You've no doubt heard the claims that Olympic athletes consume upwards of 10,000 calories a day to refuel and replenish their bodies after grueling, four-to-six-hour training sessions.

No matter what that exact count may be, most elite athletes certainly do have to balance extreme workouts with calorie-laden meals in order to continue training day after day after day.

Case in point: In the most calorie-burning of sports, Olympians can burn 15 to 20 calories a minute, Mayo Clinic researcher Michael Joyner told The New York Times, bringing a workout's total calorie deficit to 4,000 to 6,000 per session, he said.

That extreme burn is due to factors other than the sheer amount of time these athletes spend at the gym, in the pool or on the track. They're also burning more calories than the everyday athlete when they're watching TV, reading a book or sitting at a desk, since muscle burns more calories than fat at rest, exercise physiologist Amy Knab, Ph.D., told Everyday Health.

A number of Olympic sports are calorie-blasting (and fun!) workouts in and of themselves. But what would it take for us mortals to crank out an Olympics-caliber calorie burn? We rounded up a few common ways to break a sweat, then calculated just how long we'd have to keep at it to hit that outrageous 6,000-calorie mark. We don't get to say this often at Healthy Living when it comes to exercise: Please don't try this at home. (All counts are based on a 150-pound person.)

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  • Play Tennis

    Burn your 6,000 calories Williams-sisters style with some singles tennis -- 11 hours of it, to be exact, according to the <a href="http://www.acefitness.org/calculators/physical-activity-calorie-calculator.aspx" target="_hplink">American Council on Exercise</a>. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebarrowboy/5984157673/" target="_hplink">thebarrowboy</a></em>

  • Play Softball

    Sign up for the company <a href="http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/softball/result?weightPounds=150&duration=180&activity=&met=6.0&submit=" target="_hplink">softball</a> team, then play a marathon 14-hour game. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ali-pictures/5097370739/" target="_hplink">AliJoyy</a></em>

  • Take A Walk

    A brisk walk at a pace of 3.5 miles per hour is a great way to get some low-impact exercise. But it'll take you a full 24 hours to burn 6,000 calories this way, according to the American Council on Exercise.

  • Hit The (Yoga) Mat

    An epic 22 hours of the calming practice will shave off 6,000 calories, according to <a href="http://www.exercise.com/activity/yoga" target="_hplink">Exercise.com</a>.

  • Go For A Jog

    You'd have to run at a respectable six-miles-per-hour pace -- a 10-minute mile -- for a whopping nine hours to burn 6,000 calories, according to the American Council on Exercise. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/caochopp/6879781132/" target="_hplink">Digo_Souza</a></em>

  • Clean House

    Scrubbing, vacuuming and other tidying chores can knock off some serious calories, but it will take nearly 28 hours to shed 6,000, according to <a href="http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/cleaning_house/result?weightPounds=150&duration=180&activity=&met=3.0&submit=" target="_hplink">Self.com</a>.

  • Do A Little Dancing

    A few turns on the dance floor won't even feel like exercise -- unless, of course, you need to burn 6,000 calories, which would take you 30 hours, according to the American Council on Exercise. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mmmswan/6782279915/" target="_hplink">michael_swan</a></em>

  • Train On The Elliptical

    An Olympic-caliber sweat session at a moderate intensity on the elliptical will only take you, oh, 13 hours, according to <a href="http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/elliptical_trainer/result?weightPounds=150&duration=180&activity=&met=6.5&submit=" target="_hplink">Self.com</a>.

  • Practice Pilates

    This core-focused workout strengthens muscles and burns calories, but you'd need to take 17 hours worth of an intermediate class to drop Olympian-worthy cals, according to <a href="http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/Pilates/result?weightPounds=150&duration=180&activity=&met=4.9&submit=" target="_hplink">Self.com</a>.

  • Hit The Yard

    It would take 24 hours to burn 6,000 calories doing yard work alone, according to the American Council on Exercise. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mccun934/5947011459/" target="_hplink">mccun934</a></em>

  • Jump Rope

    <a href="http://www.self.com/calculatorsprograms/calculators/caloriesburned/jumping_rope/result?weightPounds=150&duration=180&activity=&met=10.0&submit=" target="_hplink">Jumping rope</a> can feel like child's play. Except when you skip for more than eight hours straight. <em>Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_halfwitboy/6879731542/" target="_hplink">the Halfwitboy</a></em>

  • Go For A Spin

    WIth some moderate cycling, you can knock those 6,000 calories out in just over 11 hours, according to the American Council on Exercise.

For more from our "Like An Olympian" series, click here.