How many calories can you burn playing Angry Birds?

weights

weights (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In addition to tweaking my diet, I have to start a more intensive exercise program.  To this end, I’ve been looking at guides of promising-sounding activities and how many calories they burn, and I’ve noticed some serious omissions, really a complete lack of any activity I’m at all likely to perform.  To rectify this alarming deficiency, I would like to contribute my own list of everyday exercises that you (and, more importantly, I) can do at home or in the office, with a loose estimate of how many calories they’re likely to burn:

Little Blind Girl’s List of Everyday Exercises

  1. Banging your head against the desk/table/wall for five minutes:  15 calories
  2. Walking down to supply closet, forgetting what you went there for, walking back to office, then remembering and walking back to supply closet:  25 calories
  3. Doodling on legal pad while not really listening to tedious phone conversation:  20 calories/half hour
  4. Losing important file and cursing profusely while stomping around looking for it:  15 calories
  5. Losing important file and trying not to curse profusely because boss is around:  40 calories (note:  not recommended for extended durations)
  6. Searching for keys in the morning:  20 calories
  7. Transferring items from one purse to another (may qualify as weight training):  10 calories
  8. Throwing pen across room because it refuses to write smoothly:  5 calories, if you include walking over to where it fell and cleaning the mark off the wall
  9. Panicking over missed deadline:  15 calories
  10. Reading blogs when you should be doing work:  60 calories/hour

I am shocked that these have not yet shown up in the lists of common activities on the exercise sites.  Next you’ll be telling me that caffeine isn’t a vital nutrient!  We can’t all be professional athletes; get your exercise where you can, that’s what I say.  This list would make for an interesting exercise log, don’t you think?

341 thoughts on “How many calories can you burn playing Angry Birds?

      • Hell NO I’m allergic to Caffeine… makes me as jittery as hell.. 1 cup 1000 calories and the road to madness!! great post as ever LBG made me laugh out loud!

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      • Chocolate definitely…lol this post got me to laugh, and its also mostly true. Keep it up, happy to become a regular reader 🙂

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      • Ummm…Heloooo people am i the only one who knows these Little Blind Girl’s List of Everyday Exercises , are stupid and won’t help you..

        now these ones will.

        1. Jump Rope

        Get that jump rope out and use it. This is an excellent cardiovascular exercise. It gets your heart pumping and your blood flowing. Jump roping uses all kinds of muscles such are your leg muscles, back, shoulder, arms, and abs. It loosens all of those muscles up. Jump roping not only uses all of your core muscles, it is an excellent way to lose weight while strengthening your heart. This is an excellent cardio way of exercising. So get off the couch and grab a jump rope and start jumping. You can jump rope fast, slow, in a skipping method, or anyway you feel comfortable doing it. No matter which way you decide to jump rope, you are doing your body some good.

        1. Chin and Neck Exercises

        Most people do not focus as much attention on their posture as they should, but a simple exercise that can be done while sitting in front of the TV is to sit erect and to very gently lower your chin to your chest, stretching the back of the neck. Again, do this gently, no sudden or snapping head movements; just a gentle stretch of the back of the neck should do it. Hold it for a count of five. Next, raise your chin towards the ceiling and hold the position for a count of five again before bringing your chin back to your normal position. Slowly, gently turn your head so that your chin is in alignment with your left shoulder. Keep the head horizontal. Hold for a count of five and then gently return to the central position before turning in the opposite direction, in line with your right shoulder.

        2. Shoulder Rotations

        Next, we move on to shoulder rotations. This is an easy exercise to do while seated. Sitting erect, simply raise both shoulders as if in a shrug; and rotate them anti-clockwise – bringing them all the way around to the position you began in. Repeat this exercise four or five times and then reverse the movement. Next, you can alternate the roll, letting your left shoulder lead while the right shoulder follows. This is great for relaxing the muscles in the upper back. Gently push the chest out and relax it again. Repeat this motion four or five times, breathing independently of the movement.
        3. Abdomen Exercises

        The core muscles in the abdomen are responsible for supporting us as we stand and sit, yet few people take the time to strengthen these. A very simple and easy exercise to do while seated is to very simply draw the belly muscles inwards, towards the spine. Pretend you are trying to get your navel to touch your spine. Hold this for a count of five and then release and repeat. As you progress with this simple exercise which you can easily do while watching TV, you may begin to isolate the upper and lower abdomen. This is easiest to do by first placing the palm of your hand on your upper abdomen, basically over the lower part of your ribcage. Tighten and repeat five times before changing the position of your hand to rest below the navel. Try to draw the muscles inwards, towards the spine. Repeat five times. As you progress you will be able to manipulate the muscles more easily and begin to hold the position for a count of five.
        4. Posterior Exercises

