VO₂ Max Calculator

VO₂-max

The VO₂-max is a core indicator for cardiovascular fitness and athletic performance (Rankovic et al., 2010). The V in VO₂ stands for volume and O₂ is the chemical notation for the oxygen molecule. Oxygen is essential for the human body to create energy. As the body works harder, more energy is required and thus oxygen consumption increases. Hence, as the oxygen utilization efficiency of the body improves, athletic performance increases.

VO₂ reflects this oxygen utilization. It is the amount of oxygen that the body consumes and is often expressed in ml/min/kg (milliliter per minute per kilogram). A VO₂ of 40 ml/min/kg means that 40 milliliters of oxygen is used per minute per kilogram of body tissue.

As your workout gets more intense, the oxygen uptake of your body increases, until it reaches a maximum. This maximum is the VO₂-max, and it represents the maximum oxygen your body can take up at any given time. This maximum value is a key indicator for cardiovascular fitness and a good predictor of athletic success. Note that individual differences in VO₂-max are highly dependent on several factors including genetics, gender and age.Notably, between 40 and 70% of individual differences can be accounted for by genetics (Corsa et al., 2012). So, be cautious comparing your VO₂-max to the value of other people. It is much more useful to compare your VO₂-max with yourself over time.

Formulas

It is difficult to measure exactly how much oxygen someone consumes, however it is possible to estimate it. There are many ways to estimate VO₂-max, some more accurate than others. One distinction is made between exercise and non-exercise estimation methods. Exercise methods, as the name suggests, require physical exercise for estimating the VO₂-max, while non-exercise methods do not. The more accurate calculation usually require more intense exercise to obtain the data needed for the calculations. Do note that the most accurate estimation of your VO₂-max is provided by a cardiologist in a laboratory. Estimation methods outside the laboratory are more prone to measurement errors and can even be invalid for certain populations (Buttar, Saboo & Kacker, 2019).

Exercise methods

1. Walking: Kline One Mile Walk Test

Walk 1 mile (1.6 km) as fast as possible, but do not run and always keep one foot in contact with the ground. At the end of the walk, record your heart rate and your finish time in minutes. The equation to calculate VO₂-max is derived from Weiglein et al., 2011:

where:

• Weight is in lbs.
• Age is in years.
• Gender = 1 for males and 0 for females
• Time is in minutes
• HeartRate = number of beats per minute

Example:

A 21 year old female weighing 150 lbs walks 1 mile in 13 minutes and 43 seconds. Her heart rate at the end of the walk is 140 beats per minute. 13 minutes and 43 seconds is 13 + (43/60) = 13.72 minutes.

VO₂-max = 132.853 - 0.0769*150 - 0.3877*21 + 6.315*0 - 3.265*13.72 - 0.157*140 = 46.40.

This person has an estimated VO₂-max of 46.40 ml/min/kg.

2. Running (Cooper Test)

On a flat surface, run as fast as you can for 12 minutes and record how many kilometers or miles you've run. The formula to calculate VO₂-max:

where C = 22.351 when the distance is in kilometers, and C = 35.97 if the distance is in miles.

Disclaimer: the values for this equation are derived from the work of Bandyopadhyay (2015) who in turn refers to the original paper of Cooper (1968). Many online calculators as well as other scientific works use this equation. Note that Cooper in his 1968 paper does not provide this equation directly, but the values can be derived from table 1 in the work.

Example:

Someone runs 2.5 km or 1.55 miles in 12 minutes on a flat surface.

VO₂-max = 22.351*2.5 - 11.288 = 44.59.

This person has an estimated VO₂-max of 44.59 ml/min/kg.

3. Cycling (Ekblom-Bak Revised Sub-maximal Cycling Test)

This method is based on the work of Björkman et al. (2016). It is somewhat complicated, and if you are serious enough to perform the test, we recommend just visiting a laboratory for a proper measurement. Nonetheless, we provide the procedure and calculations if you are somehow unable to do so.

