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During periods of heavy exertion the muscles can burn through as much as 3000kJ per hour, not bad considering a female cam burn anywhere from 1500kJ to 2400kJ per day just with performing normal activities.

The type and intensity of the energy burning activity will determine the change to the body's energy stores (Fat) and cardio vascular/respiratory fitness. The other benefits also includes improved health and well being, reduced cardio-vascular disease and a reduced feeling of stress and anxiety.

The type of physical activity you undertake can be broken down into 3 major groups:

Group I activities provide a consistent intensity and energy expenditure that is not dependent on the participant’s skill level. These would include activities such as walking, cycling and jogging.

Group II activities are more contingent on the persons skill level to maximise the rate of energy. With higher skill levels, a person can work harder and longer, and consequently burn more calories. Activities in this category would include aerobic dancing, bench stepping, hiking and swimming.

The Group III activities involve rapid movements of all the major muscle groups and constant changes in intensity, such as basketball, racquet sports, and volleyball.

It is important to select a variety of activities that sufficiently stimulate the heart, lungs, and muscles. This can be achieved by:

1 Changing the intensity of the exercise
2.Exercising the major muscle groups such as legs, back & buttocks
3.Use of weight bearing exercises
4.Changing the duration of the exercise 
Always take into consideration  the participants current or previous injuries, fitness levels and health.

Changing the intensity of the exercise
Choose an exercise that can be modified to increase the intensity and energy expenditure.
For example cycling can become more challenging by increasing the resistance by riding up an incline or using a lower gear.
Alternatively simply introducing intervals of higher intensity followed by recovery periods or lower intensity will also use more energy.

Exercising the major muscle groups such as legs, back & buttocks
Some exercise or activities involve both the upper and lower body muscles, such as swimming and rowing. Although these types of exercise engage more muscles, they do not necessary engage as much muscle mass as running, and so will expend slightly fewer calories at a similar level of intensity. However, swimming involves much less pressure on the bones and joints, which allows swimmers to exercise for a longer period of time, thus possibly expending as much energy as higher intensity workouts over a shorter period.

Using weight bearing exercises
Activities such as walking and jogging will expend more calories than cycling at a similar level of intensity. An additional benefit of weight-bearing exercise is maintaining bone mass and preventing osteoporosis. With cycling however the period of exercise that is required to achieve a similar level of energy expenditure is generally longer.

Changing the duration of the exercise 
Increasing the volume of exercise will also effect total energy expenditure. Increasing the length of  a walk or jog from 30 minutes to 45-60 minutes while maintaining the same level of intensity.