Is it legitimate to convert an athlete's continuous oxygen consumption in mlOfO2/(kg-min) to watts/kg? 

If 1 mlOfO2/(kg-min)x(4.8 Kcal/1000 mlOfO2)x(4186 Joules/Kcal)x(1 min/60)*(watt*sec)/Joule equals 0.33 watts/kg. 

Therefore, to convert oxygen consumption to watts/kg, just divide the oxygen consumption by 3.

Also, although oxygen consumption (mlsOfO2/(kg-min)) and METS are referred to as energy, aren't they actually power, i.e., more specifically mass specific power in terms of watts per kg?

It would be very useful to convert O2 consumption to power.  Just an example, if a 70-kg cyclist consumes 45 mlsOfO2/(kg-min), he or she is consuming 15 watts/kg of metabolic power.  If the athlete is generating 280 watts of power, they generating 4 watts/kg, so they have a metabolic-to-mechanical efficiency of approximately 26%?

Am I overlooking something?  I have never seen this in the literature.

Ted Andresen

St. Petersburg, Florida