If you’re hunting for the best calorie-burning exercises, it turns out you don’t need a gym packed with flashy kit or a spin instructor shouting motivational poetry at you. According to new research, the humble Vertical Climber has muscled its way to the top—and it’s not even close. This same study assessing calorie-burning exercises puts the climber in a league of its own.

Fitness analysts at breakingmuscle.com examined how much energy the average 30-year-old burns in 30 minutes across a whole field of popular workouts. For men, the Vertical Climber torched a staggering 617 calories in half an hour. Women logged 389—numbers that would make most treadmills die of embarrassment.

The movement hits everything that matters: legs, back, chest, core, arms, lungs and maybe even your pride. It’s a cardio session with the temper of a strength workout, all in one relentless upward march. And depending on your grip, you can decide which bit of your upper body gets roasted first: overhand for the upper back; underhand for the biceps. Simple, brutal, effective.

Hot on its heels—but still several floors below—sits the stationary bike in full-throttle mode. All-out cycling burns 451 calories for men and 285 for women over 30 minutes. Quads, hamstrings and your abs all get drafted into service just to keep you upright and turning the pedals.

Third place goes to resistance strength training, proving that iron still belongs in the conversation. We’re talking 371 calories for men and 234 for women while working the big-ticket muscles: chest, back, legs, shoulders, arms and everything that keeps you standing straight. Free weights, machines, bands, bodyweight—pick your weapon.

Bodyweight circuits land in fourth, burning 370 calories for men and 229 for women. Pulling, pushing, squatting, bending, balancing—no fancy equipment required. This is the training equivalent of returning to common sense: easy to start, tough to master, and relentlessly useful.

Running at a 12-minute-mile pace slides into fifth place, burning 365 calories for men and 222 for women. It hits the lower body hard—quads, calves, hamstrings, glutes—and it’s been shaping humans since long before someone invented fitness content.

Sixth place goes to boot camp sessions, where the tempo is high, the instructor is loud, and your entire body signs the complaint form. Men burn 357 calories, women 220, working back, pecs, legs, arms and core in rapid-fire bursts.

Treadmill walking at five miles an hour is seventh and clocks in at 308 calories for men and 211 for women. Steepen the incline and your hamstrings and quads will quickly file for reconsideration.

Traditional strength training—with those classic three-minute breaks between sets—lands eighth, burning 217 calories for men and 137 for women. It’s ideal for isolating individual muscles and building pure, focused strength.

Pilates comes ninth with 158 calories burnt for men and 100 for women in 30 minutes. Think deep core control, alignment, posture and all the things your physio has been begging you to take seriously.

And finally, yoga rounds out the top ten with 113 calories for men and 71 for women. It’s the slow burner: strength, mobility, flexibility, lower inflammation and better back health—all at a calmer pace.

A spokesperson for Breaking Muscle summed it up perfectly: “In the modern world and its fast-paced culture, it is difficult to find the time for your exercise regime. This research shows the best exercises to burn those calories in only 30 minutes, and demonstrates there is a range of exercises and benefits to suit a variety of people on their journey to better health.

A huge benefit of these exercises is the number of calories burnt; however, they provide many other health benefits such as improving strength, mental wellbeing and overall happiness. There is an exercise out there for everyone and it is exciting to find your perfect fit – or a variety of workouts.”

If the data proves anything, it’s this: no matter your fitness level or preference, there’s no shortage of ways to get your heart rate climbing—and your calorie count dropping—with a bit of grit and half an hour to spare.