The 1-Mile Walking Test (2024)

Measuring your fitness level regularly is one way to find out if you're making progress. Most fitness centers have trained staff who can evaluate your body composition, muscular strength and endurance, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance, but it can be pricey. If you don’t have access to all the toys and tools of your gym, don’t panic. You have everything you need to measure your fitness level in your own house!

This One-Mile Walking Test measures your aerobic (cardiovascular) fitness level based on how quickly you are able to walk a mile at a

submaximal (moderate) exercise intensity.

Equipment Needed: Comfortable clothing and sturdy walking or running shoes; a stopwatch or a clock with a second hand; a flat one-mile walking surface, such as a standard quarter-mile track (four laps equals one mile) or a flat road where you've measured the one-mile distance with your car's odometer.

Goal: Walk one mile as quickly as possible.

Execution: We suggest that youdo not attempt this test until you are routinely walking for 15 to 20 minutes several times per week. Do not perform this test on a treadmill, as it will skew your results. Warm up by walking slowly for three to five minutes. When you are ready to begin, start the clock and begin walking as fast as you can while maintaining a steady pace. You can slow down and speed up as you wish, but the goal is to complete the mile as quickly as possible. Stop your watch or check your time at the end of the mile to the nearest second. When finished, keep walking for a few minutes to cool down. Follow up with a few stretches.
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Scoring: Here are the age-adjusted standards (listed in minutes and seconds) for men and women, which are based on information collected from the Cooper Institute, American Council on Exercise and other sources.

Ratings for Men, Based on Age

Age20-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970+
Excellent<11:54<12:24<12:54<13:24<14:06<15:06
Good11:54-13:0012:24-13:3012:54-14:0013:24-14:2414:06-15:1215:06-15:48
Average13:01-13:4213:31-14:1214:01-14:4214:25-15:1215:13-16:1815:49-18:48
Fair13:43-14:3014:13-15:0014:43-15:3015:13-16:3016:19-17:1818:49-20:18
Poor>14:30>15:00>15:30>16:30>17:18>20:18

Ratings for Women, Based on Age

Age20-2930-3940-4950-5960-6970+
Excellent<13:12<13:42<14:12<14:42<15:06<18:18
Good13:12-14:0613:42-14:3614:12-15:0614:42-15:3615:06-16:1818:18-20:00
Average14:07-15:0614:37-15:3615:07-16:0615:37-17:0016:19-17:3020:01-21:48
Fair15:07-16:3015:37-17:0016:07-17:3017:01-18:0617:31-19:1221:49-24:06
Poor>16:30>17:00>17:30>18:06>19:12>24:06

Maybe you’ll find that you’re doing really well. But even if you weren't able to register on the chart, that's OK. Everyone starts somewhere! Just try to improve gradually over time from where you started. Remember, you are looking for improvement in yourself, regardless of what a chart says or how well someone else does.

How to improve: To improve your scores on this test, develop a regular cardio (aerobic) exercise routine and stick to it. Increase your intensity and duration gradually and you'll boost your endurance over time. Use the SparkPeople resources below for more tips to improve your aerobic fitness.

This will build a good aerobic base and over time, your heart will become more efficient, which means that it will be able to do the same amount of work without working as hard. If your exercise of choice is walking, think about incorporating a little bit of higher intensity intervals, such as hills or light jogging.

How to know its working: When you're done testing, you can track your results to have a visual representation of your progress! Over time, you should be able to walk faster without getting as tired. Retest yourself at least twice a year.

This test is a great tool to see how you are doing. If you don’t score as well as you like, just remember to focus on improving your own scores periodically. As long as you are improving, your fitness plan is working. If you find you aren’t making the progress that you feel you should be seeing, it may be time to change your workout routine.

The 1-Mile Walking Test (2024)

FAQs

What does the one mile run walk test your ______________? ›

Answer. The One Mile Run-Walk test assesses aerobic cardiovascular endurance, which is the ability of the heart, lungs, and muscles to sustain exercise for an extended time.

What should your heart rate be for the 1 mile walk test? ›

4. Walk the 1.0 mile course at a brisk, steady pace (the exercise heart rate at the end of the test should be above 120 beats per minute).

