Cooper Test Sheet

The test

VO2 MAX

(metres − 504.9) ÷ 44.73

Duration

exactly 12 minutes, flat measured course

Each extra metre

about 0.022 ml/kg/min

One point of VO2 max

about 45 m — one track straight

2,400 m

about 42.4 ml/kg/min

Original validation

115 male Air Force members, r = 0.90

In general populations

r ≈ 0.7-0.8, about ±10% error

⚠ Report a RANGE

42 means roughly 38 to 47

⚠ Maximal effort

clinician first if there is any reason to check

Test history

This test

Name

Date

Course

Wind and temperature

Surface

Warm-up done

DISTANCE

VO2 MAX ESTIMATE

Range low

Range high

Pace held

Pacing — even or faded?

Next test date

Running it properly

• Warmed up thoroughly before starting
• Flat, measured course — a track removes all doubt
• Exactly twelve minutes, timed not estimated
• Paced EVENLY — going out hard costs more than it gains
• Distance recorded to the nearest few metres
• Conditions written down — wind and heat move the result
• Same conditions as any test you plan to compare it against
• Cleared with a clinician first if there is any reason to
• Not alone somewhere remote

The range is the result

Cooper's formula was validated on 115 male Air Force members with a correlation of 0.90 — strong, but a young fit male sample applied to everyone. In general populations it drops to roughly 0.7-0.8 with about ±10% error, so an estimate of 42 means somewhere around 38 to 47. Compare ranges, not point estimates, and be suspicious of any difference smaller than the range width.

Pacing is what you control

Going out too hard costs more in the last four minutes than it gains in the first four, so an even pace beats a fast start reliably. A badly paced test measures your pacing rather than your fitness — and the fix is to run it again next week, not to adjust the number in your head.