Cooper’s 12-minute run is converted as VO₂max = (distance in metres − 504.9) / 44.73
How do you estimate VO₂max from a 12-minute run?
The finding
VO₂max (mL/kg/min) = (metres covered in 12 minutes − 504.9) / 44.73.
- Authors
- Cooper KH
- Published
- JAMA 203(3):201–204 · 1968
- Evidence
- Taken from a review, reprint or summary; not checked line by line.
- Source
- pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5694044/
How it was studied
The original paper was not read. The metric formula, attributed to Cooper 1968, appears in later peer-reviewed papers.
What it does not show
Derived in young US Air Force men. All-out pacing matters, and the sample size is not quoted here because secondary sources disagree on it.
What Longstanding does with it
The app offers the 12-minute run as one way to get a VO₂max without a watch or a lab, using this formula. It is an estimate, and best compared with your own previous runs on the same course.