        One of the simple exercises to do – while watching TV – is to exercise the gluteous maximus muscle. Our bums are not just for sitting on, people! The largest muscle in the human body rarely enjoys the exercise it needs to remain firm. So, what can you do to tighten your posterior? Very simple. Clench both muscles and hold for a count of five and then release and repeat. Alternate this exercise between tightening first the left and then the right side muscle. Hold for a count of five and repeat.
        5. Toes Exercises

        Sitting barefoot on the couch you can very easily simply raise onto your toes. This causes a nice, gentle stretch in the calf muscle. Hold for a count of five and repeat, moving on to alternate between left and right feet. To stretch the thigh muscle, raise the knee to the chest and gently hold for a count of five before repeating with the opposite leg. Remember, be gentle!
        6. Wrist Exercises

        A wonderful exercise to develop definition in your forearms is to very simply bend the wrist back and forth. This is not recommended if you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome. Rotate the wrists gently in a clockwise motion. The biceps will benefit from a very gentle stretch that involves raising the elbow slightly to a 45 degree angle and then simply raising the wrist to the shoulder. Lower the wrist again to a horizontal position and repeat. You can do this exercise with both arms simultaneously or you can alternate. For a variation, turn the wrists with the thumbs pointing inwards or towards the ceiling as your hands are curled into gentle fists.

        You may want to intensity this exercise by adding light weights or pick up a resistance band and holding it in both hands try to draw your hands apart.

        You can then incorporate other simple exercises to practice while watching TV, such as walking on the spot, which always gets the blood flowing! While walking on the spot, remember to incorporate your arms in gentle bicep curls, with or without weights, as you prefer.Repeat two or three times and then extend the stretch, trying to look over both shoulders.

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  1. Does it count if you just “get your heart rate up”? Just watch a few Johnny Depp movies and watch those pounds/calories melt away! Love the post…

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    • And just like the abundant choice of gyms one can visit (don’t laugh…ok, you can laugh…), there are SO MANY choices on the vast menu of men to ogle! I mean, Johnny is great — but if he’s not your cup o’ tea, there’s Daniel Craig, or Ryan Gossling, or Bradley Cooper, or…

      😉

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      • We should have a room in the gym for guy-ogling. The Johnny Depp yoga mat, the Bradley Cooper rowing machine, with cardboard cutouts of said guys right in front to provide inspiration and get the heart rate going!

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  2. I am terribly and insanely amused by this. And I am doing Number 10 right now. My exercise regimen seems to consist of walking to the refrigerator and back (at the other end of an 800 square foot house) and back when I need another Coke!

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  3. Arrive home from the university. Realise that you didn´t buy anything to eat. Cycle to the nearest supermarket, greet slight frustration when an elderly lady in a queue in front of you does not know how to use a credit card. 50 calories.

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    • Ooh, you forgot the strength training of wheeling around a cart that always wants to go to the left, avoiding the screaming kids running around with no supervision, and searching for your supermarket membership card; I would totally peg this at 100 calories.

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  4. lol, well, seeing as I pretty much do all of that (including excessive day dreaming to stimulate brain cells and forward thinking…), i’m well on my way to healthy living. in fact, i’m suprised i’m not already a celebrity health coach on “the biggest loser”.

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  5. Very funny and beautifully laid out as a WordPress Blog. Our office manager plays “Angry Birds” for hours when our activity level slows down in our insurance agency. Of course, my thoughts on this, is that this is awful expensive play on my time at $50,000 plus salary a year for this office manager. I guess this is what many employees do, and that is take advantage of their employers. It is no wonder our country is in such terrible shape! Thank God, our retirement will soon be forthcoming. I can see her resume for her next job: Skills? Yes I have reached level 26 on Angry Birds!

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  6. Good question. Considering that I live approx 10 km away from Rovio Hq (the Finnish company which developed Angry Birds) I should know the answer. I don’t. Better keep playing. BTW – I really liked exercise nbr 5, luckily my boss is not too often in the office …

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  7. My state is Known for it’s awesome coffee. lol, coffee is an essential nutrient,,,,, and totally cracked up over the “may qualify as weight training” bit

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  8. I wonder how many calories you burn pushing the remote control button? I also wonder if you burn more calories playing “Where’s My Water?” or “Angry Birds?” Hmmmm! Funny post!

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  9. I want to know how many calories I burn wondering how long it’s going to take before I open my eyes in the morning. Congrats on FP!

