METS

The energy cost of an activity can be measured in units called METS, which are multiples of your basal metabolic rate.

Basal Metabolic Rate

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is "the energy required for essential physiological functioning after 8 hours sleep and 12 hours fasting" - the number of calories to keep your body functioning whilst at rest. Your BMR (Calories/day) can be estimated by multiplying your weight in pounds by ten for women and eleven for men e.g. a 150lb man has a BMR of 69 Calories/hour (150 × 11 ÷ 24).

Estimate of your BMR

To determine your BMR enter your weight in pounds, select your gender and then select the Calculate button.

Weight: pounds Gender:
BMR: Calories/hour

MET values for various sports

The table below provides the MET values for a number of activities e.g. the energy cost of swimming is 8 MET, which means you use eight times more energy than if you were to lie down and rest.

Activity METS Activity METS
Aerobic Dancing 6.0 Running 12 min/mile 8.5
Backpacking 7.0 Racquetball 8.0
Basketball 6.0 Skating ice/roller 7.0
Bicycling - 24mph 5.0 Skiing cross country 8.0
Calisthenics 4.5 Soccer 8.0
Golf 5.0 Softball 5.0
Gymnastics 5.5 Swimming 6.0
Handball 8.0 Tennis 7.0
Hockey 8.0 Volleyball 4.0
Horse riding 3.5 Walking 3.5
Running 8 min/mile 12.5 Weight lifting 4.5

Calories burned in training

With your BMR and the MET value for your particular activity, it is possible to estimate the number of calories you burn whilst participating in that activity. To do this multiply your BMR by the activity's MET value e.g. a 120lb female athlete undertaking an hours calisthenics (MET=4.5) will burn 225 calories (120 × 10 ÷ 24 × 4.5).

1 MET = 1 kcal/min = 3.5ml/kg/min

Estimate of calories burned

To estimate the number of calories you burn in a one hour session enter your weight, select your gender, enter the MET value for the activity and then select the Calculate button.

Weight: pounds
Gender:
MET Value:
Calories/hour
  

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page: