VO2 Max Chart by Age and Gender, with Calculator

VO2 max chart: good values by age for women and men

For every age band the charts show the average (mean) VO2 max measured directly on a treadmill in 3816 healthy adults (HUNT3 reference data [3]), next to the five fitness levels as ranges in ml/kg/min. Above that average you are ahead of your age group; below it you are behind.

Values in ml/kg/min. The average is the published HUNT3 mean [3]; the four fitness-level boundaries sit at the 20th, 40th, 60th and 80th percentile and are computed from that mean and its standard deviation, exactly the way the calculator grades your number. Rounded to one decimal. The chart is a reference, not a diagnosis.

What VO2max is, and why it matters

VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during hard exercise, measured in millilitres per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (ml/kg/min). It is the best single measure of cardiorespiratory fitness, and one of the strongest predictors of all-cause mortality: higher fitness tracks with a longer, healthier life. A true VO2max needs a lab test with a mask and a treadmill, while this tool estimates it instead from things you already know.

Why resting heart rate (and the face-age scan)

A lower resting heart rate generally reflects a stronger, more efficient heart, which is why the HUNT model uses it as an input [1]. It is not the biggest driver (your age, body composition and especially how hard you train matter more), but it sharpens the estimate. Don't know your resting heart rate? Our face-age scan can estimate it from your webcam in about 60 seconds and carry it into this calculator.

How accurate is a non-exercise estimate?

The HUNT model explains roughly 56 to 61% of the variation in measured VO2max, with a standard error of about 5 to 6 ml/kg/min [1, 2], and 95% of true values sit within about ±2 standard errors, roughly ±10 to 12 ml/kg/min. That is close to other non-exercise equations and good enough to place you in a fitness band, but not a substitute for a lab test. It tends to overestimate fitness in inactive people and underestimate it in well-trained athletes, so read your result as an orientation, not a verdict. Outside Norway the model has read about 6 ml/kg/min high in a US lab cohort [6], and it overestimates most for the least active people and for adults with obesity. This calculator uses the height-and-weight (BMI) variant [2], which is about as accurate as the original waist version [1].

How to move the number

VO2max is responsive to training in general. In the research, the inputs most associated with a higher estimate are training intensity (sessions hard enough to leave you breathing heavily) and a mix of easy aerobic volume with short, hard intervals over weeks to months; a lower body-fat level around the middle and a lower resting heart rate are also associated with higher values. What works for any individual is best discussed with a doctor or a qualified coach.

Where your percentile comes from

The HUNT3 reference data publishes a mean VO2max and a standard deviation for every 10-year age band, separately for men and women, all measured directly on a treadmill in 3816 healthy Norwegian adults [3]. The table above prints that mean for each band, plus the four fitness-level boundaries computed from the mean and the standard deviation. Your own number is placed on a normal, bell-shaped distribution with your band's mean and standard deviation, and your percentile is the share of people of that age and sex who sit below you, clamped to between 1 and 99. The five fitness labels come from cutting that percentile at 20, 40, 60 and 80; those edges are the ACSM category overlay, not part of the HUNT data. Ages under 20 and over 79 sit outside the published bands, so they are compared with the nearest band and the result card says so.

What is fitness age, and how is it calculated?

Fitness age asks a different question than your birthday does: at what age would your VO2max be an average result? We read it off the average line of the HUNT3 reference data [3], the same reference that grades the percentile and the fitness level on this page. Each age band has a published average; your fitness age is the age whose average matches your VO2max, interpolated between the decade midpoints. Beat the average for your own age group and your fitness age reads younger than your birth certificate; fall below it and it reads older. The result is rounded, never drops below 18, and stops at 80 below age 70 or at 90 from age 70. 2 worked examples: a man with a VO2max of 42 ml/kg/min lands between the averages of the 50s and 60s groups, a fitness age of 57; a woman with 34 lands between the averages of the 50s and 60s groups, a fitness age of 56. The fitness age is read off the same study, so for the same reason it can read a few years young. If you wear a smartwatch you have probably met this number under another name: Apple Watch calls it Cardio Fitness, Garmin reports VO2 max, Fitbit shows a Cardio Fitness Score, and all three describe the same quantity this page estimates. They derive it from your heart rate and pace during exercise, while this calculator derives it from a resting heart rate and a self-reported training week with no exercise at all, so the numbers will not match exactly. If you already have a value from a watch or a lab test, enter it directly in the calculator above instead of estimating a new one.

The HUNT equations this calculator uses

This calculator uses the HUNT non-exercise model (Nes et al. 2011 [1]) in the BMI variant published by Nes et al. 2014 [2]. VO2max is in ml/kg/min, AGE is age in years, BMI is body mass index in kg/m² (weight in kg divided by height in metres squared), RHR is resting heart rate in beats per minute, and PA is the HUNT physical-activity index, which this calculator derives from your typical training week rather than asking for it directly. Men (R² = 0.59, SEE = 5.8 ml/kg/min): VO2max = 92.05 - (0.327 × AGE) - (0.933 × BMI) - (0.167 × RHR) + (0.257 × PA). Women (R² = 0.57, SEE = 5.1 ml/kg/min): VO2max = 70.77 - (0.244 × AGE) - (0.749 × BMI) - (0.107 × RHR) + (0.213 × PA). SEE is the standard error of the estimate, in ml/kg/min. The waist-circumference variant of the same model is a separate fit with its own coefficients, and this calculator does not use it.

How this compares to NTNU's World Fitness Level calculator

Both calculators run the same non-exercise model from the HUNT study [1]. NTNU's World Fitness Level calculator [5] is that model's original deployment; this page is a separate implementation of the published equations, not a partner site and not an official version of theirs. 2 things differ in practice. First, the body input: theirs takes waist circumference, this one takes height and weight, which is a separately fitted version of the same model with its own coefficients [2]. Second, the activity question: theirs asks how long a typical session lasts, while this one holds session length at the neutral midpoint and reads frequency and intensity off your training week, so the activity index can land a little above or below theirs. The reference population is no longer a difference: both grade against Norwegian data. This page uses the published HUNT3 decade bands [3], while NTNU reads the age average off a straight line through the same data, so a fitness age can still differ by a year or two between the two.

Frequently asked questions

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