VO2 Max Calculator
VO2 max calculator for two field tests: the Cooper 12-minute run distance, or the Rockport 1-mile walk time, heart rate, age, sex and weight, give mL/kg/min. How it works
Use the VO2 Max Calculator
About the VO2 Max Calculator
Running 2,400 m in 12 minutes gives an estimated VO2 max of 42.4 mL/kg/min on the Cooper test. This VO2 max calculator also handles the Rockport 1-mile walk: a 40-year-old man of 170 lb who walks the mile in 15:00 and finishes at 140 bpm gets 39.7. Both are field estimates, and the walk equation is quoted with a standard error of about 5 mL/kg/min. For the run the page adds a rough rating for your age and sex: a 40-year-old man covering 2,400 m is Good.
Cooper 12-minute run: distance to VO2 max
| Distance in 12 minutes | Estimated VO2 max (mL/kg/min) |
|---|---|
| 1,600 m | 24.5 |
| 1,800 m | 29.0 |
| 2,000 m | 33.4 |
| 2,200 m | 37.9 |
| 2,400 m | 42.4 |
| 2,600 m | 46.8 |
| 2,800 m | 51.3 |
| 3,000 m | 55.8 |
| 3,200 m | 60.3 |
Every extra 200 m adds about 4.5 mL/kg/min. The equation was fitted to 115 male US Air Force officers and airmen and uses neither age nor sex.
Rockport 1-mile walk by walk time: age 40, 170 lb, 140 bpm at the finish
| Walk time | Men (mL/kg/min) | Women (mL/kg/min) |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 | 49.5 | 43.2 |
| 13:00 | 46.2 | 39.9 |
| 14:00 | 43.0 | 36.7 |
| 15:00 | 39.7 | 33.4 |
| 16:00 | 36.4 | 30.1 |
| 17:00 | 33.2 | 26.9 |
| 18:00 | 29.9 | 23.6 |
Each extra minute on the mile lowers the estimate by about 3.3. The men’s figure is 6.3 above the women’s for the same inputs, the sex term of the equation.
Rockport 1-mile walk by finishing heart rate: age 40, 170 lb, mile in 15:00
| Heart rate at the finish | Men (mL/kg/min) | Women (mL/kg/min) |
|---|---|---|
| 110 bpm | 44.4 | 38.1 |
| 120 bpm | 42.8 | 36.5 |
| 130 bpm | 41.3 | 35.0 |
| 140 bpm | 39.7 | 33.4 |
| 150 bpm | 38.1 | 31.8 |
| 160 bpm | 36.6 | 30.3 |
| 170 bpm | 35.0 | 28.7 |
Ten beats per minute at the finish move the estimate by about 1.6, so a pulse counted by hand after stopping, when the rate is already falling, reads too low and inflates the result.
Cooper 12-minute run rating: distance at which each band starts
| Sex and age | Fair | Average | Good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men, 13 to 19 | 1,600 m | 2,000 m | 2,400 m | 2,800 m |
| Men, 20 to 29 | 1,600 m | 2,000 m | 2,400 m | 2,800 m |
| Men, 30 to 39 | 1,500 m | 1,800 m | 2,200 m | 2,600 m |
| Men, 40 to 49 | 1,400 m | 1,700 m | 2,100 m | 2,500 m |
| Men, 50 and over | 1,300 m | 1,600 m | 2,000 m | 2,400 m |
| Women, 13 to 19 | 1,400 m | 1,700 m | 2,000 m | 2,300 m |
| Women, 20 to 29 | 1,400 m | 1,700 m | 2,000 m | 2,400 m |
| Women, 30 to 39 | 1,300 m | 1,600 m | 1,900 m | 2,300 m |
| Women, 40 to 49 | 1,200 m | 1,500 m | 1,800 m | 2,200 m |
| Women, 50 and over | 1,100 m | 1,400 m | 1,700 m | 2,100 m |
The general-guideline bands from Topend Sports, which names no study behind them; treat the rating as a rough estimate, not a medical or fitness assessment. A distance below the Fair figure is Poor. The page prints ranges such as 2.0 to 2.4 km, so a distance exactly on a boundary takes the higher band here, the calculator’s own choice. No rating is given under age 13, above 99, or for the walk.
Methodology
Cooper 12-minute run: VO2 max = (distance in meters − 504.9) ÷ 44.73. Rockport 1-mile walk: VO2 max = 132.853 − 0.0769 × weight in lb − 0.3877 × age + 6.315 for men − 3.2649 × walk time in minutes − 0.1565 × heart rate at the end of the walk. Results are in mL/kg/min, shown to one decimal. Weight can be entered in pounds or kilograms.
How to use this tool
- Choose the Cooper 12-minute run or the Rockport 1-mile walk.
- For the run, enter the distance you covered in 12 minutes, in meters, and your age and sex for the rating.
- For the walk, enter your age, sex, weight, the time for the mile as MM:SS and your heart rate at the finish.
- Read the estimate. For the walk, the page notes when your age is outside the 30 to 69 range the equation was built on.
- To share a result, use Share link: the link keeps the test, age and sex, plus the run distance or the walk weight, time and finishing heart rate.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the Cooper test formula?
- VO2 max = (distance in meters − 504.9) ÷ 44.73, where the distance is how far you run in 12 minutes. 2,000 m gives 33.4 mL/kg/min, 2,400 m gives 42.4 and 3,000 m gives 55.8. Each extra 100 m adds about 2.2. On a 400 m track, count laps and multiply: six laps and a half is 2,600 m, or 46.8.
- How do I do the Rockport walk test?
- Walk one mile on a track as fast as you can at a pace you can hold, time it, and record your heart rate at the finish. The PhenX protocol for the test takes the heart rate from the last 10 seconds of the walk and recommends a monitor, because the rate falls quickly once you stop.
- How accurate are these VO2 max estimates?
- Kline and colleagues built the walk test on 343 adults aged 30 to 69. Their liters-per-minute equation had a correlation of 0.93 with measured VO2 max and a standard error of 0.325 L/min, or 0.355 L/min in a separate validation group. For the mL/kg/min equation used here, a later paper quotes a correlation of 0.88 and a standard error of 5.0 mL/kg/min. Cooper’s abstract gives a correlation of 0.897 and no standard error.
- Why do the run and the walk give me different numbers?
- They are separate equations fitted to different people doing different tests: an all-out 12-minute run by Air Force men, and a brisk mile walked by adults aged 30 to 69. Nothing forces the two to agree for one person. Outside ages 30 to 69 the walk result is an extrapolation, and the page says so.
- What is a good VO2 max?
- For the Cooper run the page gives a rough rating by age and sex from the Topend Sports bands: a 40-year-old man is Good from 2,100 m and Excellent from 2,500 m, so 2,400 m (42.4 mL/kg/min) is Good, 100 m short of the next band. The walk gets no rating. What the number shows best is change: with a standard error of about 5 mL/kg/min on the walk equation, 42 and 44 are not a real difference, so repeat the same test on the same course and compare results months apart. The Cooper equation leaves out age and sex, so a 25-year-old and a 60-year-old who cover 2,400 m both get 42.4; only the rating uses age.
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