VO₂max from Rockport Walk Test Calculator

How it is calculated

The estimate is VO₂max = 132.853 − 0.0769 × W − 0.3877 × age + 6.315 × S − 3.2649 × t − 0.1565 × HR. W is body weight in pounds (the tool converts your kilograms by multiplying by 2.20462), age is in years, S is 1 for male and 0 for female, t is the time for the 1-mile walk in decimal minutes, and HR is your heart rate in beats per minute at the end of the walk. The result is in mL/kg/min with one decimal. Inputs outside these limits show no result: weight 2 to 650 kg, age above 0 up to 130, time 5 to 120 minutes, heart rate 20 to 250. Sex must be male or female (male if left unset); any other value shows no result, and so does a formula result of zero or below, as with a very slow time such as 60 minutes. The test needs a brisk, steady walk, not a jog.

Common mistakes

• Typing 15.30 for 15 min 30 s. The field reads decimal minutes, so it means 15.3 min (15 min 18 s); use 15.5.
• Entering a heart rate taken a minute after finishing. The formula needs the rate at the moment you stop, and a recovering pulse gives a falsely high estimate.
• Jogging part of the mile. The equation was built for walking, so a faster time from jogging inflates the estimate.
• Entering weight in pounds. The field is in kilograms, and 154 typed instead of 70 overstates weight and drops this example from 33.7 to 19.5.
• Entering a time under 5 minutes or a heart rate under 20. The tool shows no result for them; a time just at 5 minutes still gives a very high estimate that no walker would reach.