Balke Protocol Calculator
1Your Balke test result
Estimated VO2max (ml/kg/min)
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Where you stand for your age and sex
How you compare with documented champions (ml/kg/min)
The Balke test is a maximal walking test. This is an estimate for healthy adults, not a medical test. A maximal effort is hard on the heart: if you are inactive, over 45 (men) or 55 (women), pregnant, or have heart, lung or metabolic symptoms or conditions, ask your doctor before any all-out test, and stop at once if you feel chest pain, dizziness or unusual shortness of breath.
Free tool · Updated November 1, 2026
A walking test that climbs
The Balke test keeps the speed at a brisk walk and raises the grade until you have to stop. Enter your time to estimate your VO2max and see how far your own treadmill can take the test.
Short answer
The Balke protocol is a treadmill walking test: men walk at 3.3 mph while the grade rises about 1% a minute, women at 3.0 mph with 2.5% more every 3 minutes. Total time predicts VO2max: 15 minutes gives about 36.7 ml/kg/min for a man and 25.9 for a woman.
Key takeaways
- The speed never changes, so nobody has to run: the grade does the work.
- Use the equation that matches the protocol you walked; mixing them gives wrong numbers.
- Most home treadmills reach 10 to 15%, enough for about 10 to 15 minutes of the men’s test.
- Do not hold the handrails; it makes the result look better than it is.
Bruno Balke and Robert Ware developed this test in 1959 to measure the fitness of US Air Force personnel. Instead of making people run faster, it keeps a brisk walking speed and makes the slope steeper every minute, which suits people who cannot or should not run.
Enter the protocol you walked and your total time to estimate your VO2max with the matching equation. The calculator also shows the grade you reached and how much of the test your own treadmill can handle.
How the Balke Test Works
In the version used for men, you walk at 3.3 mph (5.3 km/h). The grade is 0% for the first minute, 2% for the second, then rises by 1% every minute until you can no longer keep up. In the version used for women, the speed is 3.0 mph (4.8 km/h) and the grade rises by 2.5% every 3 minutes. The tables show the grade at each point and the VO2max reached if you stop there.
The test was first described by Balke and Ware in 1959. The equations used here come from two studies by Pollock and colleagues, published in the American Heart Journal in 1976 (men) and 1982 (women), which compared several treadmill protocols with measured VO2max. Each equation only applies to the protocol it was derived from.
| Minute starting atMinute | Grade | VO2max (ml/kg/min)VO2max |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | 0% | 16.4 |
| 2:00 | 3% | 19.3 |
| 4:00 | 5% | 22.2 |
| 6:00 | 7% | 25.1 |
| 8:00 | 9% | 28.0 |
| 10:00 | 11% | 30.9 |
| 12:00 | 13% | 33.8 |
| 14:00 | 15% | 36.6 |
| 16:00 | 17% | 39.5 |
| 18:00 | 19% | 42.4 |
| 20:00 | 21% | 45.3 |
| 22:00 | 23% | 48.2 |
| 24:00 | 25% | 51.1 |
| Stage | Grade | VO2max (ml/kg/min)VO2max |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 to 3:00 | 0% | 9.4 |
| 3:00 to 6:00 | 2.5% | 13.5 |
| 6:00 to 9:00 | 5% | 17.6 |
| 9:00 to 12:00 | 7.5% | 21.8 |
| 12:00 to 15:00 | 10% | 25.9 |
| 15:00 to 18:00 | 12.5% | 30.1 |
| 18:00 to 21:00 | 15% | 34.2 |
| 21:00 to 24:00 | 17.5% | 38.3 |
| 24:00 to 27:00 | 20% | 42.5 |
Doing the Balke Test on a Home Treadmill
The Balke test is easier to run at home than the Bruce protocol because the speed stays at a walk, but the grade still climbs high: a fit man reaches 15 to 20% or more. Enter your treadmill’s maximum incline in the calculator to see how far it can take the test.
- For grades above 15% you need an incline trainer; see our best incline trainers and best treadmills with incline.
- Set the speed first, then raise the incline on the minute; a helper with a stopwatch makes it easier.
