Estimate calories and kilojoules burned rollerskiing (also called roller skiing), the wheeled, dry-land training method Nordic and cross-country skiers use to hold their technique and fitness during the off-season, when there's no snow underfoot. This calculator uses four flat, no-incline speed tiers taken directly from the Winter Activities section of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, running from an easy 10–12.9 km/h pace up to a fast 20–23.9 km/h pace. Rollerskiing is a completely different activity from roller skating despite the similar-sounding name — rollerskiers strap onto long skis fitted with small wheels and push themselves along with ski poles, using a cross-country skiing motion, while roller skaters wear boots with wheels built directly underfoot and use an entirely different skating stride with no poles at all. If you're after calorie estimates for skates or rollerblades rather than wheeled cross-country ski training equipment, see our separate Roller Skating Calorie Calculator instead.
Rollerskiing calorie burn is estimated with calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours), using four flat, no-incline speed tiers from the Winter Activities section of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: 10–12.9 km/h (MET 5.5, code 19305), 13–16.9 km/h (MET 6.8, code 19310), 17–19.9 km/h (MET 8.3, code 19315), and 20–23.9 km/h (MET 10.5, code 19320). A 70 kg rollerskier over a 45-minute session burns around 289 kcal (about 1,208 kJ) at the default 10–12.9 km/h tier, rising to around 551 kcal (about 2,306 kJ) at the fastest 20–23.9 km/h tier. All four MET values used on this page are literature-supported figures in the Compendium — none is flagged as an estimated figure.
| Speed Tier | MET | Calories | Kilojoules |
|---|
The calculator uses a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for your rollerskiing speed, multiplied by your body weight in kilograms and your session duration in hours: calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). The four MET values used here — 5.5, 6.8, 8.3 and 10.5 — come directly from the Winter Activities section of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (codes 19305, 19310, 19315 and 19320), covering flat, no-incline rollerskiing across four speed bands from 10 km/h up to 23.9 km/h. All four are literature-supported values in the Compendium rather than estimated figures. Because sessions are usually tracked in minutes, the calculator converts your minutes input to hours (hours = minutes ÷ 60) before applying the formula.
| Speed Tier | MET | Calories (70 kg, 45 min) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 – 12.9 km/h, no incline | 5.5 | 289 kcal | 1,208 kJ |
| 13 – 16.9 km/h, no incline | 6.8 | 357 kcal | 1,494 kJ |
| 17 – 19.9 km/h, no incline | 8.3 | 436 kcal | 1,823 kJ |
| 20 – 23.9 km/h, no incline | 10.5 | 551 kcal | 2,306 kJ |
Despite the similar name, rollerskiing has almost nothing in common with roller skating beyond both involving wheels. Rollerskiing (also written roller skiing) is a dry-land training method used by cross-country and Nordic skiers to keep their technique and fitness sharp during the off-season, when there's no snow to ski on. A rollerskier straps into long skis — similar in length to snow cross-country skis — that each have two or three small wheels mounted underneath, then propels themselves forward across flat roads, bike paths or dedicated ski-training circuits using ski poles fitted with special road tips, in the same diagonal-stride or skating technique used on snow.
Roller skating, by contrast, uses boots with four wheels arranged in two side-by-side pairs (quad skates) or a single in-line row (inline skates or rollerblades) mounted directly underneath each foot, with no poles involved at all. The movement pattern is a skating stride powered entirely by the legs and core, closer to ice skating than to cross-country skiing. Because the equipment, the muscle groups emphasised, the use of poles, and the underlying sport are all genuinely different, this page keeps rollerskiing's four no-incline speed tiers (MET 5.5 to 10.5) completely separate from the MET values used on our Roller Skating Calorie Calculator, which covers quad skating and inline skating/rollerblading instead. If you're after calorie estimates for skates rather than wheeled cross-country ski equipment, that page is the right one to use.
All four tiers on this page apply to flat terrain with no incline, which the Compendium of Physical Activities tracks separately from uphill rollerskiing because climbing meaningfully raises the energy cost at any given speed. The slowest tier, 10 – 12.9 km/h (MET 5.5), suits an easy technique session, a warm-up, or a rollerskier still building confidence on wheels. The next tier, 13 – 16.9 km/h (MET 6.8), reflects a moderate, sustained training pace that many recreational and developing racers hold for longer distance sessions. The third tier, 17 – 19.9 km/h (MET 8.3), is a solid tempo or threshold pace used in structured interval or tempo training. The fastest tier, 20 – 23.9 km/h (MET 10.5), reflects a hard race-pace effort sustained on flat ground, the kind of speed competitive Nordic skiers hold during time trials or road-based time sessions on their rollerski equipment. Match the tier to your average speed across the whole session rather than a single fast stretch, since technique, poling style (classic vs skate) and wheel resistance all influence how fast a given effort level actually carries you.
