What Are the METs and Watts Readouts on my Cardio Equipment?

When you are riding your exercise bike or pushing along on your favorite piece of cardiovascular equipment, you will see a few different readouts pop up on your machine's display. Sometimes these readings rotate, but often times they remained fixed for you to measure as you increase your intensity.

The heart rate display is an easy one to figure out, but what about the number beside the word "METs?"

A MET stands for "multiple of the resting metabolic rate" and basically equates to the amount of oxygen your body consumes when you're not moving. That number is then compared to the level of exertion you create when moving at a particular intensity. For example if are biking at 5 METs you are consuming 5 times the amount of oxygen than when resting.

As for watts, they measure power (equal to force multiplied by distance divided by time). The readout will tell you how much power you are generating. This feature is mainly reserved for competitive athletes, but can serve as another measure of progress when tracking your statistics.

For the most part I recommend that you just concentrate more on your heart rate display and level of perceived exertion. This will help you to see how hard you are pushing yourself and whether or not you are making progress at a certain level. Once you feel comfortable with the fundamental features of your cardio machine's readouts you can always choose to get more technical with METs and watts.