about burning too many calories or get tired quickly.

But if you’ve been looking forward to losing some weight, we suggest you stand all the way throughout your painting. You could burn some calories while sitting or lying down too, but it won’t amount to as much as painting while standing.

Conclusion

So it doesn’t matter whether you’re drawing or painting. Since your body is engaged in a project, you would burn calories. Moreover, the number of body parts engaged in the artistic activity also increases the amount of calories burnt. But all in all, you could burn around 180 calories per hour on a canvas painting while standing. On the other hand, if you’re painting walls or doing a mega art project like a mural painting, you would need more time and energy to cover the large areas. For the walls in your home, the average number of burnt calories would be around 1400 in 3 to 4 hours.

Do you wish to learn more about the effects of painting and paints on the human body? Don’t miss reading this post on the dangers of eating paint .

How Dangerous is it to Eat Paint? Could kids or pets die?

Is painting really as safe an activity as it is pleasurable? Could you always be sure that your kids and pets are safe around paint?

Jimena & Iñigo Picture

By Jimena & Iñigo

The Navarro-Rubios

My husband and I are learning how to draw and paint. We wanted to share this learning process with the world and have fun! That's why we created this blog. We'll have drawing contests every week and you'll decide who won that week! Follow along and learn with us!

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Jimena & Iñigo Picture

Jimena & Iñigo

The Navarro-Rubios

My husband and I are learning how to draw and paint. We wanted to share this learning process with the world and have fun! That's why we created this blog. We'll have drawing contests every week and you'll decide who won that week! Follow along and learn with us!

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