Is running really the most efficient burn?

Per minute, among accessible options — yes, roughly 10–12 MET at moderate speeds. Per hour of life spent (including shower, commute, recovery), brisk walking and cycling compete surprisingly well. Optimize for the calendar you actually have.

Why is vigorous weight training only 5.5 MET?

Strength work is intermittent by nature: sets are seconds, rest is minutes — the averaged MET reflects real sessions. Its value lies in stimulus, not session burn. Compare it to other activities on the adaptation column, not this one.

Swimming feels harder than 7 MET suggests.

Technique dominates: inefficient swimmers burn substantially more at the same speed (the Compendium value assumes competent strokes). If your freestyle is a survival stroke, honest burn sits closer to 8–10 MET — the effort selector on the burn calculator covers this.

Which single number should I plan my week around?

None — plan around minutes and consistency, then verify with weight trend and performance. Burn math is the budgeting layer, not the training plan. The comparison's job is choosing between two activities you'd actually do.

Exercise Comparison Tool

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How the exercise comparison works

What the comparison shows

At the same bodyweight, burn differences are pure MET differences — and the MET ladder has a shape worth internalizing: intensity dominates duration. Running at 9.8 km/h (9.8 MET) nets roughly double brisk walking per minute, which is why the "same 45 minutes" produces wildly different totals across the selection.

Reading past the calories

Per-minute kings cost more to recover from: running and HIIT burn more AND demand more recovery — three hard runs a week may move fitness less than five walks plus two runs, because adherence and consistency compound.
Weight training burns modestly but builds the engine: muscle mass raises resting metabolism (~13 kcal/kg/day per kg of muscle) and reshapes where weight loss comes from. Its burn column is the weakest part of its story.
The best activity remains the one repeated: an honest 4 MET hour five times a week beats an 8 MET hour twice. Pick from the top of the adherence column, then the MET column.

The net correction, again

All comparisons here use net burn (minus the sitting baseline). Light activities take the biggest haircut from their gross numbers — another reason walking's honest value comes from volume and consistency rather than any single heroic session.