How to use it
- Choose a method and complete the test (see the questions below).
- Enter your result. The Rockport method also needs sex, age and weight; the heart rate method needs maximum and resting pulse.
- Read VO2 max in ml of oxygen per kilogram per minute, and in METs (1 MET = 3.5 ml/kg/min).
The formulas
- Cooper (1968): VO2 max = (distance in metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73.
- Rockport (Kline et al., 1987): VO2 max = 132.853 − 0.0769 × weight (lb) − 0.3877 × age + 6.315 × sex (1 for men, 0 for women) − 3.2649 × time (min) − 0.1565 × heart rate at the finish.
- Heart rate ratio (Uth et al., 2004): VO2 max = 15.3 × maximum heart rate ÷ resting heart rate.
Weight in kilograms is converted to pounds for the Rockport equation.
Worked examples
- Cooper: someone who covers 2 400 m: (2 400 − 504.9) ÷ 44.73 = 42.4 ml/kg/min, or 12.1 METs.
- Heart rates: maximum 190, resting 60: 15.3 × 190 ÷ 60 = 48.5 ml/kg/min.
- Rockport: a 30-year-old man of 70 kg who walks the mile in 15 minutes with a finishing pulse of 140 gets 132.853 − 11.867 − 11.631 + 6.315 − 48.974 − 21.91 = 44.8 ml/kg/min.
Limits
- Field tests depend on effort and pacing: a poorly paced run lowers the result. Weather, hills and surface matter too.
- The equations were fitted to specific groups of adults; they are less accurate for children, older people and elite athletes.
- Smartwatch values come from other models and will differ.
- This is general information, not medical advice. Stop any test if you feel chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness, and speak to a doctor.