VO2 Max Calculator
Estimate VO2 max from the Cooper 12-minute run, a 1.5-mile time trial, your resting heart rate or the Rockport walk test, with fitness norms by age and sex.
VO2 Max Calculator: with the default inputs, estimated vo2 max (ml/kg/min) is 42.4.
Used by the Rockport equation and by the fitness norms.
Measured lying down, first thing in the morning, before caffeine.
Leave at 0 to estimate it as 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka).
Used by the Rockport equation only.
Millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute.
- Fitness category
- Good for a 30–39 year-old man
- Peak METs
- 12.1VO2 max ÷ 3.5. One MET is resting metabolism.
- Method used
- Cooper 12-minute run
- Maximum heart rate used (bpm)
- 184
- Share of the age-group 'Good' threshold
- 103%
Assumptions
- Each equation assumes a maximal (or, for Rockport, a brisk sub-maximal) effort on a flat, accurately measured course.
- Maximum heart rate defaults to Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age when you do not supply a measured value.
- Fitness categories use the Cooper Institute's age- and sex-banded norms as reproduced in ACSM's guidelines.
- Estimates are body-weight normalised, so carrying extra non-metabolic mass lowers the score.
| Age | Poor from | Fair from | Good from | Excellent from | Superior from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13–19 | 35 | 38.4 | 45.2 | 51 | 56 |
| 20–29 | 33 | 36.5 | 42.5 | 46.5 | 52.5 |
| 30–39 | 31.5 | 35.5 | 41 | 45 | 49.5 |
| 40–49 | 30.2 | 33.6 | 39 | 43.8 | 48.1 |
| 50–59 | 26.1 | 31 | 35.8 | 41 | 45.4 |
| 60+ | 20.5 | 26.1 | 32.3 | 36.5 | 44.3 |
Anything below the 'Poor from' column is classified Very Poor. Values are lower bounds of each band.
How this is worked out
The formula
Cooper 12-minute run (Cooper, 1968)
VO2max = (distance in metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73
1.5-mile run
VO2max = 3.5 + 483 ÷ time in minutes
Resting heart rate (Uth et al., 2004)
VO2max = 15.3 × (HRmax ÷ HRrest), HRmax ≈ 208 − 0.7 × age
Rockport 1-mile walk (Kline et al., 1987)
VO2max = 132.853 − 0.0769·weight(lb) − 0.3877·age + 6.315·(1 if male)
− 3.2649·time(min) − 0.1565·heart rate at finishOpen How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Test
- Choose one of 4 options.Cooper 12-minute run (distance covered) · 1.5-mile run time trial · Resting heart rate (no exercise needed) · Rockport 1-mile walk test
- Age
- A number.from 13 to 99 · whole numbers only · defaults to 35
- Sex
- Used by the Rockport equation and by the fitness norms.Male · Female
- Cooper test: distance in 12 minutes
- A number.in m, km, mi, yd · from 200 to 6000 · defaults to 2400
- 1.5-mile run: minutes
- A number.from 0 to 60 · whole numbers only · defaults to 11
- …and seconds
- A number.from 0 to 59 · whole numbers only · defaults to 30
- Resting heart rate
- Measured lying down, first thing in the morning, before caffeine.from 25 to 150 · whole numbers only · defaults to 60
- Maximum heart rate
- Leave at 0 to estimate it as 208 − 0.7 × age (Tanaka).from 0 to 230 · whole numbers only · defaults to 0
- Rockport walk: minutes for 1 mile
- A number.from 0 to 60 · whole numbers only · defaults to 14
- …and seconds
- A number.from 0 to 59 · whole numbers only · defaults to 30
- Rockport walk: heart rate at the finish
- A number.from 50 to 220 · whole numbers only · defaults to 130
- Body weight
- Used by the Rockport equation only.in lb, kg, st · from 50 to 500 · defaults to 165
What you get back
- Estimated VO2 max (mL/kg/min)main answer
- Millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute.
- Fitness category
- Peak METs
- VO2 max ÷ 3.5. One MET is resting metabolism.
