VO2 Max Calculator
Three field tests, one number: the Rockport one-mile walk (built for beginners and midlife walkers), Cooper's 12-minute run, and the resting-pulse estimate. Your result comes with the fitness band for your age and sex — and a link to the training zone it implies.
Estimated VO2 max
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Common questions
What is VO2 max and why does it matter?
VO2 max is how much oxygen your body can use per minute per kg — the ceiling every endurance effort runs under. It's one of the strongest health predictors measured in fitness, and unlike most of them, it's trainable.
Which test should I use?
Walking a mile comfortably? Rockport (built for exactly that). Runner? Cooper's 12-minute max distance. Neither today? The resting-heart-rate estimate — roughest, but it only needs a pulse and your age.
How accurate are the estimates?
Expect ±10-15% against a lab test. The useful move is measuring the same way a few times a year and watching the trend, not defending the absolute number.
Formulas
Rockport (Kline 1987): 132.853 − 0.0769×weight(lb) − 0.3877×age + 6.315×(male=1) − 3.2649×time(min) − 0.1565×finish HR. Cooper (1968): (distance in meters − 504.9) ÷ 44.73. Resting-pulse (Uth-Sørensen 2004): 15.3 × HRmax ÷ HRrest, with HRmax from Tanaka (208 − 0.7×age; Gulati's women's formula if you prefer it — see the zone calculator). Fitness bands follow the standard age-decade norms used across exercise physiology references.
Train it: zone 2 is where the VO2 max base gets built · the strength check