Coopers 12-min run Print
coopertestCoopers 12-min run test is a maximal test performed on a flat measured running surface.

Instructions:
1. Warm up
2. Run as far as you can within 12 minutes. Should preferebly be performed on a 400 m track.
3. Note how far you got and enter the distance, weight and gender in the calculator.

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Background:

The 12 min run test is also called the Cooper test. It was developed in the sixties as an easy tool to estimate VO2max in soldiers.

The validity of this test is quite good if you are accustomed to running. For people not used to running it can be difficult to administer the speed from start to end and also peripheral discomfort in the legs can limit performance rather than circualatory capacity.

Reference:
Correlation between field and treadmill testing as a means of assessing maximal oxygen intake.
Cooper KH
JAMA. 1968 Jan 15;203(3):201-4.

Comments (6)Add Comment
Bjossi Arngrimsson
April 07, 2009
130.208.111.184
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Hi

I was wondering what reference you had for giving females a higher fitness value for the same distance run. By doing that you are saying females are inherently less economical than men and I was wondering what is your basis for that claim?

Morten Z
April 12, 2009
90.184.106.131
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Besides the original validation of the 12-min test on soldiers, there has been other validations on other populations. In at least one of them (couldn't find the ref right now), the analysis showed that a specific performance indicated a 5 % higher VO2max for woman. This could be explained differences in running economy between sexes and this has actually been shown in some studies.
Differences in running economy could be due to higher fat percentage in women, which possibly could have a biomechanically dampening effect. Also flexibility has been shown to be inversely related to running economy and woman are generally more flexible than men.
This difference might just exist in a general population, as other studies have shown that if you compare well-trained runners at the som relative intensitity (as opposed to same speed) running economy is equal between men and woman.

Besides running economy, the ability to use anaerobic capacity could affect the relationship between running distance and VO2max.

max power
June 16, 2009
82.42.34.64
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Hi

I play rugby for a professional club in the England, every pre-season we conduct the cooper run test and the minimum distance we must cover is 3,000 metes in 11 minutes 55 seconds (the previous year it was 3,000 metes in 12 minutes flat) i was just wondering if you knew any conditioning drills and/or programs that would help improve my V02max and therefore my distance when we complete the test next pre-season?

mark falzom
September 25, 2009
213.217.211.198
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How does this test compare to the gacon test?

Sunpower
October 15, 2009
118.168.131.57
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What kind of specific training can I do to improve my Cooper Test time?

Adam Dixon
January 20, 2010
193.61.254.29
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Hi

Just wondering what references you had which would show that the 12minute run is a relevant test for a Football Goalkeeper

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