VO2 Max Calculator
Enter your age and your resting heart rate, and this calculator estimates your VO2 max — a measure of how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise — using the non-exercise Uth–Sørensen–Overgaard–Pedersen method, a simple formula that closely tracks lab-measured results.
How it works
Your estimated maximum heart rate (HRmax) is calculated as 220 minus your age. VO2 max is then estimated as 15.3 times the ratio of HRmax to your resting heart rate. This is the non-exercise Uth–Sørensen–Overgaard–Pedersen method — a much simpler alternative to a lab-based VO2 max test, which requires exercising to exhaustion while breathing into a gas analyzer.
Tip
Measure your resting heart rate first thing in the morning, before you get out of bed — that's when it's most stable and gives the most accurate estimate.
Is this a scientific measurement?
Not exactly. This formula gives a rough estimate that correlates reasonably well with a lab-measured VO2 max, but it's not a substitute for an actual test on a treadmill or bike with gas analysis. Your fitness level, medications and health conditions all affect resting heart rate, so treat this number as a starting point, not a diagnosis.
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