• Warm up
• Cycle on a cycling ergometer for 8 minutes.
• Keep a steady pedal frequency of 60 rounds per minute during the entire 8 minutes.
• Add a resistance of 30 Watt for the first 4 minutes.
• In the 4th minute, record your heart rate every 15 seconds and take the mean over those four values.
• In the next 4 minutes increase the resistance to a higher value that you may choose yourself but which you experience to be somewhat hard to difficult to retain.
• Record the chosen resistance.
• Record your heart rate in the last minute every 15 seconds and take the mean value.

The equation to calculate the VO₂-max differentiates between men and women:

For men:

For women:

where:

• ΔHeartRate = The absolute difference in mean heart rate between the fourth and last minute.
• ΔPO = The absolute difference in power output (= wattage) between the first and last four minutes.
• Age is in years
• Weight is in kilograms

Example:

A 34 year old male cycles the first 4 minutes with a power output of 30 Watts at 60 pedal rounds per minute. The next 4 minutes he choses a power output of 134 Watts and keeps at a pedal speed of 60 rounds per minute. His heart rates in the 4th minute are 95, 96, 105 and 104, averaging at 100. His heart rates in the 8th minute are 135, 139, 142 and 144, averaging at 140. He weighs 81 kilograms.

ΔHeartRate = 140-100 = 40 and ΔPO = 134-30 = 104

VO₂-max = exp((2.04900 - 0.00858*34) - (0.90742*40/104) + (0.00178*104) - (0.00290*100)) * (1000/81) = 45.45.

This person has an estimated VO₂-max of 45.45 ml/min/kg.

Non-exercise methods

1. FRIEND-registry equation

This method requires no exercise and takes the form of a regression equation. While other equations exist, this equation was developed to be more stable across populations (Myers et al., 2017).

where:

• Age is in years
• Gender = 1 for females and 0 for males
• Weight is in lbs

Example:

A 66 year old male weighing 172 lbs wants to estimate his VO₂-max without exercising. He knows that the estimate is just an indication.

VO₂-max = 79.9 - 0.39*66 - 13.7*0 - 0.127*172 = .

This person has an estimated VO₂-max of 32.316 ml/min/kg.

References

• Bandyopadhyay, A. (2015). Validity of Cooper’s 12-minute run test for estimation of maximum oxygen uptake in male university students. Biology of sport, 32(1), 59-63.


• Buttar, K. K., Saboo, N., & Kacker, S. (2019). A review: Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and its estimation methods. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health, 6(6), 24-32.


• Björkman, F., Ekblom-Bak, E., Ekblom, Ö., & Ekblom, B. (2016). Validity of the revised Ekblom Bak cycle ergometer test in adults. European journal of applied physiology, 116, 1627-1638.


• Cooper, K. H. (1968). A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake: correlation between field and treadmill testing. Jama, 203(3), 201-204.


• Costa, A. M., Breitenfeld, L., Silva, A. J., Pereira, A., Izquierdo, M., & Marques, M. C. (2012). Genetic inheritance effects on endurance and muscle strength: an update. Sports medicine, 42, 449-458.


• Myers, J., Kaminsky, L. A., Lima, R., Christle, J. W., Ashley, E., & Arena, R. (2017). A reference equation for normal standards for VO2 max: analysis from the Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise National Database (FRIEND Registry). Progress in cardiovascular diseases, 60(1), 21-29.


• Ranković, G., Mutavdžić, V., Toskić, D., Preljević, A., Kocić, M., Nedin-Ranković, G., & Damjanović, N. (2010). Aerobic capacity as an indicator in different kinds of sports. Bosnian journal of basic medical sciences, 10(1), 44.


• Weiglein, L., Herrick, J., Kirk, S., & Kirk, E. P. (2011). The 1-mile walk test is a valid predictor of VO2max and is a reliable alternative fitness test to the 1.5-mile run in US Air Force males. Military medicine, 176(6), 669-673.