VO2 Max Calculator
Three field estimates of VO2 max, the most oxygen your body can use. Pick the one you have the data for.
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The formula
Cooper: VO2 max = (metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73 Uth: VO2 max = 15.3 × max HR ÷ resting HR Daniels and Gilbert: VO2 max = (−4.60 + 0.182258v + 0.000104v²) ÷ (0.8 + 0.1894393e^(−0.012778t) + 0.2989558e^(−0.1932605t))
In the last formula, v is speed in metres per minute and t is the time in minutes. The top line is the oxygen cost of that speed, and the bottom is the share of VO2 max you can hold for that long.
What to watch out for
The Cooper test (Kenneth Cooper, 1968) is the distance you cover in 12 minutes of all-out running. The race method is from Daniels and Gilbert, and the figure is what runners know as VDOT. The heart rate ratio is from Uth and colleagues (2004), developed on trained men.
All three are estimates, and none is a lab test. They can differ from a measured value by several ml/kg/min, so use one method repeatedly to track your own change.
Frequently Asked Questions
What VO2 max does 2,400 m in a Cooper test give?
About 42.4 ml/kg/min.
What VO2 max does a 25-minute 5K give?
About 38.3 ml/kg/min by Daniels and Gilbert.
What VO2 max does a resting heart rate of 60 and a max of 185 give?
About 47.2 ml/kg/min by the Uth ratio.