Rockport Walk Test Calculator
Walk one mile (1.609 km) as fast as you can, note the time, and take your pulse the moment you stop. The regression Kline published in 1987 takes those two alongside weight, age and sex. A 30-year-old man of 80 kg walking it in 12 minutes and finishing at 140 bpm gets a VO₂max of 52.9 mL/kg/min, which is 15.1 METs at a walking pace of 7.46 min/km. What separates it from the two tests already here matters: vo2max-cooper takes the **distance** covered in an all-out 12-minute run, and vo2max-resting takes nothing but a resting pulse. Only this one has you working at a submaximal effort while using both time and heart rate.
Your numbers
VO2max
52.9
METs
15.1
Pace
7.46min/km
What it means
A VO2max of 52.9 is good. The equation's standard error is about 5 mL/kg/min, so read it as ±5.
Formula
VO2max = 132.853 − 0.0769 × (Weight (kg) × 2.2046) − 0.3877 × Age + 6.315 × Sex (M1 / F0) − 3.2649 × 1-mile walk time − 0.1565 × Heart rate at finish
It must be a walk — one foot stays on the ground throughout, and breaking into a run puts you outside what the equation was built on. The pulse has to be the one from the first few seconds after stopping; feeding in the lap average a watch shows runs low and pushes VO₂max up. The standard error is around 5 mL/kg/min, so it does not replace a lab measurement. The 12 minutes in the defaults is 8 km/h, close to race-walking pace, so it returns a high figure — most people take 15 to 18, and the result drops accordingly. The submaximal effort makes this a gentler test than a run, but if you have heart or lung disease, whether to do it at all is your clinician's call.
What to enter
| Input | Default | Accepted range |
|---|---|---|
| Weight (kg) (kg)The second weight you are comparing against. | 80 | 0 ~ 250 |
| Age (yr)Age in completed years — it shifts by one depending on the birthday. | 30 | 0 ~ 100 |
| Sex (M1 / F0)Where the formula splits by sex — enter 1 for male, 0 for female. | 1 | 0 ~ 1 |
| 1-mile walk time (min)Your time walking one mile (1.609 km) as fast as you can — walking, not running. | 12 | 0 ~ 40 |
| Heart rate at finish (bpm)Your pulse at the instant you stopped. | 140 | 0 ~ 220 |
Step by step
Quick reference table
Results when only Weight (kg) (kg) changes and everything else stays put.
| Weight (kg) (kg) | VO2max | METs | Pace (min/km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 59.7 | 17 | 7.46 |
| 60 | 56.3 | 16.1 | 7.46 |
| 80 | 52.9 | 15.1 | 7.46 |
| 120 | 46.1 | 13.2 | 7.46 |
| 160 | 39.3 | 11.2 | 7.46 |
What each result means
| Result | At default values |
|---|---|
| VO2maxThe most oxygen you can use per minute — the cardio yardstick. | 52.9 |
| METsYour top exercise intensity expressed in METs. | 15.1 |
| Pace (min/km)The minutes part of the time per kilometre. | 7.46 |
Common mistakes
It must be a walk — one foot stays on the ground throughout, and breaking into a run puts you outside what the equation was built on. The pulse has to be the one from the first few seconds after stopping; feeding in the lap average a watch shows runs low and pushes VO₂max up. The standard error is around 5 mL/kg/min, so it does not replace a lab measurement. The 12 minutes in the defaults is 8 km/h, close to race-walking pace, so it returns a high figure — most people take 15 to 18, and the result drops accordingly. The submaximal effort makes this a gentler test than a run, but if you have heart or lung disease, whether to do it at all is your clinician's call.
Glossary
- Weight (kg)
- The second weight you are comparing against.
- Age
- Age in completed years — it shifts by one depending on the birthday.
- Sex (M1 / F0)
- Where the formula splits by sex — enter 1 for male, 0 for female.
- 1-mile walk time
- Your time walking one mile (1.609 km) as fast as you can — walking, not running.
- Heart rate at finish
- Your pulse at the instant you stopped.
- VO2max
- The most oxygen you can use per minute — the cardio yardstick.
- METs
- Your top exercise intensity expressed in METs.
- Pace
- The minutes part of the time per kilometre.
Frequently asked questions
Q. How is Rockport Walk Test Calculator calculated?
VO2max = 132.853 − 0.0769 × (Weight (kg) × 2.2046) − 0.3877 × Age + 6.315 × Sex (M1 / F0) − 3.2649 × 1-mile walk time − 0.1565 × Heart rate at finish — Walk one mile (1.609 km) as fast as you can, note the time, and take your pulse the moment you stop. The regression Kline published in 1987 takes those two alongside weight, age and sex. A 30-year-old man of 80 kg walking it in 12 minutes and finishing at 140 bpm gets a VO₂max of 52.9 mL/kg/min, which is 15.1 METs at a walking pace of 7.46 min/km. What separates it from the two tests already here matters: vo2max-cooper takes the **distance** covered in an all-out 12-minute run, and vo2max-resting takes nothing but a resting pulse. Only this one has you working at a submaximal effort while using both time and heart rate.
Q. Can you walk through an example?
With Weight (kg) 80kg, Age 30yr, Sex (M1 / F0) 1, 1-mile walk time 12min, Heart rate at finish 140bpm, the answer is VO2max 52.9.
Q. What do I need to enter?
Enter Weight (kg), Age, Sex (M1 / F0), 1-mile walk time, Heart rate at finish. The result recalculates as you type, and an empty box counts as zero.
Q. How much does the answer move if I change a number?
Changing only Weight (kg) (kg) moves the answer to Weight (kg) (kg) 40 → VO2max 59.7 and Weight (kg) (kg) 160 → VO2max 39.3. The table below lays out five steps.
Q. How are the numbers rounded?
Money is shown to the nearest whole unit, percentages to one decimal place and everything else to two. What you see is rounded; the calculation itself carries the unrounded value forward.
Q. Anything to watch out for?
It must be a walk — one foot stays on the ground throughout, and breaking into a run puts you outside what the equation was built on. The pulse has to be the one from the first few seconds after stopping; feeding in the lap average a watch shows runs low and pushes VO₂max up. The standard error is around 5 mL/kg/min, so it does not replace a lab measurement. The 12 minutes in the defaults is 8 km/h, close to race-walking pace, so it returns a high figure — most people take 15 to 18, and the result drops accordingly. The submaximal effort makes this a gentler test than a run, but if you have heart or lung disease, whether to do it at all is your clinician's call.
Related calculators
These calculators help you understand health figures; they do not replace diagnosis or prescription. See a clinician if you have symptoms.