Cooper test VO2 max calculator
Kenneth Cooper fitted VO2 max against distance run in 12 minutes for the US Air Force in 1968. It still works.
Estimated VO2 max
42.4mL/(kg min)
- Equivalent MET capacity
- 12.11
Show the working
- Distance in 12 minutes = 2400
- Estimated VO2 max = (2400 - 504.9) / 44.73 = 42.3675
- Equivalent MET capacity = 42.3675 / 3.5 = 12.105
Values are shown to six significant figures here; the arithmetic itself runs on exact fractions and is only rounded where a number is printed.
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The formula
- VO2 max = (distance in metres - 504.9) / 44.73
Category boundaries vary with age and sex; the ones here are rough adult figures.
The test only works if you genuinely ran as far as you could.
This is a population formula, not a diagnosis. Individual metabolism, body composition and medical history all move the real answer, so treat the number as a starting point and talk to a clinician about anything that matters.