VO2 max from the Cooper 12-minute run, the Rockport 1-mile walk or the resting heart-rate ratio, rated against Cooper Institute norms for age and sex.
An estimated VO₂ max of 42.4 mL/kg/min (12.1 METs) rates “Fair” for men aged 30–39.
Men 30–39: Fair from 40.5, Good from 44, Excellent from 48.3, Superior from 54 mL/kg/min.
VO₂ max is the most oxygen the body can use during maximal exercise, in millilitres per kilogram of body weight per minute. Three field tests estimate it: Cooper's 12-minute run, (distance in metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73; the Rockport 1-mile walk (Kline, 1987), from walk time, finishing heart rate, weight, age and sex; and Uth's ratio, 15.3 × maximum ÷ resting heart rate. The result is rated against Cooper Institute percentiles for your age and sex and converted to METs by dividing by 3.5.
People use it to track aerobic fitness without a laboratory test. A 35-year-old man who covers 2,400 m in 12 minutes scores 42.4 mL/kg/min, or 12.1 METs, which rates Fair for men aged 30–39.
Each test predicts a treadmill-measured value from a regression fitted on one group, so pacing, motivation and heat shift the result. The Uth ratio was validated only in 46 well-trained men.
Checked against: Python 3.8 decimal: (2800 − 504.9)/44.73 = 51.3101; Cooper Institute men 20–29: 51.1 ≤ v < 55.4 → Excellent
Checked against: Python 3.8 decimal: 132.853 − 0.0769·190 − 0.3877·45 + 6.315 − 3.2649·14.5 − 0.1565·130 = 39.42445; men 40–49: 38.5 ≤ v < 42.4 → Fair
Checked against: Python 3.8 decimal: 15.3 × 190/60 = 48.45; women 30–39 ≥ 47.4 → Superior
Checked against: Python 3.8 decimal: 208 − 0.7·30 = 187; 15.3 × 187/55 = 52.02
It depends on age and sex. In the Cooper Institute percentiles used here, men aged 30–39 rate Good (60th percentile) from 44.0 and Superior (95th) from 54.0 mL/kg/min, while women of the same age rate Good from 37.8 and Superior from 47.4. Thresholds fall with age: for men aged 60–69, Good starts at 35.5. These are percentile ranks within a tested population, not clinical cut-offs.
Take the distance covered in 12 minutes of running, in metres, subtract 504.9 and divide by 44.73. Covering 2,400 m gives 42.4 mL/kg/min, and 2,800 m gives 51.3. Kenneth Cooper published the equation in JAMA in 1968 after comparing 12-minute run distances with treadmill-measured VO₂ max in US Air Force men. It assumes an all-out, evenly paced effort.
Cardiorespiratory fitness predicts survival. A 2009 JAMA meta-analysis by Kodama and colleagues (33 studies, 102,980 participants) found that each 1-MET higher maximal aerobic capacity was linked with a 13 % lower risk of death from any cause and 15 % fewer coronary and cardiovascular events. People below 7.9 METs, about 27.7 mL/kg/min, had the highest risk.
Within a few mL/kg/min for the groups they were built on. Uth's heart-rate ratio estimated measured VO₂ max with a standard error of 2.7 mL/kg/min (about 4.5 %) using a measured maximum heart rate, and 4.7 mL/kg/min (about 7.8 %) using an age-predicted one, in well-trained men. Kline's Rockport equation was fitted on 343 healthy adults aged 30 to 69.
Accuracy depends on your inputs and the method's assumptions. Decimal arithmetic uses 50 significant digits, but estimates, numerical methods and source data can be less precise; the displayed rounding does not remove those limits. It is checked against 6 worked examples whose answers come from independent sources; for example, “Cooper: 2,800 m, man aged 25” is checked against Python 3.8 decimal: (2800 − 504.9)/44.73 = 51.3101; Cooper Institute men 20–29: 51.1 ≤ v < 55.4 → Excellent.
Cooper KH. A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake. JAMA 1968;203(3):201–204; Kline GM et al. Estimation of VO2max from a one-mile track walk, gender, age, and body weight. Med Sci Sports Exerc 1987;19(3):253–259; Uth N, Sørensen H, Overgaard K, Pedersen PK. Estimation of VO2max from the ratio between HRmax and HRrest — the heart rate ratio method. Eur J Appl Physiol 2004;91(1):111–115; Cooper Institute VO₂ max percentiles, reprinted in Garmin's VO2 max standard ratings.
For information only, not medical advice. These formulas describe populations, not you; talk to a clinician before acting on a result.
6 worked examples with independently sourced answers ship with this calculator. They run in the test suite; you can run them here too.
Heart rate zones from your maximum heart rate (220 − age, Tanaka, Gulati for women, or measured) by the Karvonen or percent-of-max method, with a target heart rate.
Running pace per km or mile from distance and time, or finish time or distance from pace, with even splits and Riegel race predictions.
Calories burned by an activity from its MET value in the Compendium of Physical Activities, your body weight and the time spent.
One-rep max (1RM) from a set of reps with the Epley, Brzycki, Lombardi and O'Conner equations, plus training loads from 50 % to 100 %.
Cycling power-to-weight (W/kg), speed and pace, or swimming pace per 100 m and 100 yd with your SWOLF score.
Steps to distance in km and miles from a step length based on your height or measured, with walking time and calories from the ACSM equation.
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