The Rockport walking test is a sub-maximal fitness assessment used to estimate cardiorespiratory fitness.

Specifically, the test predicts your VO₂ max, which indicates how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise.

1. Preparation

   • Find a flat, measured 1-mile course. A standard 400m running track is best. Plan the distance with out track split calculator.
   • Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.
   • You'll need a watch or stopwatch to measure your time.
   • Ideally, you will have a heart-rate monitor to measure your heart rate upon finishing. If you don't have one then be prepared to measure manually with your watch/stopwatch.

2. Warm-up

   • Simply walk gently for 5–10 minutes to warm up.

3. The test

   • Walk one mile as fast as possible.
   • In order for the test to be valid, you must walk, not run.
   • Aim for a consistent pace.

4. Recording

   • As soon as you cross the line, stop your watch.
   • If wearing a heart-rate monitor, make a note of your heart rate. If recording manually, then immediately take your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by four to get your heart rate in beats per minute.

5. Results

   • Enter your personal and test details into our calculator to get your VO₂ max and interpretation of your result.

Benefits

• The test protocol is simple to carry out and requires minimal equipment.
• The test is accessible. Unlike some other fitness tests, the Rockport walk test doesn't require maximal effort.
• Interpretation of the results is straightforward.

Drawbacks

• The test incorrectly assumes that heart rate varies linearly with age. Heart rate can also be affected by medication such as beta-blockers.
• Since the test mainly involves walking, it is not ideal for testing running-specific fitness.
• The test requires accurate heart rate measurement.
• Less experienced walkers may struggle to pace themselves appropriately.
• The test estimates rather than accurately measures VO₂ max.

The test predicts your VO₂ max with the following formula:

VO₂ max = 132.853 − (0.0769 × weight) − (0.3877 × age) + (6.315 × sex) − (3.2649 × time) − (0.1565 × heart rate)

where:

weight is in pounds

sex is 1 for male and 0 for female

time is in minutes

heart rate is in beats per minute

Using the calculator

To use the calculator, simply enter your weight, sex, completion time, age, and heart rate upon completion.

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Pace band creator

The following tables display the VO₂​ max percentiles for each age and sex category, allowing you to see exactly how your score compares to a modern peer group.

The data is broken down into 10-year age brackets, broken down by percentile ranks from the 10th to the 90th. These rankings are derived from the 2022 FRIEND Registry, which is based on directly measured treadmill tests rather than estimates.

Interpreting percentiles

The percentile value indicates the percentage of the population that your score exceeds. For example, a score in the 70th percentile means your cardiovascular fitness is higher than 70% of people in your age and gender category.

Percentile	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70-79	80-89
90	58.6	55.5	50.8	43.4	37.1	29.4	22.8
80	54.5	50.0	45.2	38.3	32.0	25.9	21.4
70	51.9	46.4	40.9	34.3	28.7	23.8	20.0
60	49.0	43.4	37.9	31.8	26.5	22.2	18.4
50	46.5	39.7	35.3	29.2	24.6	20.6	17.6
40	43.6	37.0	32.4	26.9	22.8	19.1	16.6
30	40.0	33.5	29.7	24.5	20.7	17.3	16.1
20	35.2	29.8	26.7	22.2	18.5	15.9	14.8
10	28.6	24.9	22.1	18.6	15.8	13.6	12.9

Percentile	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70-79	80-89
90	49.0	42.1	37.8	32.4	27.3	22.8	20.8
80	44.8	37.0	33.0	28.4	24.3	20.8	18.4
70	41.8	33.6	30.0	26.3	22.4	19.6	17.3
60	39.0	31.0	27.7	24.6	20.9	18.3	16.0
50	36.6	28.3	25.7	22.9	19.6	17.2	15.4
40	34.0	26.4	23.9	21.5	18.3	16.2	14.7
30	30.8	24.2	21.8	20.1	17.0	15.2	13.7
20	27.2	21.9	19.7	18.5	15.4	14.0	12.6
10	22.5	18.6	17.2	16.5	13.4	12.3	11.4

Men 20 - 29
Percentile	VO2 max
90	58.6
80	54.5
70	51.9
60	49.0
50	46.5
40	43.6
30	40.0
20	35.2
10	28.6

Men 30 - 39
Percentile	VO2 max
90	55.5
80	50.0
70	46.4
60	43.4
50	39.7
40	37.0
30	33.5
20	29.8
10	24.9

Men 40 - 49
Percentile	VO2 max
90	50.8
80	45.2
70	40.9
60	37.9
50	35.3
40	32.4
30	29.7
20	26.7
10	22.1

Men 50 - 59
Percentile	VO2 max
90	43.4
80	38.3
70	34.3
60	31.8
50	29.2
40	26.9
30	24.5
20	22.2
10	18.6

Men 60 - 69
Percentile	VO2 max
90	37.1
80	32.0
70	28.7
60	26.5
50	24.6
40	22.8
30	20.7
20	18.5
10	15.8

Men 70 - 79
Percentile	VO2 max
90	29.4
80	25.9
70	23.8
60	22.2
50	20.6
40	19.1
30	17.3
20	15.9
10	13.6

Men 80 - 89
Percentile	VO2 max
90	22.8
80	21.4
70	20.0
60	18.4
50	17.6
40	16.6
30	16.1
20	14.8
10	12.9

Women 20 - 29
Percentile	VO2 max
90	49.0
80	44.8
70	41.8
60	39.0
50	36.6
40	34.0
30	30.8
20	27.2
10	22.5

Women 30 - 39
Percentile	VO2 max
90	42.1
80	37.0
70	33.6
60	31.0
50	28.3
40	26.4
30	24.2
20	21.9
10	18.6

Women 40 - 49
Percentile	VO2 max
90	37.8
80	33.0
70	30.0
60	27.7
50	25.7
40	23.9
30	21.8
20	19.7
10	17.2

Women 50 - 59
Percentile	VO2 max
90	32.4
80	28.4
70	26.3
60	24.6
50	22.9
40	21.5
30	20.1
20	18.5
10	16.5

Women 60 - 69
Percentile	VO2 max
90	27.3
80	24.3
70	22.4
60	20.9
50	19.6
40	18.3
30	17.0
20	15.4
10	13.4

Women 70 - 79
Percentile	VO2 max
90	22.8
80	20.8
70	19.6
60	18.3
50	17.2
40	16.2
30	15.2
20	14.0
10	12.3

Women 80 - 89
Percentile	VO2 max
90	20.8
80	18.4
70	17.3
60	16.0
50	15.4
40	14.7
30	13.7
20	12.6
10	11.4

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Fitness Calculators

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