Calories burned calculator: MET values with their Compendium codes
Running for 30 minutes at 70 kgworked example
342 kcal
- Net of what you would have burned at rest
- 305 kcaluse this one for energy balance
- MET value used
- 9.3Compendium row 12050
- Per minute
- 11.39 kcal/min
- MET-minutes
- 279the unit guidelines are written in
- Across the effort rows the Compendium lists
- 276-342 kcal7.5 to 9.3 METs
The Compendium row used here is 12050, described as "Running, 6 mph (10 min/mile)". That wording is the Compendium's, not ours, and it is on screen so you can see exactly which activity was costed. The headline figure is gross: it includes the calories you would have spent at rest across those 30 minutes, which is why the net figure sits beside it.
Realistic range
276 kcal to 342 kcal
Three separate approximations stack here. Each MET value is a population mean measured in a lab on other people, and the Compendium publishes no per-row error term. The equation is GROSS: it includes the calories you would have spent at rest over the same minutes, which is why the tool also shows the net figure. And 1 MET = 3.5 mL O2/kg/min is itself a convention anchored to a reference adult, so it runs slightly high for heavier and older bodies.
| Activity | METs | Code | Gross kcal | Net kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badminton | 5.5 | 15030 | 202 | 165 |
| Baseball | 5 | 15620 | 184 | 147 |
| Basketball | 8 | 15040 | 294 | 257 |
| Boxing | 5.8 | 15110 | 213 | 176 |
| Cricket | 4.8 | 15150 | 176 | 140 |
| Cycling | 7 | 01014 | 257 | 221 |
| Dancing | 3.8 | 03070 | 140 | 103 |
| Elliptical | 5 | 02048 | 184 | 147 |
| Gardening | 3.8 | 08245 | 140 | 103 |
| Golf | 4.3 | 15265 | 158 | 121 |
| Gymnastics | 3.8 | 15300 | 140 | 103 |
| HIIT | 11 | 02214 | 404 | 368 |
| Hiking | 5.3 | 17082 | 195 | 158 |
| Horseback riding | 5.5 | 15370 | 202 | 165 |
| House cleaning | 3.3 | 05030 | 121 | 85 |
| Ice skating | 7 | 19030 | 257 | 221 |
| Jumping rope | 11.8 | 15551 | 434 | 397 |
| Kayaking | 5 | 18100 | 184 | 147 |
| Martial arts | 10.3 | 15430 | 379 | 342 |
| Moving furniture | 5.8 | 05120 | 213 | 176 |
| Mowing the lawn | 5 | 08120 | 184 | 147 |
| Painting | 3.3 | 06160 | 121 | 85 |
| Pilates | 2.8 | 02105 | 103 | 66 |
| Rock climbing | 8 | 15533 | 294 | 257 |
| Rollerblading | 7.5 | 15591 | 276 | 239 |
| Rowing | 5 | 02071 | 184 | 147 |
| Rugby | 8.3 | 15560 | 305 | 268 |
| Running | 9.3 | 12050 | 342 | 305 |
| Shoveling snow | 6 | 08200 | 221 | 184 |
| Skiing | 6.3 | 19160 | 232 | 195 |
| Snowboarding | 7.5 | 19201 | 276 | 239 |
| Soccer | 7 | 15610 | 257 | 221 |
| Spin class | 9 | 01270 | 331 | 294 |
| Stair climbing | 9.3 | 02065 | 342 | 305 |
| Standing desk | 1.3 | 11583 | 48 | 11 |
| Stretching | 2.3 | 02101 | 85 | 48 |
| Surfing | 3 | 18220 | 110 | 74 |
| Swimming | 6 | 18310 | 221 | 184 |
| Table tennis | 4 | 15660 | 147 | 110 |
| Tennis | 6.8 | 15675 | 250 | 213 |
| Treadmill | 3.8 | 17355 | 140 | 103 |
| Volleyball | 3 | 15720 | 110 | 74 |
| Walking | 3.8 | 17190 | 140 | 103 |
| Weightlifting | 3.5 | 02054 | 129 | 92 |
| Yoga | 2.3 | 02150 | 85 | 48 |
| Zumba | 6.5 | 02310 | 239 | 202 |
2 activities this site will not give you a number for
- Pickleball: No row containing 'pickleball' exists in the 2024 Adult Compendium sports table. The nearest listed racquet sports (paddleball, casual 6.0; table tennis 4.0; badminton 5.5) are different activities, so no value is published here rather than borrowed.
- CrossFit: No row containing 'CrossFit' or 'functional fitness' exists in the 2024 Adult Compendium. The nearest listed rows are 'Circuit training, body weight exercises' (6.0) and 'High intensity interval exercise ... vigorous effort' (11.0), which span too wide a range to stand in for it.
Borrowing a value from a similar-looking activity would produce a confident number with no source behind it, which is the one thing this site is built not to do.
Each activity also has its own page. For example calories burned walking, running or cycling, and the full by-activity index.
A calories burned calculator multiplies an activity's MET value by your body weight and duration, using the equation kcal per minute equals MET times 3.5 times kilograms divided by 200. Every MET value comes from the 2024 Adult Compendium with its activity code, and the tool shows the net figure alongside the gross one.
- Calories burned from METs — kcal/min = MET x 3.5 x body mass (kg) / 200. Verified against 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann et al., J Sport Health Sci 2024) (Three separate approximations stack here. Each MET value is a population mean measured in a lab on other people, and the Compendium publishes no per-row error term. The equation is GROSS: it includes the calories you would have spent at rest over the same minutes, which is why the tool also shows the net figure. And 1 MET = 3.5 mL O2/kg/min is itself a convention anchored to a reference adult, so it runs slightly high for heavier and older bodies.)
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Frequently asked questions
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Every formula on this page is listed with its source on the methodology page, and changes to any reference value are logged in the data changelog. Canonical URL: https://myhealthmywellness.com/calories-burned-calculator