The finding. None of the everyday household or yard jobs on this site's list (vacuuming, cleaning, gardening, raking, mowing and moderate snow shoveling) reaches a jog (code 12020, 7.5 METs); the closest everyday activity on it is stair climbing at 6.8. In the full 2024 Adult Compendium, the chores that do reach a jog are heavy ones: carrying boxes or furniture upstairs (05150, 9.0 METs), felling large trees (08057, 8.3) and vigorous snow shoveling (08202, 7.5). And the usual way of comparing METs flatters light activities: vacuuming (3.0 METs) is 40% of a jog in gross terms but only 31% once the resting share is taken out. Matching the extra energy of 30 minutes of jogging takes about 98 minutes of vacuuming, not the 75 a gross comparison suggests.
What one MET is
A MET, or metabolic equivalent, is a multiple of resting energy use. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (Herrmann and colleagues, published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science) is the reference list that gives activities a MET value, and its website's unit conversions page sets 1 MET at 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute, and also at 1 kcal per kilogram per hour. An activity rated 7.5 METs is taken to cost seven and a half times that resting rate.
Those two definitions are not exactly the same number. The Compendium's own conversion multiplies litres of oxygen per minute by 5 to get kcal per minute; the American College of Sports Medicine's metabolic table uses 4.9 kcal per litre. With 4.9: 3.5 x 4.9 x 60 / 1,000 = 1.029 kcal per kilogram per hour, 2.9% more than the round 1 kcal. With 5: 1.05. This site uses ACSM's 4.9 in every calculator, so its MET results sit about 2.9% above a "1 kcal per kg per hour" shortcut.
The formula, then: kcal = METs x 3.5 x kg / 1,000 x 4.9 x minutes. For a 160 lb (72.6 kg) person, 1 MET for 30 minutes is about 37 kcal, and every MET above that adds another 37.
Gross and net: the comparison that changes the answer
A MET value is gross. It includes the 1 MET your body would have used anyway, sitting down. Net energy, the extra the activity cost, is METs minus 1. For hard exercise the difference is small: jogging is 6.5 net out of 7.5 gross, 87%. For light activity it is large: vacuuming is 2.0 net out of 3.0, 67%.
That changes any "this equals that" comparison. Gross, vacuuming is 3.0 / 7.5 = 40% of a jog. Net, it is 2.0 / 6.5 = 31%. If the question is how long you would vacuum to add the same energy as half an hour of jogging, the net answer is 30 x 6.5 / 2.0 = 97.5 minutes; the gross ratio gives 30 x 7.5 / 3.0 = 75 minutes. The gross version overstates light activities because it counts sitting still as part of the work.
Half an hour of common activities, computed
All rows are 30 minutes for a 160 lb person, computed with the engine behind the calories burned calculator, with codes and MET values as listed in the 2024 Compendium. "Net, % of a jog" divides the net METs by jogging's 6.5.
| Activity (code) | METs | Gross kcal | Net kcal | Net, % of a jog | Minutes to match 30 min of jogging (net) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking the dog (17165) | 3.0 | 112 | 75 | 31% | 98 |
| Vacuuming, moderate effort (05043) | 3.0 | 112 | 75 | 31% | 98 |
| Cleaning the house, moderate effort (05030) | 3.3 | 123 | 86 | 35% | 85 |
| Gardening, moderate effort (08245) | 3.8 | 142 | 105 | 43% | 70 |
| Raking the lawn or leaves (08160) | 4.0 | 149 | 112 | 46% | 65 |
| Brisk walking, 3.5 to 3.9 mph (17200) | 4.8 | 179 | 142 | 58% | 51 |
| Shoveling snow by hand, moderate (08195) | 5.3 | 198 | 161 | 66% | 45 |
| Mowing the lawn, walking (08095) | 5.5 | 205 | 168 | 69% | 43 |
| Race walking (17110) | 6.5 | 243 | 205 | 85% | 35 |
| Stair climbing, general (17131) | 6.8 | 254 | 217 | 89% | 34 |
| Jogging, self-selected pace (12020) | 7.5 | 280 | 243 | 100% | 30 |
| Basketball, general (15055) | 7.5 | 280 | 243 | 100% | 30 |
| Circuit training, vigorous (02040) | 7.5 | 280 | 243 | 100% | 30 |
| Hiking with a daypack (17012) | 7.8 | 291 | 254 | 105% | 29 |
| Running, 6 to 6.3 mph (12050) | 9.3 | 347 | 310 | 128% | 23 |
Reading down the table: the home and yard jobs run from 31% (vacuuming) to 69% (mowing the lawn while walking behind the mower) of a jog's net cost. Brisk walking at 3.5 to 3.9 mph is 58%. Stair climbing at 89% and race walking at 85% come close, and stair climbing is the nearest thing to a daily chore on the list.
