But one of the most basic goals for a workout is to burn calories.
So what's the best way to do that?
Most experts suggest picking a type of fitness that you enjoy enough to do regularly over time. But if you are deciding between a few different activities, you could pick the one that burns the most energy.
The Mayo Clinic, drawing on research published by the National Institutes of Health, ranks 36 popular forms of exercise based on their caloric impacts. We've ordered them from least to most intense, and listed the approximate calories burned in an hour for a 160- and a 200-pound person (in that order). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American women weigh 168.5 pounds on average, compared with 195.7 pounds for the average American man.
Hatha yoga, a version of the practice centered on specific poses and mental exercises, sits at the bottom of this list, burning an average of about 183 calories an hour in a 160-pound person.
38. A slow walk (2 mph): 204 calories/hour | 255 calories/hour
35. Tai Chi: 219 calories/hour | 273 calories/hour
Locals practise tai chi at the Bund on the banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai August 6, 2007. The Bund is one of the most famous tourist sites in Shanghai. Locals use the Bund as a place for morning exercises as well as other activities.
Nir Elias/Reuters
Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art and form of exercise often practiced with slow, deliberate movements.
Power yoga, or vinyasa, is a more movement-centered practice than hatha. More information about the different kinds of yoga and how beginners can get started can be found here.
U.S. President Barack Obama plays a shot to the 18th green as he finishes a round of golf with friends at the Mid-Pacific Country Club in Kailua, Hawaii.
Reuters/Jonathan Ernst
If you golf, carrying your own clubs around the course makes a big difference. The calories a 200-pound person can expect to burn in an hour are roughly equal to the amount of time spent downhill skiing or taking a 3-1/2-mph walk.
Low-impact aerobics burn about about as many calories as the next batch of activities on this list: a moderate workout on an elliptical machine, weight training, kayaking, softball, and baseball.
23. 'Jogging' on the elliptical: 365 calories/hour | 455 calories/hour
New York Mets shortstop Asdrubal Carbrera (13) and second baseman Neil Walker (20) react after putting out Washington Nationals Jayson Werth (28) at second when Daniel Murphy hit into a ninth-inning double play in a baseball game, Thursday, July 7, 2016, in New York. Cabrera knocked down the ball and made the throw to second from his knees. Worth was ruled out after Nationals Manager Dusty Baker called for a video review, but the call on the field was upheld.
Kathy Willens/AP
22. Water aerobics: 402 calories/hour | 501 calories/hour
Wikimedia Commons
21. Light or moderate lap swimming: 423 calories/hour | 528 calories/hour
Rob Stothard/Getty Images
Swimming is a sport in which intensity can vary widely.
US Marines and Japan Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers practice cross-country skiing at the Yausubetsu Training Area, Hokkaido, Japan.
2nd Lt. Jeanscott Dodd/US Marine Corps
Cross-country skiing is one of the most intense sports out there.
Jenny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland of Great Britain skate in Free Dance Program during Day 4 of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2016 at TD Garden on March 31, 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Getty Images
A basketball game, touch or flag football, rock climbing, and singles tennis all offer great exercise, burning about 728 calories an hour in a 200-pound person.
8. Flag football: 584 calories/hour | 728 calories/hour
Jason Merritt/Getty Images For DirecTV
8. Rock or mountain climbing: 584 calories/hour | 728 calories/hour
At this pace, you'd run a mile in 7 minutes, 30 seconds.
What about other popular workouts?
Courtesy of SoulCycle
It's worth noting that all of these activities can be conducted at varying intensities, which means exact figures will vary based on energy input, body type, gender, age, and other factors. Additionally, exercise on its own doesn't do much to make you lose weight. If you want to slim down, it's best to talk to a doctor about what a healthy weight is for you and cut down on sugar and large portions.
It's also impossible to include everything on this list — especially since some activities haven't been validated by the data set used for this review.
But here are some rough calorie numbers for a few other ways people love to exercise:
Spinning classes: Attendees of the stationary-bike fitness classes can expect to burn 500 to 700 calories in an hour. This tracks closely with other data on stationary cycling.
Pilates: Pilates burns about as many calories as bowling or ballroom dancing — 219 calories an hour for a 160-pound person or 273 calories an hour for a 200-pound person.
Zumba: A Zumba-funded study conducted on young, healthy women found that a 39-minute Zumba class burns an average of about 360 calories.
Rafi Letzter wrote a previous version of this story.
