By Jim McDonald
Let’s break down VO2 Max (and METs), decoded. A MET is a Metabolic Equivalent of a Task. It’s an objective measure of the ratio of the rate at which a person expends energy, relative to his or her mass, while performing some specific physical activity compared to a reference. That reference is set by convention at 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute, which is roughly equivalent to oxygen consumed when sitting quietly at rest. More simply put, it’s a measurement of how hard you’re working compared to when you are at rest. For example, a typical human sitting quietly will consume 1 MET (3.5 ml/kg/min) of oxygen. The standard for active duty firefighters is 12 METs or 42 ml/kg/min: 12 times more oxygen consumed than while at rest…
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