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  10. I think using a hand held stapler in the office should count. It uses both extensor and flexor muscles, has an element of danger and, should you staple in error, there is even a further mechanical device available to use – the staple remover. I suggest at least 5 calories per transaction.
    J

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    • I agree! And then there’s the copier: you have to align the originals, program the desired results, open and shut about five covers when it jams, kick it when it doesn’t want to start again, unplug it and plug it back in again, and then go over to Maintenance and beg for help…it’s exhausting!

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  11. I loved this. Actually I have to tell you the sad news that I don’t think Angry Birds actually burns up any calories at all otherwise I would be a svelt size 10 (UK sizes)!! Yours despondently, Irene

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  12. Caffeine is a proven nutrient as concluded by an unconfirmed test conducted some time in the past in an undisclosed location. Lifting a full 16oz coffee mug while driving your car and texting using Siri – 8 calories (but considering how much this task is performed during a 30 minute commute to work it definitely adds up).

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  13. And then there is standard flipping through Prevention’s “How to get killer abs in ten moves” article. Wishful thinking must burn up at least 15 calories.
    Happy Pages,
    CricketMuse

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    • Definitely–but you’ve got to wish hard! I like to think the laughter those articles inspire when I think about actually doing what they advise will contribute toward killer abs. Nothing so far, but there’s always Cosmo…

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  14. I’d love to see someone who actually lost weight on this diet plan. “Bang head against desk, 200 reps. Try not to curse in front of boss, 10 reps.” Come to think of it, I might actually lose weight on this plan…

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      • Not half as dubious as I am now, since I read your suggestion a few comments back to try talking to your parent for half an hour for added caloric reduction. Yeah, See if I talk half an hour to you again!!! …..until at least tomorrow. Now, I have to go snack because getting indignant about being insulted has now burned 30 calories, freeing me up for at least one-fourth of a yogurt. (!!!!!!! You’ll have to insult me 3 more times so I can finish the whole container!).

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  15. Without caffeine I would be a solid mass. I traded water in for caffeine years ago. I’m up to 65% caffeine now…and climbing.

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  16. Look at you LBG! Congrats on the FP post. I would only add “Trolling Freshly Pressed while avoiding work on possible parallel universe-altering novel.” That HAS to count for a couple.
    =)

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  17. Great post and congrats on being FP. 😀 I LOVE #5, #6 & #10! I wish I could read blogs for a living & use it as a workout! Wonder how many calories are burned by typing and commenting on a great post… 😉 Have an awesome day!

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  18. Reblogged this on Modern Gentleman and commented:
    I finally decided to try “reblogging” and use WordPress as more than a blogging platform, taking advantage of its social media and aggregation tools. Anyway, this post is funny and fits this blog’s theme of modern gentility.

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  19. I unfortunately have a Blackberry (NOT that it is unfortunate, per se, but I don’t get to play angry birds, which I am madly addicted to), so my exercise routine has actually been revolving around BrickBreaker. Now, I could be wrong but don’t you think we burn quite a bit of calories when we clench and unclench our muscles, trying to stop oneself from throwing our phone across the room when we screw something up? It’s almost like a (much) less intense squat!

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  20. Pingback: These are some interesting ideas! « Duly Noted

  21. I loved this post! Thank you for making exercise out of my daily office activities. As a health & exercise professional myself I will now consider your list in my future programming 😉

    Great article!
    Elaine

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  22. I love it, LBG.

    And if you do all of those activities in one day, you have done some SERIOUS calorie burning!

    I didn’t know that you were FP’d on this post. I’m so glad the jury recognizes what we’ve known about you for a long time! Congrats!

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  23. Reading all of the comments while spinning the desk chair is worth at least 100 calories! I’m wasting away. Congrats on the FP!

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  24. Thank you, this made me feel less self conscious! Do you think stressing out because of your diet makes you burn calories too?! O_O

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  25. I know some people who could probably loose 100 calories playing Angry Birds… For me, I’m loosing weight and gaining muscle on the “baby exercise program.” Lift one baby into your arms multiple times a day for many months. Works great!

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  26. How ’bout banging on the keys of the key board as you try to enter your password correctly for the umteenth time!? That’s gotta be a good 10 calories.

    That was a fun read! Thanks!

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    • You’re welcome! And I get locked out after three tries, at which point I have to walk up to the front desk, ask for the number for IT, and then walk back to my office and call IT to set up a new password. I’m thinking a good 25 calories for that one!

