CardioCalculator
VO₂max Calculator
Estimate VO₂max from a 12-minute test, your resting heart rate, or a recent race, and get your heart rate zones with it.
Method
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Which method to trust
A recent race gives the best estimate, the Cooper test is a good field substitute, and the resting heart rate method is only a rough screen. None of them replaces a lab test, so compare your own results over time with the same method.
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Formula sources
- Cooper, K.H. (1968). A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake. Correlation between field and treadmill testing. JAMA 203(3).The 12-minute run test. VO₂max = (metres − 504.9) / 44.73.
- Uth, N. et al. (2004). Estimation of VO2max from the ratio between HRmax and HRrest: the Heart Rate Ratio Method. Eur J Appl Physiol 91(1).VO₂max ≈ 15.3 × (HRmax / HRrest). Convenient, but the least accurate of the three.
- Daniels, J. & Gilbert, J. (1979). Oxygen Power: Performance Tables for Distance Runners. Self-published, Tempe AZ.Book. The VDOT model behind the race-time method.
- Tanaka, H. et al. (2001). Age-predicted maximal heart rate revisited. J Am Coll Cardiol 37(1).HRmax ≈ 208 − 0.7 × age, used for the zone estimates.
- Kaminsky, L.A. et al. (2015). Reference standards for cardiorespiratory fitness measured with cardiopulmonary exercise testing: data from the Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise National Database. Mayo Clin Proc 90(11).The percentiles behind the rating: under the 25th is low, 25th to 50th below average, 50th to 75th above average, 75th to 90th high, above the 90th very high.