Bruce Protocol Treadmill Test
Info
Gender Male Female
Total Running Time (minutes)
R e s u l t s
Estimate of VO2 max:
? ? ?
Show Results
Info
Bruce Protocol Treadmill Test

The Bruce Protocol Treadmill Test can be used to approximate VO 2 max, which is a measure of fitness, expressed in mL O 2 consumed/kg body weight/minute. This protocol has 10 stages, with each stage lasting 3 minutes and increasing both speed and slope with each successive stage.

The length of time a subject is able to continue with this protocol before exhaustion allows prediction of VO 2 max from formulas derived by Foster and Pollock in the 1980s.

Stage Time (min) Speed(mph/kmh) Slope (%)
1 0 1.7/2.7 10
2 3 2.5/4.0 12
3 6 3.4/5.5 14
4 9 4.2/6.8 16
5 12 5.0/8.1 18
6 15 5.5/8.9 20
7 18 6.0/9.7 22
8 21 6.5/10.5 24
9 24 7.0/11.3 26
10 27 7.5/12.1 28

mph=miles per hour

kmh=kilometers per hour

The formula for men is:

  • VO 2 max = 14.8 - (1.379 × T) + (0.451 × T²) - (0.012 × T³)

"T" is the total time of the test expressed in minutes and fractions of a minute e.g. 13 minutes 15 seconds = 13.25 minutes

The formula for women is:

  • VO 2 max = 4.38 × T - 3.9

"T" is the total time of the test expressed in minutes and fractions of a minute.

Ideal VO 2 max scores for various sports:

VO2 max Sport
>75 ml/kg/min Endurance Runners and Cyclists
65 ml/kg/min Squash
60-65 ml/kg/min Football (male)
55 ml/kg/min Rugby
50 ml/kg/min Volleyball (female)
50 ml/kg/min Baseball (male)

References:

  1. Foster C, Jacksomn AS, Pollock ML, et al. Generalized equations for predicting functional capacity from treadmill performance. Am Heart J. 1984 Jun;107(6):1229-34.
  2. Pollock ML, et al. Comparative analysis of physiologic responses to three different maximal graded exercise test protocols in healthy women. Am Heart J. 1982 Mar;103(3):363-73.