What is a MET? In simplest terms, MET is an acronym for metabolic equivalent of task. We use MET values as a standard way to compare how difficult an exercise is, based off of the amount of oxygen it takes to fuel the exercise. Instead of saying “running is harder than jogging,“ and leaving it at that, we can actually put tangible numbers in place of running and jogging. Jogging 4 mph, has a MET value of 6, while running at 6 mph has a MET value of 9.8. As we notice, running has a higher MET value than jogging, hence running is a harder exercise. There are MET values for hundreds of different activities of daily living. To compare different activities you do, and see their MET Value, check out this post I created that shows my favorite way to find these values.

Post on How to Find Met Values:

https://www.allstrongfitness.org/post/how-to-find-met-values-for-physical-activity

As I mentioned above, the way we get these values is done through analysis of oxygen consumption. 1 MET, which is your MET value at rest, produces 3.5 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight a minute. This can also be put as 1 MET=3.5 ml/kg/min of O2. So, the higher the MET value means that more oxygen is being consumed. This makes sense when thinking about the MET difference between jogging and running.

All in all, METs are a really cool and easy way to see how hard your activity is vs another activity. If you are interested in learning about how to use METs to estimate calories, and how to apply the MET to daily life, make sure you go check out this video I created to help!

Thanks for reading and make sure to share this with anyone who might find it of service!