How do I calculate my VO₂ max at home?

Run as far as you can in 12 minutes and use Cooper's formula: (metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73. 2,800 m gives 51.3. If running isn't possible, walk a mile fast and use the Rockport equation, or enter your resting heart rate for a rougher estimate.

What is a good VO₂ max?

It depends on age and sex. As a rough guide for adults under 40, above 40 ml/kg/min is good for men and above 35 for women; trained endurance athletes reach 60–80. Comparing your own retests over time tells you more than any table.

Cooper, Rockport or resting heart rate — which should I use?

The one you can do properly. Cooper is the most direct if you can run hard for 12 minutes; Rockport suits walkers and beginners; the resting heart rate method is quickest but the least precise, especially with an estimated maximum heart rate.

How accurate is a smartwatch VO₂ max?

Watches estimate it from pace and heart rate during runs, using their makers' own models, and are often within a few points of lab values in studies, but can be further off for some people. A watch figure and these field tests are all estimates; use one method consistently.

Can I improve my VO₂ max?

Yes. Regular endurance training, especially intervals near maximum effort, raises it in most people within weeks to months. Retest with the same method in the same conditions to see the change.

VO₂ Max Calculator (Cooper Run, Rockport Walk or Resting Heart Rate)

Estimate VO₂ max from a Cooper 12-minute run, a Rockport one-mile walk or your resting heart rate, with each published formula and the working shown.

Inputs

Method

Distance in 12 min(m)

1,000 m4,000 m

Units

Include CalculateEveryday mark

Estimated VO₂ max

42.4 ml/kg/min

42.4

Good

Below averageFairGoodExcellent

12-min run distance: 2,400 m
Working: (2,400 − 504.9) ÷ 44.73 = 42.4
Method: Cooper 12-minute run (1968)
Fitness band (rough guide): Good
In METs (÷ 3.5): 12.1

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What each VO₂ Max input means

Method: Cooper if you can run hard for 12 minutes; Rockport if walking is the safer test; resting heart rate for a no-exercise estimate that is the least precise of the three.
Distance in 12 min: Cooper only: how far you covered in exactly 12 minutes, ideally on a 400 m track where laps are easy to count.
Time to walk 1 mile: Rockport only: time to walk one mile as fast as you can without running, in minutes with a decimal — 16 minutes 30 seconds is 16.5.
Heart rate at the finish: Rockport only: your heart rate the moment you finish, from a chest strap or a 15-second pulse count × 4.
Resting heart rate: Resting method: taken lying still just after waking, ideally averaged over a few mornings.
Max heart rate, if measured (0 = estimate): Resting method: a maximum measured in a hard test or race. Leave at 0 and the page estimates it from age.

VO₂ Max formula

Cooper: (metres in 12 min − 504.9) ÷ 44.73 · Rockport: 132.853 − 0.0769 × lb − 0.3877 × age + 6.315 (men) − 3.2649 × minutes − 0.1565 × finishing HR · Resting HR: 15.3 × HRmax ÷ HRrest

\dot{V}O_{2\max} = \frac{d - 504.9}{44.73} \qquad \dot{V}O_{2\max} = 15.3 \times \frac{HR_{\max}}{HR_{\text{rest}}}

VO₂ max is the most oxygen your body can use per minute during all-out exercise, per kilogram of body weight. Measuring it takes a lab treadmill and a mask, so field tests estimate it, and the page offers three. Kenneth Cooper's 12-minute run (JAMA, 1968) came from 115 US Air Force men: run as far as you can in 12 minutes, and VO₂ max is the distance in metres minus 504.9, divided by 44.73. The Rockport one-mile walk (Kline and colleagues, 1987) is for people who cannot or should not run: walk a mile as fast as you can and record the time and your heart rate at the finish; the equation also uses weight, age and sex. The heart rate ratio method (Uth and colleagues, 2004) needs no exercise at all: 15.3 times your maximum heart rate divided by your resting rate. If you don't have a measured maximum, the page estimates it with Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age, the same formula as the heart-rate-zones page. Each method shows its working, and the result is also given in METs (VO₂ ÷ 3.5).

VO₂ Max worked example

Running 2,400 metres in 12 minutes: (2,400 − 504.9) ÷ 44.73 = 42.4 ml/kg/min, or about 12 METs. That is a good result for most adults; well-trained endurance athletes reach the high 50s and beyond on the same test.

More VO₂ Max examples

A 45-year-old woman weighing 150 lb walks a mile in 16 minutes 30 seconds and finishes at 125 bpm: 132.853 − 11.535 − 17.447 − 53.871 − 19.563 = 30.4 ml/kg/min.

A 40-year-old with a resting heart rate of 58 and no measured maximum: Tanaka gives 208 − 28 = 180 bpm, and 15.3 × 180 ÷ 58 = 47.5 ml/kg/min — a rough figure, since both heart rates carry error.

Where the VO₂ Max calculator can give the wrong answer

All three are estimates. Uth's paper reported a standard error of about 2.7 ml/kg/min in its sample of trained men, and the Rockport walk about ±5 ml/kg/min; a lab test is the only measurement.
Cooper's test rewards pacing as much as fitness. A first attempt that starts too fast and fades underestimates VO₂ max; a second attempt usually comes out higher.
The heart rate ratio method was built on well-trained men. In less fit people, and with an age-estimated maximum, the error grows — a 10 bpm error in the maximum moves the result by several points.
Beta-blockers and other medicines that slow the heart make both heart-rate methods unreliable. A hard 12-minute run is not a safe test for everyone; check with a doctor if you have heart symptoms.
The fitness bands on the page are a rough guide that ignores age and sex. Published norms fall with age, so the same number is 'fair' at 25 and 'excellent' at 65.

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VO₂ Max reference table

What each field test needs
Test	You do	Published by
Cooper 12-minute run	Run as far as possible in 12 minutes	Cooper, JAMA 1968
Rockport one-mile walk	Walk 1 mile fast; note time and finishing heart rate	Kline et al., 1987
Heart rate ratio	Measure resting heart rate (and maximum, if known)	Uth et al., 2004

Source: Cooper 1968; Kline et al., Med Sci Sports Exerc 1987; Uth et al., Eur J Appl Physiol 2004

VO₂ Max FAQ

: Run as far as you can in 12 minutes and use Cooper's formula: (metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73. 2,800 m gives 51.3. If running isn't possible, walk a mile fast and use the Rockport equation, or enter your resting heart rate for a rougher estimate.
: It depends on age and sex. As a rough guide for adults under 40, above 40 ml/kg/min is good for men and above 35 for women; trained endurance athletes reach 60–80. Comparing your own retests over time tells you more than any table.
: The one you can do properly. Cooper is the most direct if you can run hard for 12 minutes; Rockport suits walkers and beginners; the resting heart rate method is quickest but the least precise, especially with an estimated maximum heart rate.
: Watches estimate it from pace and heart rate during runs, using their makers' own models, and are often within a few points of lab values in studies, but can be further off for some people. A watch figure and these field tests are all estimates; use one method consistently.
: Yes. Regular endurance training, especially intervals near maximum effort, raises it in most people within weeks to months. Retest with the same method in the same conditions to see the change.