How to pass the Rockport walk test? ›

Throughout the walk, stay tall and keep your gaze forward. Use power walking for the test only if you feel comfortable with it. You want to hold a steady pace for the entire mile. Exercise for a better score on the Rockport walking test.

How to improve one mile walk test? ›

How to improve: To improve your scores on this test, develop a regular cardio (aerobic) exercise routine and stick to it. Increase your intensity and duration gradually and you'll boost your endurance over time.

What is the 1.0 mile walk test? ›

What is the One-Mile Walking Test? The one-mile walking test is an evaluation of cardiovascular fitness, that seeks to predict an individual's aerobic capacity, which is also known as VO2 max, or maximal oxygen consumption.

What is the 1-mile run or walk test? ›

The one-mile run/walk is a good indicator of the ability of the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply oxygen to functioning muscles, in other words the capacity to perform activities using large muscle groups over an extended period of time.

What's a good VO2 max by age? ›

VO2 Max Values by Age and Gender
Age Group5th Percentile95th Percentile
20-2921.756.0
30-3919.045.8
40-4917.041.7
50-5916.035.9
10 more rows

What is a good score for 6 minute walk test? ›

Evidence suggests that the score range for healthy adults is 400–700 m. However, factors such as age, sex, and underlying health conditions can alter this value.

How to calculate VO2 max for one mile walk? ›

The best equation (N = 174) was: VO2max = 6.9652 + (0.0091*WT) - (0.0257*AGE) + (0.5955*SEX) - (0.2240*T1) - (0.0115*HR1-4); r = 0.93, SEE = 0.325 l X min-1.

How many minutes is one mile walking? ›

According to data gathered in a 2019 scientific study, it takes the average person 15-22 minutes to walk one mile. Remember that the weather, your age, the terrain you're walking on, and how fast you're walking are all factors that can impact your mile time.

What is a good Rockport walk test score? ›

Grading Your Results
VO2 Max Norms for Men
AgeVery PoorGood
13-19Under 35.045.2-50.9
20-29Under 33.042.5-46.4
30-39Under 31.541.0-44.9
3 more rows
Aug 10, 2022

How to improve VO2 max? ›

Study after study confirms that HIIT training can effectively improve your VO2 max. This is because HIIT causes you to toy with or temporarily surpass your anaerobic threshold before returning to a lower, aerobic intensity.

What should your heart rate be after walking a mile? ›

For the high end of your target heart rate, multiply 220 bpm minus your age by 0.85 (85 percent). For example, for a 40-year-old it'd be 180 bpm x 0.85 = 153 bpm. For this person, their target heart rate while walking would be between 90 and 153 beats per minute.

How long should it take a 60 year old woman to walk a mile? ›

Mile: Average Walking Times by Age and Gender
AGEGENDERTIME
60–69Male20:00
Female21:40
70–79Male21:17
Female23:43
10 more rows
Mar 9, 2023

How many miles should I walk a day? ›

Walking is a form of low impact, moderate intensity exercise that has a range of health benefits and few risks. As a result, the CDC recommend that most adults aim for 10,000 steps per day . For most people, this is the equivalent of about 8 kilometers, or 5 miles.

What does the run walk test assess? ›

The 600 Yard Walk-Run Test is easy to perform and has been used to measure walking endurance and speed in children without disability. A correlation between this test and cardiorespiratory fitness in children with cognitive disabilities has been demonstrated (Fernhall et al., 1998).

What does the FitnessGram test the mile run measure? ›

FitnessGram Tests PACER • 1-Mile Run • 1-Mile Walk

All Healthy Fitness Zone scores for aerobic capacity are reported as estimates of VO² max. Higher VO² max scores reflect a greater ability to take in and use oxygen and a greater potential to perform endurance exercise.

What does the 1 minute walk test measure? ›

The 1MWT is a validated and user-friendly tool to evaluate walking ability and endurance in individuals with CP. 6 McDowell et al. reported typical walking distances for the 1MWT and found the instrument to be significantly correlated to the Gross Motor Function Measure.

What is the Rockport 1-mile walk test used for? ›

Abstract. The Rockport Walk Test (RWT) is a 1-mile walk used to estimate the maximal volume of oxygen uptake (V(O2)max).

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