- Use the safety key and stop at once with chest pain, dizziness or unusual breathlessness.
- Other tests: the Bruce protocol is the clinical standard; the Rockport walk test needs no incline at all.
VO2max Norms and Champion Values
The percentile scale in the calculator comes from the FRIEND registry (Fitness Registry and the Importance of Exercise National Database): Kaminsky, Arena and Myers, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2015, measured treadmill VO2max of apparently healthy US adults. The 50th percentile is the median: half of the people tested in that group were below it.
The comparison bars use only values that were measured in a laboratory and reported with a source: Oskar Svendsen (Norwegian cyclist), 97.5 ml/kg/min: Lab test at Lillehammer University College in 2012, reported by Norwegian cycling media; often cited as the highest value on record; Chris Froome (Four-time Tour de France winner), 84.6 ml/kg/min: 5.91 L/min at 69.9 kg, tested in 2015; published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2017); Paula Radcliffe (Women’s marathon world record holder 2003-2019), 70 ml/kg/min: Yearly average from 1992 to 2003, single tests up to about 80; published by Andrew Jones in the International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching (2006). Many higher numbers circulate online for famous skiers, runners and cyclists without a published test behind them, so we leave them out.
| Group | 10th | 25th | 50th (median)50th | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men 20-29 | 32.1 | 40.1 | 48 | 55.2 | 61.8 |
| Men 30-39 | 30.2 | 35.9 | 42.4 | 49.2 | 56.5 |
| Men 40-49 | 26.8 | 31.9 | 37.8 | 45 | 52.1 |
| Men 50-59 | 22.8 | 27.1 | 32.6 | 39.7 | 45.6 |
| Men 60-69 | 19.8 | 23.7 | 28.2 | 34.5 | 40.3 |
| Men 70-79 | 17.1 | 20.4 | 24.4 | 30.4 | 36.6 |
| Women 20-29 | 23.9 | 30.5 | 37.6 | 44.7 | 51.3 |
| Women 30-39 | 20.9 | 25.3 | 30.2 | 36.1 | 41.4 |
| Women 40-49 | 18.8 | 22.1 | 26.7 | 32.4 | 38.4 |
| Women 50-59 | 17.3 | 19.9 | 23.4 | 27.6 | 32 |
| Women 60-69 | 14.6 | 17.2 | 20 | 23.8 | 27 |
| Women 70-79 | 13.6 | 15.6 | 18.3 | 20.8 | 23.1 |
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Checklist Before Your Test
4 checks
Tap a number to check off that step.
- 01
Get medical clearanceIt is a maximal test: ask your doctor first if you have any heart risk.
- 02
Pick the right protocolMen’s 3.3 mph version or women’s 3.0 mph version, and use its equation.
- 03
Check your treadmill’s inclineNote its maximum grade before you start.
- 04
Have a helper and a stopwatchSomeone raises the grade on time and stops the watch when you stop.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Mistake 1Holding the handrails
Instead: It takes load off your legs and inflates the estimate.
Mistake 2Jogging to keep up
Instead: The test is a walk; jogging changes the effort.
Mistake 3Mixing protocols and equations
Instead: Use the equation that matches the protocol you walked.
Mistake 4Starting cold
Instead: Walk easily for 5 minutes first.
The Bottom Line
- Men: VO2max = 1.444 x T + 14.99 (Pollock and colleagues, 1976).
- Women: VO2max = 1.38 x T + 5.22 (Pollock and colleagues, 1982).
- Percentiles from the FRIEND registry of measured treadmill tests.
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Frequently Asked Questions
A treadmill walking test at a constant speed where the grade rises every minute until you cannot continue.
Men: 1.444 x total time in minutes + 14.99. Women (3.0 mph version): 1.38 x time + 5.22.
It depends on age and sex; for men in their forties the median VO2max of measured tests, 37.8, matches about 15.8 minutes.
Balke is gentler and keeps a walking speed; Bruce reaches high effort faster and is the clinical standard.
Up to your treadmill’s maximum incline, if you are healthy and cleared for maximal exercise.
The equation for women was derived from a 3.0 mph protocol, so it is only valid with that protocol.