What actually matches a jog
In the Compendium entries this site uses, four other activities share jogging's 7.5 METs exactly: basketball (15055), vigorous circuit training (02040), vigorous calisthenics such as push-ups and burpees (02020), and recreational inline skating at 9 mph (15591). Hiking with a daypack (17012, 7.8) and cycling at 12 to 13.9 mph (01030, 8.0) sit just above. At 160 lb, each of the 7.5 MET activities comes to about 280 kcal gross and 243 net in 30 minutes.
So "as hard as a jog" in Compendium terms means a sport, a structured workout or a heavy job such as carrying furniture upstairs (05150, 9.0 METs), not routine housework. That is a statement about the average values in the list; how hard any one session is depends on how you do it, and a game of basketball with long breaks is not the same as a continuous one.
Compendium running versus the ACSM running equation
The site has two ways to estimate running. The calories burned calculator uses the Compendium's values; the running calorie calculator uses ACSM's running equation, VO2 = 0.2 x speed + 3.5 (speed in metres per minute, flat ground), which can be divided by 3.5 to give METs. Compared at the same speed, with the equation evaluated at the lower end of each Compendium speed label:
| Speed | Compendium entry | Compendium METs | ACSM equation METs | ACSM higher by | kcal in 30 min, Compendium / ACSM (160 lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mph | 12030, 5.0 to 5.2 mph | 8.5 | 8.66 | 1.9% | 317 / 323 |
| 6 mph | 12050, 6 to 6.3 mph | 9.3 | 10.20 | 9.6% | 347 / 381 |
| 7 mph | 12070, 7 mph | 11.0 | 11.73 | 6.6% | 411 / 438 |
| 8 mph | 12090, 8 mph | 12.0 | 13.26 | 10.5% | 448 / 495 |
| 9 mph | 12110, 9 mph | 13.0 | 14.79 | 13.8% | 485 / 552 |
| 10 mph | 12120, 10 mph | 14.8 | 16.33 | 10.3% | 553 / 610 |
The ACSM equation gives the higher figure at every speed, from 1.9% higher at 5 mph to 13.8% at 9 mph. At 6 mph, the Compendium's 9.3 METs means about 347 kcal in 30 minutes for a 160 lb runner, while the equation's 10.20 METs means about 381. They are two different published methods, so the two calculators will not agree to the calorie, and the gap is a property of the methods, not an error. Why the equation makes calories per mile independent of pace is covered in does running faster burn more calories per mile?
Corrected METs, and why the values are averages
The Compendium team states that the Compendium was not developed to determine the precise energy cost of activities within an individual. Its website also describes a corrected MET: the standard 3.5 ml/kg/min is divided by a resting rate predicted from the Harris-Benedict equation, which uses age, height, body mass and sex. The point is that real resting rates differ from the 3.5 convention, so a standard MET can under- or overstate one person's cost. None of the calculators on this site applies that correction, and I have not reproduced the Harris-Benedict coefficients here because I have not confirmed them from a primary source.
Where to use which tool
For activities with a measurable speed, slope or power, a dedicated equation usually tells you more than a MET label: the running calculator above, the hiking calorie calculator (which offers both Compendium entries and the ACSM walking equation for slopes) and the rowing and cycling tools. For swimming, where no simple speed equation exists, the swimming calorie calculator relies on Compendium entries by stroke and speed. For everything else, from yoga to snow shoveling, the calories burned calculator covers 75 Compendium entries with their codes, so you can look each one up. On rowing machines, the monitor uses neither method; why the rowing machine ignores your weight explains its formula.
All of these are estimates for adults, for planning and curiosity, not medical or weight-loss advice. For pool sessions, the swim pace calculator gives your pace per 100.
Sources: Herrmann et al. (2024), 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, J Sport Health Sci; 2024 Adult Compendium: unit conversions; 2024 Adult Compendium: corrected METs; 2024 Adult Compendium: home activities; 2024 Adult Compendium: running; ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, metabolic equations (Table 7.3 as reproduced by Texas Tech University). Rules checked . Found a problem? Tell us.
Questions
What is 1 MET?
The energy used at rest, set by convention at 3.5 ml of oxygen per kilogram per minute. The Compendium also gives it as 1 kcal per kilogram per hour; with ACSM's 4.9 kcal per litre it works out at 1.029.
How many calories is a MET?
METs x 3.5 x body weight in kg / 1,000 x 4.9 gives kcal per minute. For a 160 lb (72.6 kg) person, each MET is about 37 kcal per 30 minutes.
What activities burn as many calories as jogging?
In the 2024 Compendium, jogging is 7.5 METs, the same as basketball, vigorous circuit training, vigorous calisthenics and inline skating at 9 mph. Among routine household and yard jobs on this site's list none reaches it (stair climbing, 6.8, is closest); in the full Compendium only heavy jobs do, such as carrying boxes upstairs (9.0) and vigorous snow shoveling (7.5).
What is the difference between gross and net METs?
Gross includes the 1 MET you would burn at rest; net is METs minus 1. Vacuuming is 40% of a jog gross but 31% net.