VO2 Max Calculator
VO2 max measures the ceiling on your aerobic engine. You can estimate it from a twelve minute run, or from the ratio between your maximum and resting heart rates.
VO2 max (Cooper test)
42.3675
- VO2 max (heart rate method)
- 47.5
- Metabolic equivalents
- 12.105
Values update as you type. This calculator covers the single scenario its formula assumes — see Common Mistakes for what it leaves out.
The formula this calculator uses
VO2max = (distance - 504.9) / 44.73
- distance
- Metres covered in a twelve minute all-out run
- VO2max
- Maximum oxygen uptake in millilitres per kilogram per minute
- HRmax
- Maximum heart rate, used by the heart rate method
- HRrest
- Resting heart rate taken on waking
How to check the result by hand
- 1
Warm up thoroughly
Ten minutes of easy jogging and a few strides. The test is maximal, and going in cold both lowers the distance you manage and raises the risk of a strain.
- 2
Run as far as you can in twelve minutes
Pace it so the last two minutes are hard but not collapsing. Starting too fast is the most common way to end up short of your true distance.
- 3
Record the distance in metres
A track makes this exact, since four laps of a 400 metre track is 1600 metres. On a treadmill use the belt distance and keep the incline at one per cent.
- 4
Subtract 504.9 and divide by 44.73
Covering 2400 metres gives 2400 minus 504.9, which is 1895.1, and dividing by 44.73 gives about 42.4 millilitres per kilogram per minute.
- 5
Cross-check with the heart rate method
Multiply fifteen by maximum heart rate divided by resting heart rate. A maximum of 190 over a resting 60 gives 47.5, which is a different estimate because it measures a different thing.
For worked examples, common mistakes and the limits of this formula, read the full How To Calculate VO2 Max page.