How Many Calories Do 10 Pull-Ups Burn?

10 pull-ups burn approximately 13 to 20 calories depending on your body weight and pace — with a 70 kg person burning roughly 15–16 calories at moderate pace.

Use our Pull-Up Calorie Calculator for a personalised result.

Calories Burned Doing 10 Pull-Ups by Body Weight

Using MET 8.0 (vigorous calisthenics) at moderate pace (6 reps/min):

Body Weight	10 Pull-Ups (Moderate Pace)
55 kg (121 lb)	12.2 cal
60 kg (132 lb)	13.3 cal
65 kg (143 lb)	14.4 cal
70 kg (154 lb)	15.6 cal
75 kg (165 lb)	16.7 cal
80 kg (176 lb)	17.8 cal
90 kg (198 lb)	20.0 cal
100 kg (220 lb)	22.2 cal

How Pace Affects 10-Rep Calorie Burn

The same 10 pull-ups burn different calories at different paces because the active workout time changes:

Pace	Time for 10 Reps	Calories (70 kg)
Slow (4/min)	2 min 30 sec	23.3 cal
Moderate (6/min)	1 min 40 sec	15.6 cal
Fast / Kipping (10/min)	1 min	9.3 cal

Slower, more controlled pull-ups burn more calories per rep because the muscles are under tension for longer. This is why strict pull-ups are harder and more metabolically demanding than kipping variations.

Calories for 5, 10, and 15 Pull-Ups (70 kg, Moderate Pace)

Reps	Time	Calories
5 reps	50 sec	7.8 cal
10 reps	1 min 40 sec	15.6 cal
15 reps	2 min 30 sec	23.3 cal
20 reps	3 min 20 sec	31.1 cal

Is 10 Pull-Ups a Good Goal?

Ten consecutive pull-ups is widely considered the benchmark for solid upper body strength. Here's how it stacks up:

Level	Consecutive Pull-Ups
Beginner	1–3 reps
Average	4–7 reps
Good	8–12 reps
Excellent	13–20 reps
Elite	20+ reps

Reaching 10 consecutive pull-ups places you in the "good" to "excellent" range for upper body relative strength. For most people, this represents 4–12 weeks of dedicated training.

10 Pull-Ups in a Workout: How Many Sets?

Most people can't do 10 consecutive pull-ups when starting out. A common approach is to work toward 10 total reps across multiple sets:

Sets × Reps	Total	Typical Rest
5 × 2	10 reps	60 sec rest
4 × 3	12 reps	90 sec rest
3 × 4	12 reps	90 sec rest
2 × 5	10 reps	2 min rest

In all cases, the calculator estimates calories for the active rep time only. Rest periods burn resting metabolic calories (approximately 1–1.5 cal/min) that are not included.

10 Pull-Ups vs. 10 Push-Ups: Calorie Comparison

Exercise	10 Reps	Calories (70 kg, moderate pace)
Pull-Ups	10	15.6 cal
Chin-Ups	10	15.6 cal
Push-Ups	10	4.4 cal
Burpees	10	15.6 cal
Sit-Ups	10	~4.1 cal

Ten pull-ups burn more than three times the calories of ten push-ups at the same pace. This makes sense — pull-ups require lifting your entire body weight vertically, engaging more large muscles at higher intensity.

Daily 10 Pull-Ups: Cumulative Calorie Impact

Timeframe	70 kg (cal)	90 kg (cal)
Per day	15.6	20.0
Per week	109	140
Per month	468	600
Per year	5,694	7,300

A daily set of 10 pull-ups burns roughly 5,700–7,300 calories per year — approximately 0.7–1.0 kg of body fat per year from this single habit alone. When combined with a solid cardio routine and caloric deficit, the impact is meaningful.

How Many Pull-Ups to Burn 100 Calories?

For a 70 kg person at moderate pace:

100 calories ÷ 1.56 cal/rep ≈ 64 pull-ups

Body Weight	Pull-Ups to Burn 100 Cal
60 kg	75 reps
70 kg	64 reps
80 kg	56 reps
90 kg	50 reps

Read the full breakdown in our Pull-Up Calorie Formula Guide.

Tips to Get Your First 10 Pull-Ups

Negative pull-ups — jump to the bar, lower yourself slowly (3–5 seconds). Builds the muscles you need.
Band-assisted pull-ups — reduces effective body weight, allowing higher volume training
Dead hangs — improves grip strength, a common limiting factor
Lat pulldowns — builds lats through the same movement pattern with adjustable resistance
Ring rows — horizontal pulling that complements vertical pulling strength

With consistent training (3× per week), most people reach 10 consecutive pull-ups within 6–12 weeks starting from zero.