A popular question we hear is, "Does it matter how many calories I burn during a workout?" A sensible answer is … "It depends on your goals." If your goal is to simply burn calories then yes, it matters. But if your goal is to improve your overall fitness level, then the number of calories burned during a workout becomes much less important.
The thing with burning calories is that it's relatively easy to do. You can burn calories by walking your dog, going for a stroll around the block, or even just sitting on the couch and watching TV. And while there's nothing wrong with any of those activities, they aren't going to do much in terms of helping you improve your fitness level. In order to see real results, you need to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and challenge your body in new ways.
That's not to say that the number of calories you burn during a workout isn't important. If weight loss is your goal, then you'll definitely want to focus on burning as many calories as possible. On a different level, it is important to follow training demands and adjust caloric intake based on the observed progress. Nutrition needs to be individualised for each person [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5753973/ ].
But if you're looking to improve your overall fitness, then you should be more concerned with the quality of your workouts rather than the quantity of calories burned.
At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide what matters most to you. If burning calories is your primary goal, then by all means make that your focus. But if you're looking to improve your fitness level, don't get too hung up on numbers. Instead, focus on challenging yourself and pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone. That's where the real results will come from.