The table below holds speed constant at the second tier (MET 6.8) for a 45-minute session, so you can see how much body weight alone changes the total.
| Body Weight | MET | Calories (45 min) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | 6.8 | 281 kcal | 1,174 kJ |
| 65 kg | 6.8 | 332 kcal | 1,387 kJ |
| 75 kg | 6.8 | 383 kcal | 1,600 kJ |
| 85 kg | 6.8 | 434 kcal | 1,814 kJ |
| 95 kg | 6.8 | 485 kcal | 2,027 kJ |
Body weight is fixed at 70 kg here while session length and speed tier both change, so you can compare a longer session against a faster pace.
| Session Length | 10–12.9 km/h (MET 5.5) | 13–16.9 km/h (MET 6.8) | 17–19.9 km/h (MET 8.3) | 20–23.9 km/h (MET 10.5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 96 kcal / 403 kJ | 119 kcal / 498 kJ | 145 kcal / 608 kJ | 184 kcal / 769 kJ |
| 30 minutes | 193 kcal / 805 kJ | 238 kcal / 996 kJ | 291 kcal / 1,215 kJ | 368 kcal / 1,538 kJ |
| 45 minutes | 289 kcal / 1,208 kJ | 357 kcal / 1,494 kJ | 436 kcal / 1,823 kJ | 551 kcal / 2,306 kJ |
| 60 minutes | 385 kcal / 1,611 kJ | 476 kcal / 1,992 kJ | 581 kcal / 2,431 kJ | 735 kcal / 3,075 kJ |
Australian nutrition panels list energy in kilojoules, not calories, so it's worth converting your session total into the same unit your food packaging uses. Multiply your calorie figure by 4.184 to get kilojoules. A 70 kg rollerskier training at the fastest 20 – 23.9 km/h tier for 45 minutes burns about 551 kcal, which is roughly 2,306 kJ — a useful figure to weigh up against a recovery snack or sports drink after a hard rollerski session.
How many calories does rollerskiing burn?
It depends on your speed and session length. Using this calculator's four tiers for a 70 kg rollerskier over a 45-minute session: 10 – 12.9 km/h, no incline (MET 5.5) burns about 289 kcal (1,208 kJ), 13 – 16.9 km/h (MET 6.8) burns about 357 kcal (1,494 kJ), 17 – 19.9 km/h (MET 8.3) burns about 436 kcal (1,823 kJ), and 20 – 23.9 km/h (MET 10.5) burns about 551 kcal (2,306 kJ). Lighter or heavier rollerskiers, and shorter or longer sessions, will see proportionally lower or higher totals, so enter your own weight and session length above for a personalised estimate.
How is calories burned rollerskiing calculated?
The calculator multiplies a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for your rollerskiing speed by your body weight in kilograms and your session duration in hours: calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). Because most sessions are tracked in minutes rather than hours, the calculator takes your minutes input and divides by 60 before running the formula. The four MET values used — 5.5 for 10 – 12.9 km/h (code 19305), 6.8 for 13 – 16.9 km/h (code 19310), 8.3 for 17 – 19.9 km/h (code 19315), and 10.5 for 20 – 23.9 km/h (code 19320) — come directly from the Winter Activities section of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. The kilocalorie result is then multiplied by 4.184 to give the equivalent figure in kilojoules, the unit used on Australian food labels.
What is the difference between rollerskiing and roller skating?
Rollerskiing and roller skating are unrelated activities that happen to share a similar-sounding name. Rollerskiing is a dry-land training method for cross-country and Nordic skiers, using long skis fitted with wheels and ski poles with road tips to mimic on-snow skiing technique on paved roads and paths. Roller skating uses boots with wheels built directly into the sole, either quad skates or inline skates, with no poles at all and a completely different skating stride. Because the equipment and movement pattern are so different, this page's four MET values (5.5 to 10.5) are kept separate from our Roller Skating Calorie Calculator, which covers quad and inline skating instead.
Does body weight affect the result?
Yes. Because calories equal MET multiplied by body weight in kilograms multiplied by duration in hours, body weight is a direct multiplier in the formula. At the 13 – 16.9 km/h tier (MET 6.8) for a 45-minute session, a 95 kg rollerskier burns roughly 485 kcal compared with about 281 kcal for a 55 kg rollerskier completing the identical session at the identical speed.
What equipment do I need for rollerskiing?
Rollerskiing requires rollerskis, which are long skis with two or three small wheels mounted underneath (separate models exist for classic and skate technique), plus ski poles fitted with special carbide or rubber road tips instead of the snow baskets used on regular ski poles. Most rollerskiers also wear a helmet, since rollerski wheels generally offer less stopping control than skis do on snow, along with regular athletic or cross-country ski boots that clip into the rollerski bindings.
Is rollerskiing a good workout?
Yes. All four MET values used on this page sit well above light sedentary activity, and the two fastest tiers (MET 8.3 and MET 10.5) rate as vigorous-intensity exercise. Rollerskiing is widely used by competitive cross-country and Nordic skiers as their primary off-season training method precisely because it closely mimics on-snow skiing technique while building the same cardiovascular fitness, leg drive and upper-body poling strength, making it a genuinely demanding full-body workout rather than just a substitute activity.
Does incline or terrain affect these MET values?
Yes, significantly. All four MET values on this page apply specifically to flat terrain with no incline, which is how the Compendium of Physical Activities separately tracks rollerskiing. Climbing even a gentle hill raises the energy cost substantially at any given speed, since a rollerskier has to work much harder to maintain the same pace uphill than on flat ground. This calculator does not include separate uphill MET values, so treat these figures as accurate for flat, no-incline sessions only, and expect a genuinely harder session on hilly routes.
What are the limitations of this calorie estimate?
This calculator uses published MET values multiplied by your body weight and session duration, which gives a solid population-level estimate rather than a personalised measurement. It doesn't account for hills or terrain (the MET values apply to flat, no-incline rollerskiing only), wind, technique efficiency, classic versus skate poling style, wheel resistance, stopping and starting at intersections, or your individual fitness level. Treat the result as a reliable planning figure for time spent rollerskiing at a given average speed, not an exact physiological measurement.