Metabolic Equations for Anaerobic Exercise?

Question

I know several metabolic equations for estimating VO2 (and therefore calories burned) for steady state exercise, but how is VO2 and caloric expenditure estimated through exercises like power lifting and explosive exercise, like burpees?

This being said, what are the METs (metabolic equivalents) for such exercises? All METs I have seen are for physical activity, not for specific exercises.

I would like to know the caloric value of different exercises to estimate whether or not one is over-training.

My current formal education is heavily focused on health vs performance.

Answer 1

The following formula should allow you to convert between MET, vVo2Max, VO2Max, KCal/min:

MET           = vVO2Max 
              =  VO2Max   / 3.5
             ~= kCalBurnt / (bodyMassKg * timePerformingHours)

Kcal/Min     ~= 5 * bodyMassKg * VO2 / 1000

VO2          ~= (currentHeartRate / MaxHeartRate) * VO2Max

MaxHeartRate ~= 210 - (0.8 * ageYears)

Note: The 5 calories / min constant, assumes just carbohydrates are being converted, over a short period. If the exercise is sustained aerobically for a period this value drops to 4.86 to reflect a mix of fats and carbohydrates are being converted into energy.

A number of sites have MET estimates for specific activities eg.

• Compendium of Physical Activities
• procon.org - MET Values for 800+ Activities
• Metabolic Equivalents (METS) in Exercise Testing, Exercise Prescription, and Evaluation of Functional Capacity

So just use the formula above to estimate the calories spent performing a particular exercise eg. If you spend 6 mins on an Elliptical trainer (moderate effort), which has been assigned a MET score of 5.0, and you weigh 80Kg, you'dend up with:

KCalBurnt = MET * bodyMassKg * timePerformingHours
          = 5.0 * 80 * 0.1 
          = 40 KCal

Similarly if you do 50 push-up in a min, that raises your heart rate from 60 to 150 BMP, and rest for 2 mins, in which time your heart rate drops back down to 90, after the first min, and to a resting 60 by the end of 2 mins, you'd have spent approximately 37 KCal in the 3 mins, as:

AverageHR  = (60 + 150 + 90 + 60) / 3 = 120 BMP  

MaxHR      = 210 - (0.8 * 40 years) = 178 BMP

VO2max    ~= 46 litres (from a Fitness test)

VO2       ~= (120 / 178) * 46 = 31 litres

bodyMassKg = 80 Kg

Kcal/Min  ~= 5 * 80 * 31 / 1000 = 12.4 * 3  = 37.2 KCal

The ACMS equations may also be of interest:

Arm Ergometry VO2 = (3 * workRateWatts) / bodyMassKg + 3.5

Leg Ergometry: VO2 = (1.8 * workRateWatts) / bodyMassKg + 7

Stepping: VO2 = (0.2 * (steps in a Min)) + 1.33 * (1.8 * stepHeightMeters * (stepsInAMin)) + 3.5

Walking: VO2 = (0.1 * metersWalkedInAMin) + (1.8 * metersWalkedInAMin) * (fractionalGrade) + 3.5

Running: VO2 = (0.2 * metersRunInAMin) + (0.9 * metersRunInAMin) * (fractionalGrade) + 3.5