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  27. Haha really great post! I totally smiled reading it! And I totally agree caffeine is a vital nutrient and should be recognized as such! I’ll definitely keep in mind how many calories I can burn by just getting frustrated working!
    Kylie

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  28. OMGSH this was hysterical…and I can’t stop reading the comments! You have an awesome sense of humor and so does your mom! Does rocking back and forth due to anxiety from the stresses of life count? LOL Congrats on FP! 🙂 You’re the coolest!!

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  29. Life would be nothing without my coffee.
    It’s my H2O.

    And talking about the list, that’s a refreshing take on how to lose weight.
    I will be the first one to do all that. :p

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  30. I was a little sad that there was no mention of how many calories Angry Birds burns, but I enjoyed this post, I think quite accurate. 😀 Congrats on Freshly Pressed!

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  31. Where is the calculation for how many calories are burned playing Angry Birds? Coming from the casual gaming industry, I would be very interested in seeing that calculation. Hehe

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    • Rather than just making the number up wholesale, I did some (admittedly cursory) research online. The most likely number seems to be 80 calories an hour. I assume that was reached upon serious scientific information gathering and analysis of a study of traditional video games and the calories they burn, but for all I know, the scientists are just making this stuff up, too!

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    • Very true! This can backfire, though, if you go grocery shopping while hungry. When I do that, I tend to end up with more junk food than I can store…which, naturally, means that I have to eat whatever doesn’t fit in the cupboards….

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  32. Bless you for giving us all hope of dropping the excess weight (see, I am counting calories as I am typing).

    But, you forgot to solve the eternal mystery which has been hounding mankind for so long: “How many calories do you drop for playing Angry Birds?” You might get the Nobel Prize for cracking that puzzle…(Economics, Medicine, Chemistry, Peace…take your pick).

    There, 25 calories. Done for the day

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    • Thanks for the reblog! Yeah, I’m not great on the whole dieting front. Or, to be honest, the exercise front. I think my doctor’s pretty happy when I just remember to eat on a regular basis, which I don’t always…

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  33. Very funny post, i think I burn the most calories at work if I happen to be standing in the corridor at 5.01pm when my staff start stampeding toward the door and it becomes almost like a game of dodgem cars.

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  34. Very funny and amazing post, clever job. Cant have words to explain this creativity.. good job well done. each line tempted me too read more..

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  35. You sound rather intelligent so you must know the Basic 5…
    1. Chocolate (prefer dark) 2. Cheese (I do live in France) 3. Wine (refer back to number 2) 4. Truffles (900 euro per kilo-2.2pounds) 5. Coffee (It helps this ADD mind to slow down and focus) 🙂
    Congratulations on being Freshly Pressed!
    Bon appétit!
    Léa

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  36. How about.. scrolling down your massive page of comments: 5 calories? Wow, amazing blog! You know, here I was thinking I was the only one guilty of all this, including reading blogs while at work (personal agency for not receiving a raise for two jobs being done, I say!), and here I am, part of the bigger exercise regime!

    LOVE your blog!

    Pink.

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  37. I love it. Please add, arguing with your child over cloths to wear, hunting down MIA TP the kids have absconded with (this problem not surfacing until seated squarely on the commode), I should be model skinny.

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  38. I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are but certainly you are going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!

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    • I was going on the amount of calories burned while playing a traditional, or seated, video game, when I came up with 80 calories per hour, but by all means correct me if you have better information!

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  39. Caffeine is a nutrient we all need! If I play tetris for 3 hours and blog for 2, can I have a large bag of crisps? I’m sure that’s fine

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  40. I almost never leave a response, but i did some searching and wound up here How many calories can you burn playing Angry
    Birds? | iliketheworldfuzzy. And I actually do have a couple of questions for you if you do not mind.
    Could it be simply me or does it appear like some of these comments come across like they are coming from brain dead individuals?

    😛 And, if you are writing on other online sites, I’d like to keep up with everything new you have to post. Could you make a list of all of all your communal pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?

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  41. Today, while I was at work, my sister stole my iphone and tested to see if it can survive a 30 foot drop, just so she can be
    a youtube sensation. My apple ipad is now destroyed and she has 83 views.
    I know this is completely off topic but I had to share it with someone!

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  42. After I initially commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify
    me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a comment is added I recieve four
    emails with the exact same comment. There has to be a way you
    are able to remove me from that service? Kudos!

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  43. Forgot I had this page bookmarked. Whoops!

    I’m doing #10 right now (naturally) as well as editing my own blog. Though to refer to the rhetorical question in the title, I wonder if anyone’s done a study on how many calories certain games burn COMPARED to other games?
    If you ever get the grant to study that, would you mind adding me to your team? 😉

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So what do you think?