This is the complete female VO2 max percentile table from The Cooper Institute, ages 20–79. All values are in ml/kg/min, measured via treadmill maximal test with open-circuit spirometry. Compare your score to the column closest to your number.
What is a good VO2 max for a woman?
The Cooper Institute classifies women's VO2 max into the same six bands used for men — Poor, Below Average, Average, Good, Excellent, Superior — but with sex-specific cutoffs. Female norms are 15–20% lower than male norms at every age, reflecting structural differences in cardiac size, hemoglobin, and lean-mass percentage. The interpretation in plain English:
- Poor (under the 20th percentile): below the threshold associated with normal cardiovascular reserve. Activities of daily living may feel effortful.
- Average (40th–60th percentile): typical for a moderately active adult woman. Capable of light recreational exercise.
- Good (60th–80th percentile): consistent with regular aerobic training. Recreational runners and cyclists with a few years of training usually land here.
- Excellent / Superior (80th percentile and above): the territory of competitive amateur athletes and trained masters women.
For a 35-year-old woman, the median (50th percentile) is about 30 ml/kg/min; the boundary into "Excellent" is about 36. For a 55-year-old woman, the median drops to about 26 and "Excellent" starts at about 32. The full table below has the exact cutoffs for every decade.
| Age | 5th | 10th | 25th | 50th | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–29 | 21.7 | 23.9 | 30.5 | 37.6 | 44.7 | 51.3 | 56.0 |
| 30–39 | 19.0 | 20.9 | 25.3 | 30.2 | 36.1 | 41.4 | 45.8 |
| 40–49 | 17.0 | 18.8 | 22.1 | 26.7 | 32.4 | 38.4 | 41.7 |
| 50–59 | 16.0 | 17.3 | 19.9 | 23.4 | 27.6 | 32.0 | 35.9 |
| 60–69 | 13.4 | 14.6 | 17.2 | 20.0 | 23.8 | 27.0 | 29.4 |
| 70–79 | 13.1 | 13.6 | 15.6 | 18.3 | 20.8 | 23.1 | 24.1 |
Values are VO2 max in ml/kg/min. Source: The Cooper Institute (see /methodology/).
Interpretation by decade
Women in their 20s (20–29)
Average (50th) is 37.6 ml/kg/min. Good (75th) is 44.7. Excellent (90th) is 51.3. Full page for women in their 20s →
Women in their 30s (30–39)
Average (50th) is 30.2 ml/kg/min. Good (75th) is 36.1. Excellent (90th) is 41.4. Full page for women in their 30s →
Women in their 40s (40–49)
Average (50th) is 26.7 ml/kg/min. Good (75th) is 32.4. Excellent (90th) is 38.4. Full page for women in their 40s →
Women in their 50s (50–59)
Average (50th) is 23.4 ml/kg/min. Good (75th) is 27.6. Excellent (90th) is 32.0. Full page for women in their 50s →
Women in their 60s (60–69)
Average (50th) is 20.0 ml/kg/min. Good (75th) is 23.8. Excellent (90th) is 27.0. Full page for women in their 60s →
Women in their 70s (70–79)
Average (50th) is 18.3 ml/kg/min. Good (75th) is 20.8. Excellent (90th) is 23.1. Full page for women in their 70s →
How VO2 max changes with age
For untrained women, VO2 max declines roughly 10% per decade after about age 30. The mechanism is the same as in men — reductions in maximum heart rate and stroke volume, plus gradual loss of capillary density. For trained women, the rate of decline is closer to 5% per decade, and consistent endurance training can largely flatten the curve through the 50s.
The practical takeaway: a substantial chunk of what gets blamed on aging is actually detraining. Endurance-trained women in their 60s routinely score above the median for women in their 30s. The training guide covers what works to slow the decline.
How to improve your score
The same three levers that work for men work for women — and the relative response to training is often slightly larger:
- Volume of easy aerobic work (zone 2). 2–3 sessions per week of 45–60 minutes at a conversational pace. See zone 2 training.
- One weekly high-intensity interval session. The Norwegian 4×4 has the best evidence-base across both sexes. See the 4×4 details.
- Consistency over months. Untrained women typically gain 15–25% in 8–12 weeks of structured training — a slightly larger relative response than men in most published studies.
How accurate is this table?
The Cooper Institute norms are derived from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study, where participants completed maximal treadmill tests with measured oxygen uptake (the gold-standard methodology). The same dataset underlies the percentile tables in ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 11th edition.
Field-test estimates from the calculator on this site are estimates — typical correlation with lab-measured VO2 max is around r = 0.85–0.90 for trained populations and somewhat lower for general adults. If your field-test number lands within 3–5 ml/kg/min of a lab measurement, that's the expected agreement, not a flaw.
Training responses for women
Despite lower absolute VO2 max values than men, women show equivalent or greater relative training adaptations — 15–25% improvements in previously untrained women are common after 12 weeks of structured aerobic work. Menstrual-cycle phase can influence submaximal testing (slightly higher heart rates in the luteal phase), so retesting at the same cycle point improves reproducibility.
Masters-age women (50+) who maintain consistent zone-2 and interval training often test above the 90th percentile for their bracket and above the 50th percentile for women 20 years younger. See how to improve VO2 max for specific programming.