- Method used
- Maximum heart rate used (bpm)
- Share of the age-group 'Good' threshold
What this assumes
- Each equation assumes a maximal (or, for Rockport, a brisk sub-maximal) effort on a flat, accurately measured course.
- Maximum heart rate defaults to Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age when you do not supply a measured value.
- Fitness categories use the Cooper Institute's age- and sex-banded norms as reproduced in ACSM's guidelines.
- Estimates are body-weight normalised, so carrying extra non-metabolic mass lowers the score.
About this calculator
VO2 max is the most oxygen your body can take in, transport and use per minute, normalised to your body weight. It is the single best laboratory measure of cardiorespiratory fitness, and one of the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality in the epidemiological literature — stronger than smoking status, blood pressure or cholesterol in several large cohorts. Measuring it properly needs a mask, a treadmill and a technician. Estimating it needs a track and twelve minutes.
Choosing a test
- Cooper 12-minute run is the classic field test: run as far as you can in exactly twelve minutes on a track. Simple, well-validated, and brutally honest about pacing errors.
- 1.5-mile time trial asks for one hard effort over a fixed distance instead of a fixed time. Slightly easier to pace, equally demanding.
- Resting heart rate requires no exercise at all, which is its appeal and its weakness. It works because trained hearts pump more per beat, but it was validated on runners and it is the least accurate option here by a wide margin.
- Rockport 1-mile walk is the test for people who should not be sprinting: walk one mile as briskly as you comfortably can, then take your heart rate immediately. It is the appropriate choice for older, sedentary or deconditioned testers.
Whichever you use, be consistent. The absolute number from a field test carries an error band of several mL/kg/min; the change in your own number across repeat tests on the same course is far more trustworthy.
Reading the result
Typical values run from the high teens in sedentary older adults to the mid-40s for a fit 35-year-old man and the high 30s for a fit 35-year-old woman. Elite endurance athletes reach 70–85, and the highest values ever recorded — in cross-country skiers and cyclists — approach 90. The METs figure is the same number divided by 3.5: 10 METs means you can sustain ten times resting metabolism, a threshold that shows up repeatedly in cardiology risk stratification.
The fitness categories come from the Cooper Institute's norms, split by age and sex, because both matter enormously. VO2 max falls roughly 1% a year from the mid-twenties in untrained people — less than half that in people who keep training — and women average 15–25% lower than men at the same training status, mostly through differences in haemoglobin mass and heart size.
What these estimates cannot do
Every equation here was fitted to a specific population and inherits its biases. They assume you gave a genuine effort, that the course was flat and measured, and that you were not carrying an unusual amount of non-metabolic mass. Prediction errors of ±10–15% against a laboratory test are normal, and larger at the extremes. If you are unfit, unwell, over 40 and sedentary, or have a known cardiac condition, talk to a doctor before running a maximal field test — the Rockport walk exists precisely for that case.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is a good VO2 max?
It depends on age and sex. For a 35-year-old man, above 45 mL/kg/min is good and above 49 is excellent; for a woman the same age, above 31.5 is good and above 40 excellent. Elite endurance athletes reach 70–85.
▸How accurate is a VO2 max estimate from a field test?
Typically within 10–15% of a laboratory measurement, which is a range of several points. The change in your own score across repeat tests on the same course is far more reliable than the absolute value.
▸How do I do the Cooper test?
Warm up, then run as far as you can in exactly twelve minutes on a flat measured track, pacing evenly. Record the distance in metres and enter it. Starting too fast is the most common way to under-score.
▸Can I estimate VO2 max without exercising?
Roughly, from resting heart rate: VO2max ≈ 15.3 × (max HR ÷ resting HR). It captures the real link between stroke volume and fitness but explains much less variance than a run test — treat it as a band, not a number.
▸How much can I improve my VO2 max?
Untrained adults typically gain 15–20% over a few months of consistent aerobic training, with interval work at 90–95% of maximum heart rate producing the fastest gains. Trained athletes gain much less, and genetics set a ceiling.
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