I never make News Years resolutions, but when people do, exercise and diet are usually at the top of the list. The NYT recently had a short article specifying how much exercise is really enough.

Basically, the author researched several different studies and found different recommendations. For a mental health benefit, the absolute minimum of exercise is 20 minutes a week. This could include anything from walking to mild housework such as vacuuming. The problem is that this little amount of exercise would do absolutely nothing for your cardiovascular health. Nada. While it could be a start for those making New Year’s resolutions, it isn’t enough for most health benefits.

That’s where the MET system comes in. According to the NYT, a MET is the amount of energy a person uses while at rest. Multiple METs depend on the rate and difficulty of the activity. A person running would have a significantly higher MET count than a person who was just vacuuming or walking slowly. Currently, the recommendations for a person’s MET recommendations are 500 METs a week.

You can check out a MET chart here to see which exercises are good and how many METs are given for each activity. Looking at this chart, 500 METs seems like an impossible goal to reach for those just starting their exercise routines.