VO2 Max Calculator
Turn a 2k ergo time, or any longer piece, into a VO2max figure. Handy for pinning down training zones and watching aerobic form build through an Australian pre-season.
How do you estimate VO2max from rowing?
Two routes. Feed a 2k time into the Klusiewicz formula (-0.0224 x seconds + 91.3 for men, -0.0245 x seconds + 95.5 for women). Or take any piece, get average watts from the Concept2 power equation, divide by body weight in kg, and run that through the ACSM rowing formula (VO2 = 12.5 x W/kg + 3.5). Answers come back in ml of oxygen per kilogram per minute, usually within 5 ml/kg/min of a lab result.
Your test
Klusiewicz ran separate validations on men and women, so the coefficients differ. Choose "Other" and the calculator falls back to the male equation.
The equations ignore age. It sits here only to help you read the bands.
Test summary
Estimated VO2max
ml/kg/min
Method
Average power
One field test, one estimate. A lab assessment with a mask, gas analyser and ramp protocol is still the benchmark, and these numbers usually sit 3-5 ml/kg/min away from it.
Where you sit against rowing benchmarks
Bands adapted from ACSM Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription (11th ed.) and Hagerman 1984 data on national team oarsmen and oarswomen. Past the top band, elite men usually read above 70 ml/kg/min and elite women above 60 ml/kg/min.
Worked example
A 75 kg male club rower chasing state selection pulls a 2k ergo in 6:50.0, which is 410 seconds.
- 1.Convert time to seconds: 6 minutes 50 seconds = 410 seconds.
- 2.Apply Klusiewicz male formula: VO2max = (-0.0224 x 410) + 91.3.
- 3.Calculate: -9.184 + 91.3 = 82.1 ml/kg/min.
- 4.Sense-check: 82.1 sits in the elite band, which is generous for a 6:50 club ergo, so treat it as the upper limit.
- 5.Cross-check with the power method: a 6:50 2k = 270 W average = 3.60 W/kg, giving 12.5 x 3.60 + 3.5 = 48.5 ml/kg/min.
Two methods, two answers, because they rest on different assumptions. Klusiewicz reads high for anyone short of elite. The ACSM equation reads low, since it prices every stroke at one fixed efficiency. The honest figure for this rower sits between them, near 60-65 ml/kg/min.
How the estimate works
What VO2max is, and why rowers care
VO2max is the most oxygen you can take in, shift and use flat out, written as millilitres per kilogram of body weight per minute. Rowing sits almost entirely on the aerobic system - even a 2k is about 75% aerobic - so VO2max caps the power you can hold. Coaches at school programmes, state association clubs and Rowing Australia pathway squads use it to set zones, watch aerobic form through pre-season, and judge readiness for Head of the Yarra and the national championships.
Estimating from a 2k time (Klusiewicz)
Klusiewicz and colleagues put Polish national team rowers through lab testing, then fitted straight lines from 2k ergo time in seconds to measured VO2max. Men: VO2max (ml/kg/min) = -0.0224 x T + 91.3. Women: VO2max = -0.0245 x T + 95.5. T is the time in seconds, and the minus sign is why a quicker 2k returns a bigger number. Their sample was elite, so school and club rowers get flattering answers. Read the output as a ceiling.
Estimating from any test piece (Concept2 + ACSM)
Every piece carries an average power figure, via the Concept2 formula: watts = 2.80 / (pace_in_seconds_per_metre)^3. Divide by body weight in kg for W/kg. The ACSM rowing equation, from Hagerman 1984 and later carried into the ACSM Guidelines for Exercise Testing, prices that in oxygen: VO2 (ml/kg/min) = 12.5 x W/kg + 3.5. It fixes mechanical efficiency at roughly 20%, a fair average that individuals sit either side of. Over a maximal 5 to 30 minutes the result stands in well for VO2max.
How accurate is the estimate?
For trained rowers, an ergo-based estimate usually falls within 5 ml/kg/min of a lab number. Klusiewicz reads high below elite level, because the Polish national squad supplied its validation data. The ACSM power route reads a little low, since most athletes beat the 20% efficiency it assumes. Two methods within 5 ml/kg/min of each other means you can work off the estimate. A split wider than 10 usually means the lower figure is nearer the mark.
Use this with the other Row HQ tools
With a figure in hand, run the same 2k through the 2k prediction calculator to see what it means over longer distances. The training pace calculator turns it into UT2, UT1, AT, TR and AN zone splits. The rowing pace chart lines up pace, watts and split across every standard piece.
