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.
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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.
Run as far as you can in 12 minutes, then apply Cooper's equation: VO2 max = (distance in meters − 504.9) ÷ 44.73. Covering 2,400 m gives (2,400 − 504.9) ÷ 44.73 = 42.4 mL/kg/min, which rates Fair for a man aged 30 to 39 on Cooper Institute norms.
Working backward, distance = 44.73 × VO2 max + 504.9. That man would need 2,473 m to reach Good, at 44.0.
VO2 max is the most oxygen your body can use per kilogram of body weight each minute. Dividing by 3.5 converts it to METs, multiples of resting oxygen use: 42.4 ÷ 3.5 = 12.1 METs.
The ratings are Cooper Institute percentiles, as reprinted in Garmin's VO2 max standard ratings. Superior starts at the 95th percentile, Excellent at the 80th, Good at the 60th and Fair at the 40th; anything lower rates Poor.
Values are in mL/kg/min, and reaching a threshold exactly counts.
| Men's age | Fair from | Good from | Excellent from | Superior from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 41.7 | 45.4 | 51.1 | 55.4 |
| 30–39 | 40.5 | 44.0 | 48.3 | 54.0 |
| 40–49 | 38.5 | 42.4 | 46.4 | 52.5 |
| 50–59 | 35.6 | 39.2 | 43.4 | 48.9 |
| 60–69 | 32.3 | 35.5 | 39.5 | 45.7 |
| 70–79 | 29.4 | 32.3 | 36.7 | 42.1 |
| Women's age | Fair from | Good from | Excellent from | Superior from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 36.1 | 39.5 | 43.9 | 49.6 |
| 30–39 | 34.4 | 37.8 | 42.4 | 47.4 |
| 40–49 | 33.0 | 36.3 | 39.7 | 45.3 |
| 50–59 | 30.1 | 33.0 | 36.7 | 41.1 |
| 60–69 | 27.5 | 30.0 | 33.0 | 37.8 |
| 70–79 | 25.9 | 28.1 | 30.9 | 36.7 |
These are ranks within a tested population, not clinical cutoffs. The table stops at 20 and 79, so younger or older people are rated against the nearest decade.
Kenneth Cooper published his equation 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.
Walk one mile as fast as you can and take your heart rate at the finish. Kline and colleagues (1987) fitted the equation on 343 healthy adults aged 30 to 69:
VO2 max = 132.853 − 0.0769 × weight in lb − 0.3877 × age + 6.315 × sex − 3.2649 × time − 0.1565 × heart rate
Sex is 1 for men and 0 for women, and time is in decimal minutes, so 14:30 is 14.5. A 45-year-old man of 190 lb who walks the mile in 14:30 and finishes at 130 bpm:
132.853 − 14.611 − 17.447 + 6.315 − 47.341 − 20.345 = 39.4 mL/kg/min, Fair for men aged 40 to 49.
VO2 max = 15.3 × maximum heart rate ÷ resting heart rate. A 35-year-old woman with a measured maximum of 190 bpm and a resting rate of 60 bpm gets 15.3 × 190 ÷ 60 = 48.45, Superior for women aged 30 to 39.
Without a measured maximum, Tanaka's 208 − 0.7 × age estimates one. A 30-year-old man gets 187 bpm, and with a resting rate of 55 bpm, 15.3 × 187 ÷ 55 = 52.0, Excellent.
Uth and colleagues (2004) validated the ratio in 46 well-trained men aged 21 to 51. Its standard error was 2.7 mL/kg/min with a measured maximum and 4.7 with an age-predicted one.
An age-predicted maximum is an input to this equation, not a safe training limit.
The default is the 2,400 m runner aged 35. The Rockport example is the 45-year-old walker above, and the Uth example the 35-year-old woman with a measured maximum.
| Scenario | Estimated VO₂ max (mL/kg/min) | Reference rating |
|---|---|---|
| Default | 42.4 | Fair |
| Rockport example | 39.4 | Fair |
| Uth measured female | 48.4 | Superior |
Results are rounded to one decimal with halves going to the even digit, so 48.45 appears as 48.4.
The rows are different people on different tests, so they do not show which test reads higher. To track your own fitness, repeat the same test under the same conditions.
To turn your maximum heart rate into training zones, use the heart rate zone calculator. For race pace and finish times, use the running pace calculator.
Checked against: (2800 − 504.9)/44.73 = 51.3101; Cooper Institute men 20–29: 51.1 ≤ v < 55.4 → Excellent
Checked against: 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: 15.3 × 190/60 = 48.45; women 30–39 ≥ 47.4 → Superior
Checked against: 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.
For information only, not medical advice. These formulas describe populations, not you; talk to a clinician before acting on a result.
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