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APPENDIX C - METS EXPLANATION AND FORMULAS
550ZTX Treadmill Owner’s Guide
85
The MET is a unit of exercise measurement that takes into
account body weight. Since energy expenditure in a weight-
bearing exercise such as running, walking, or stairclimbing is
directly proportional to body weight, the formulas to calculate
METs are a bit simpler than for, say, an exercise bike. For
example, 7 mph running is always 11.7 METs, no matter who
you are.
A MET is defined as 3.5 ml/min/kg of oxygen usage by the
body, where
ml is milliliters, the actual measured volume of gaseous
oxygen
min is minutes
kg is bodyweight in kilograms
This energy consumption rate corresponds to about 72
calories per hour for a 150-pound person, which approximates
the average basal metabolic rate of the general population.
The best formulas for treadmill energy expenditure also use
oxygen usage by the body, or VO2. The two formulas are:
walking VO2 = (2.68 * speed) + (0.48 * speed * incline) + 3.5
running VO2 = (5.36 * speed) + (0.24 * speed * incline) + 3.5
To get METs, divide the result by 3.5.
(Noted exercise physiologist David Costill's speed constants
for walking and running are 3.06 and 4.86, respectively.)
METS
EXPLANATION
AND
FORMULAS