The rowing to running converter runs on the same VO2 arithmetic to line ergo pace up against road pace. And the data-driven training guide covers what squads actually do with capacity numbers over a season.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a VO2max estimate off the ergo reasonably accurate?
Very few sports load as much muscle as rowing - legs, back and arms all working at once - so the heart and lungs, not one tired muscle group, set the limit. The Concept2 ergo also produces power output you can repeat honestly week to week. That makes an all-out piece a fair read on whole-body VO2max, usually agreeing with lab numbers to within 5 ml/kg/min, on par with a beep test or 2.4 km run.
Why does the formula differ by sex?
Klusiewicz validated men and women separately because the underlying physiology differs: on average women carry smaller hearts, lower haemoglobin and a different body-composition baseline. A 7:00 2k from a 60 kg woman is a far bigger relative effort than the same clock from a 90 kg man, hence two sets of coefficients. Other falls back to the male equation, since no validated version exists for intersex or non-binary rowers. Pick whichever sits closest to your own physiology.
How does my number compare to elite rowers?
Elite heavyweight men usually clear 70 ml/kg/min, and the best international scullers go past 80. Elite heavyweight women mostly sit 60-65, with the strongest above 70. Lightweights read lower in raw terms and higher per kilo. Senior club and state-level rowers in form generally land 50-60 (men) or 45-55 (women), school rowers in their final year often reach the same range, and recreational masters usually sit 35-45.
Should I get a lab VO2 test instead?
Book the lab when you need a hard baseline - a Rowing Australia pathway squad, a sport science study, or a big change in periodisation. Ordinary training does not need it. Repeat one hard 2k or 6k on the same ergo every 8 to 12 weeks, log the time here, and read the trend. Three to five ml/kg/min of gain across a pre-season base block means the aerobic work is landing.
Does my 2k time predict marathon erg time?
Loosely. VO2max sets the roof, but a marathon ergo is decided by lactate threshold - the quickest pace you can hold steady - plus muscular endurance and fuelling. A bigger VO2max leaves more room above threshold, though two rowers with matching numbers can be minutes apart over two hours depending on how near the roof they can live. Trust the 2k prediction calculator out to 30 minutes; past that, test the distance itself.
How does this differ from heart rate-based VO2 estimates?
Watches work backwards from the link between heart rate and submaximal pace, which adds a step and some error. Rowers get the worst of it, because heart rate at a given power sits lower on the ergo than on foot - the seated posture and the leg drive both help venous return. The power routes used here read mechanical output straight into an oxygen cost and leave heart rate out.
Sources
Formulas and benchmark bands were last verified on 17 May 2026.
- Klusiewicz A., Faff J., Starczewska-Czapowska J. (2014). Prediction of maximal oxygen uptake from indirect ergometric tests in highly trained junior rowers. Biology of Sport, 31(2), 105-110. The original validation of the 2k-time-to-VO2max linear formula.
- Klusiewicz A., Borkowski L., Sitkowski D., Burkhard-Jagodzinska K., Szczepanska B., Ladyga M. (2016). Indirect methods of assessing maximal oxygen uptake in rowers. Biology of Sport, 33(4), 333-340. Re-validation across a wider rower population, including women.
- Hagerman F. C. (1984). Applied physiology of rowing. Sports Medicine, 1(4), 303-326. The foundational power-to-VO2 relationship used in the ACSM equation.
- American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, 11th edition (2021). Wolters Kluwer. The ACSM rowing VO2 equation and adult VO2max reference bands.
- Concept2 (n.d.). Watts calculator and pace-power conversion. Concept2 Indoor Rower documentation. concept2.com/training/watts-calculator. The P = 2.80 / pace^3 formula used for power calculation.
For one rower this is arithmetic. For thirty, tracked all pre-season, it is a system.
Following aerobic form for thirty rowers through a pre-season base block means every 2k and 6k logged, dated and trended. Row HQ handles that inside coach tools and training session tracking. Feed the VO2max estimate into the training pace calculator and each rower gets their own zone splits, without anyone rebuilding a spreadsheet.
More rowing tools
2k Prediction Calculator
Predict your 2k time from 5k, 6k or 30-minute test results.
Training Pace Calculator
UT2, UT1, AT, TR and AN zone paces from your 2k.
Erg Score Calculator
Weight-adjusted, age-graded percentile ranking.
Bodyweight-Adjusted Erg Score
Compare lightweight and heavyweight 2k times fairly.