{
  "slug": "rockport-walk-test",
  "title": "Rockport 1-Mile Walk Test",
  "category": "Running",
  "category_slug": "running",
  "tier": 2,
  "summary": "Estimate VO2max from a brisk one-mile walk using the Kline 1987 regression with weight, age, sex, time, and finishing heart rate.",
  "description": "This calculator estimates maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) from the Rockport Fitness Walking Test using the regression published by Kline and colleagues in 1987. It takes body weight, age, sex, the time to walk one mile as briskly as possible, and heart rate at the finish, then returns VO2max in ml/kg/min. Weight is entered in kilograms and converted to pounds internally, since the published equation uses imperial units. The Rockport test was designed as a submaximal alternative to running-based field tests, making it applicable where a maximal run is impractical.",
  "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/running/rockport-walk-test/",
  "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/rockport-walk-test.json",
  "formula": {
    "id": "rockport_walk_test",
    "expression": "VO_{2\\max} = 132.853 - 0.0769w - 0.3877a + 6.315s - 3.2649t - 0.1565\\,HR",
    "variables": [
      {
        "symbol": "w",
        "description": "Body weight in pounds"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "a",
        "description": "Age in years"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "s",
        "description": "Sex: 1 for male, 0 for female"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "t",
        "description": "One-mile walk time in minutes"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "HR",
        "description": "Heart rate at the finish, in beats per minute"
      }
    ]
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "weight_kg",
      "label": "Weight",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "kg",
      "default": 70,
      "min": 30,
      "max": 200,
      "step": 0.5
    },
    {
      "id": "age",
      "label": "Age",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "years",
      "default": 35,
      "min": 18,
      "max": 90,
      "step": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "sex",
      "label": "Sex",
      "type": "select",
      "unit": null,
      "default": 1,
      "options": [
        {
          "label": "Male",
          "value": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Female",
          "value": 0
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "time_min",
      "label": "One-Mile Walk Time",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "min",
      "default": 15,
      "min": 8,
      "max": 25,
      "step": 0.1
    },
    {
      "id": "hr_end",
      "label": "Finishing Heart Rate",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "bpm",
      "default": 120,
      "min": 60,
      "max": 220,
      "step": 1
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": {
      "weight_kg": 70,
      "age": 35,
      "sex": 1,
      "time_min": 15,
      "hr_end": 120
    },
    "expected_output": "46.0 ml/kg/min"
  },
  "result_summary_template": "A {age}-year-old weighing {weight_kg} kg who walks one mile in {time_min} minutes with a finishing heart rate of {hr_end} bpm has an estimated VO2max of {result}.",
  "methodology": "VO2max (ml/kg/min) = 132.853 − 0.0769 × weight(lb) − 0.3877 × age − 3.2649 × time(min) − 0.1565 × HR(bpm) + 6.315 × sex (1 male, 0 female), per Kline et al. (1987). Weight entered in kg is converted to lb by dividing by 0.45359237. Secondary rows report the converted weight and the walk pace (mile time formatted as min/mi).",
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Kline GM, Porcari JP, Hintermeister R, et al. Estimation of VO2max from a one-mile track walk, gender, age, and body weight. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1987;19(3):253–259.",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3600239/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Cooper KH. A means of assessing maximal oxygen intake: correlation between field and treadmill testing. JAMA. 1968;203(3):201–204.",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5694044/"
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Why does the equation use weight in pounds when the input is in kilograms?",
      "answer": "The regression was fitted in the United States using imperial units, so its coefficients only produce correct values with weight in pounds. Rather than ask for an unfamiliar unit, the calculator accepts kilograms and divides by 0.45359237 internally — 70 kg becomes 154.3 lb before entering the equation. The converted figure appears in the secondary results so the arithmetic can be checked against the published formula directly."
    },
    {
      "question": "Why does a higher finishing heart rate lower the VO2max estimate?",
      "answer": "The walk is a fixed workload, so heart rate at the finish indicates what fraction of aerobic capacity that workload consumed. A person finishing at 160 bpm used a larger share of their capacity than someone finishing the same time at 120 bpm, which implies a smaller total capacity. The coefficient is −0.1565 ml/kg/min per beat, so a 20 bpm difference at identical times and demographics moves the estimate by about 3.1 ml/kg/min."
    },
    {
      "question": "How accurate is the Rockport test compared with laboratory measurement?",
      "answer": "In the original validation on adults aged 30–69, the equation tracked treadmill-measured VO2max with a standard error of roughly 5 ml/kg/min. Accuracy is best for the population it was built on — middle-aged adults of average fitness walking on a track. Estimates drift for very fit individuals, whose walking heart rates stay too low to differentiate capacity, and for anyone whose heart rate response is altered by medication, caffeine, heat, or an inaccurately timed finishing measurement."
    },
    {
      "question": "Can the test be done on a treadmill?",
      "answer": "The published protocol used a measured track, and treadmill walking differs slightly — the belt sets the pace, there is no air resistance, and handrail contact reduces workload. A treadmill version without handrail support at a self-selected brisk pace approximates the protocol, but the regression's error bounds were established overground. Course flatness matters in either setting, since any gradient changes the energy cost of the mile and shifts both time and heart rate."
    },
    {
      "question": "Why choose a walk test over a running test?",
      "answer": "The Rockport test is submaximal: it estimates a maximal quantity without requiring a maximal effort. That makes it applicable where an all-out run is impractical — testing large groups of mixed fitness, or individuals for whom running is uncomfortable. The trade-off is resolution at the top end. Runners generally get more informative estimates from maximal field tests such as the Cooper 12-minute run or a race-based VDOT calculation."
    }
  ],
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    {
      "slug": "cooper-test",
      "title": "Cooper 12-Minute Run Test",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/cooper-test.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/running/cooper-test/"
    },
    {
      "slug": "beep-test",
      "title": "Beep Test (20 m Shuttle Run)",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/beep-test.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/running/beep-test/"
    },
    {
      "slug": "vdot-calculator",
      "title": "VDOT Calculator (Jack Daniels)",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/vdot-calculator.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/running/vdot-calculator/"
    }
  ],
  "last_updated": "2026-08-08",
  "price": {
    "value": 0,
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "runs_in_browser": true,
  "disclaimer": "Educational estimate produced from a published formula. Not medical, nutritional, or training advice. Calculations are deterministic — apply the formula to the inputs to reproduce the result."
}