How do you convert a beep test score to VO₂max?

The method in one line

A beep test measures a speed, not an oxygen flow. To get to VO₂max, use the equation Léger, Mercier, Gadoury and Lambert published with the test in 1988:

VO₂max = 31.025 + 3.238 × S − 3.248 × age + 0.1536 × age × S

S is the speed of the last level announced, in km/h: S = 8 + 0.5 × level. That level is the one during which you stopped, not the last one you completed. Age is in years. The equation was derived from young people aged 8 to 19; for adults, the authors keep the same equation with age set to 18. The result is in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram per minute.

Age matters because a child uses more oxygen than an adult to run at the same speed. At the same level, the equation therefore gives a higher VO₂max at 12 than at 18.

A worked example

An adult stops during level 10. Age is taken as 18.

1. Speed: S = 8 + 0.5 × 10 = 13 km/h.
2. 3.238 × 13 = 42.094.
3. 3.248 × 18 = 58.464.
4. 0.1536 × 18 × 13 = 35.942.
5. Add: 31.025 + 42.094 − 58.464 + 35.942 = 50.6.

The estimated VO₂max is 50.6 ml/kg/min. The VO₂max calculator runs the same sum for any level and any age.

The table

The level is the last one announced when you stopped. The speed is the equation’s, S = 8 + 0.5 × level. VO₂max is rounded to one decimal.

Level	Equation speed (km/h)	Age 12	Age 15	Adult (18 and over)
1	8.5	35.2	29.4	23.6
2	9.0	37.8	32.2	26.6
3	9.5	40.3	35.0	29.6
4	10.0	42.9	37.7	32.6
5	10.5	45.4	40.5	35.6
6	11.0	47.9	43.3	38.6
7	11.5	50.5	46.0	41.6
8	12.0	53.0	48.8	44.6
9	12.5	55.6	51.6	47.6
10	13.0	58.1	54.4	50.6
11	13.5	60.6	57.1	53.6
12	14.0	63.2	59.9	56.6
13	14.5	65.7	62.7	59.6
14	15.0	68.3	65.4	62.6
15	15.5	70.8	68.2	65.6
16	16.0	73.3	71.0	68.6
17	16.5	75.9	73.7	71.6
18	17.0	78.4	76.5	74.6
19	17.5	81.0	79.3	77.6
20	18.0	83.5	82.1	80.6
21	18.5	86.1	84.8	83.6

For adults each level adds 3.0 ml/kg/min: at a fixed age the equation is a straight line. The high levels in the age-12 column are extrapolations, since few children that age reach them.

Level 1 is a special case. The equation counts 8.5 km/h, as in the 1988 protocol, while the 8.0 km/h chart used for entry tests starts at 8 km/h. From level 2 onwards the two speeds are the same.

Level announced, level completed

MAS and VO₂max are not read on the same level. MAS is the speed of the last level completed: stop during level 10 and your MAS is 12.5 km/h, the speed of level 9. VO₂max starts from level 10, the one the recording had announced when you stopped, as Léger’s equation requires.

What the number does not tell you

The equation is a population average. In the 1988 study, estimated VO₂max tracked measured VO₂max with a correlation of 0.71 in children and 0.90 in adults: two people of the same age who stop at the same level can have true VO₂max values several ml/kg/min apart. This is why the estimate is good for tracking your own progress and rough for comparing individuals.

Other formulas

You will meet other conversions. The rule of thumb VO₂max = 3.5 × MAS is quick, but it ignores age and the cost of the turns: at 13 km/h it gives 45.5, against 50.6 from Léger’s equation for an adult who stops during level 10. Other published equations, for the PACER or for continuous tests, give other numbers again. Do not mix values from different formulas on one chart.

To skip the arithmetic, the beep test calculator takes a level, a shuttle count and, if you like, your age, and returns the MAS, the distance and the VO₂max. The speeds behind each level are in the level table.