How many calories do elite athletes burn playing summer sports?

When you’re an elite athlete, it's critical to track the number of calories burned during your workout. Even if you're not, you might be curious about how many calories world-class athletes could be burning. (We can all dream, can't we?)

Here are the health benefits of some top summer sports, plus calories burned during popular games.

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, bringing together super fans of all backgrounds and ages, while offering a number of health benefits for athletes.

“Soccer includes both aerobic and anaerobic training, so pro players use incredible amounts of energy,” says Doug Cutter, MD a sports medicine doctor with VCU Health in Richmond, Virginia. Aerobic training includes repetitive, cardio activities like long-distance running that use up lots of oxygen over a long period of time. Anaerobic training involves short-bursts of energy, such as sprints, that really work your muscles.

Calories burned: 1,021 calories in 90 minutes

Beach volleyball burns so many calories because professional athletes jump about 300 times per match, adding up to an intense workout. “It’s a jumping sport, which exercises the lower back and extremities,” says Dr. Cutter. “Running in the sand also really works the hamstrings and glutes.”

Plus, champions get a bonus health benefit: playing on the beach lets them soak up the sunshine vitamin—better known as vitamin D—which helps the body absorb calcium for bone strength. If you're going to be spending time out in the sun, just be sure to apply (and reapply) a sunscreen with at least SPF 30 to protect your skin from harmful UV rays.

Calories burned: 816 calories per 90 minutes

Tennis is a game of both strategy and athleticism that keeps players on their toes. Pro athletes must sprint, start, stop, and react to balls that fly toward them at speeds up to 125 miles per hour in some professional competitions. In fact, top players might change their direction five times during a 10-second point play. Tennis teaches agility, improves reflex speed, and scorches calories.

There’s also a social benefit to tennis, adds Cutter. These pros can continue playing even into old age and the social nature of tennis will support their mental health, he explains.

Calories burned: 714 calories during a 90-minute session

For professional athletes, rowing competitions are fierce. Long boats slice through the water and tear past each other at speeds up to 20 miles per hour, working-out professional rowers’ calves, glutes, lats, and quadriceps. Meanwhile, the coxswain sits at the front of the boat, plans the crew’s next move and pushes teammates to “row harder!”

“It’s a very vigorous sport for athletes,” says Cutter. “It’s cross-training at its best because you’re using all the muscle groups. There are not many sports where there’s that much resistance on both the lower and upper extremities at the same time.”

Calories burned: 1,225 calories for 90 minutes of rigorous rowing

In recent years, cycling, or biking, has surged in popularity among elite athletes. This competitive sport can really torch calories, especially if done at a vigorous pace. “Cyclists burn so many calories because of the resistance they’re working against—they’re going uphill, then downhill, pushing against the wind. It uses up a lot of energy,” says Cutter. 

So how many calories can professional cyclists expect to burn?

Calories burned: Around 1,021 calories in a high-intensity session