Rockport Walking Test

The Rockport Walking Test is the perfect cardio fitness test for beginners. Time yourself for a one-mile brisk walk on a flat surface, take your pulse, enter your results in the calculator, and look up your VO2 max score from the charts below.

VO2 max impacts our performance, our health, and even our survival!  Improving your VO2 Max score by just 3.5 points can reduce your risk of premature death by 13%. You would have to lose nearly 3 inches from your waist for a similar health benefit! (2,8) 

4) Before you start the test, practice taking your pulse to be sure you’ll get an accurate score. With your palm facing up, place your fingers over the thumb side of your wrist, just to the inside of your wrist tendons. Press in gently and feel for your pulse. You’ll take your pulse for 15 seconds right after you finish walking.

1) If you’re going to walk as fast as you can, a warm-up would be a smart move. Light effort walking and a couple sets of leg swings and brief stretching exercises work well to activate your muscles and boost your circulation before you begin. This YouTube video demonstrates the recommended exercises.

2) The test results depend on your heart rate and walking speed. The faster your speed, the stronger your exertion and the more accurate your score will be.  If you haven't practiced power-walking technique, you may find that you can walk faster than you think.  Scroll down or click here to learn more. 

3) Do you have a good route picked out?  Avoid hills or traffic, which would increase your heart rate or slow you down. You can use a track, a treadmill set at 1% grade, or a fitness watch to measure the one-mile distance. 

Directions for the Rockport Walking Test

1) Walk as quickly as possible for one mile. It's important to maintain a steady pace for best results.

2) Enter your time in minutes and seconds into the calculator.

3) Take your pulse immediately after completing the mile for 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 and enter it into the calculator also.

This chart shows the standards for women by age group. If you are 22 years old or younger, multiply the number you get from the calculator by 0.81 to get your score. Age group is in the left column, death risk and fitness rating are in the top rows, and 10-year-survival is in the bottom row. Notice the difference it makes to improve from poor to fair fitness! 

Here is the chart for men. Age group is in the left column, death risk and fitness rating are in the top rows, and 10-year-survival is in the bottom row. If you’re a male 22 years old or younger, multiply the number you get from the calculator by 0.85 to get your score. These scoring standards come from Cleveland Clinic VO2 Max testing of over 120,000 people with 15 years of follow-up to gauge health outcomes.(2)

Health and Fitness Calculators

You can calculate your VO2 max directly from any of four fitness tests using this free e-book from Why I Exercise. Calculate your most important fitness metrics privately, all in one place: VO2 max, Waist-Hip Ratio, Waist-Height Ratio, and BMI. Click the link below to check out this free training resource!

With an aggressive arm swing and intentional push-off, power walking recruits more muscle groups to help propel you forward. My top walking speed over a mile increased from 4.3 to 4.9 mph by switching from brisk walking to power walking.  

Choose workouts and activities that match your fitness level

Improving your fitness can be as simple as spending more time on your usual activities. Here is a range of physical activities compared by their intensity.  Find activities similar to these that are available to you on your busiest days.

Establish a routine and get used to being more active, then pick up the intensity to increase your benefits. There are more and more possibilities as you get in better shape.

This chart helps you pick workouts and physical activities matched to your ability level. Find your VO2 Max score on the left, then scan to the right to find exercise intensity ratings for moderate, vigorous, and hard workouts.  The intensity ratings are based on  Metabolic Equivalent of Task, or MET. Choose from even more workouts and physical activities here.

 VO2 max, the #1 survival indicator? 

VO2 max impacts our performance, our health, and even our survival! Learn how to test yourself accurately with the Rockport 1-Mile Walk, Cooper 12-Minute Run, or Cooper 1.5-Mile Run.  Find out whether you’re fit enough for optimal health and top performance.

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Exercise and inactivity impact the ways our bodies age. With this in mind, how could (or should) we be aging? You’ll see in-depth, research-based scientific analysis of the aging process, plus inspiring examples of healthy aging. 

Metabolic Equivalent (MET)--The best exercises for longevity & calorie burn.

Fine tune your lifestyle for a longer life expectancy, using the activities you enjoy.  Create effective training programs from daily life activities, senior-friendly activities, sports, leisure activities, and cardio exercise.