We recently added the 2 km UKK Walk Test to FitQ. It is a simple test that lets you measure your physical fitness with equipment you have at home and gives you an age-adjusted, comparable result that comes surprisingly close to an expensive laboratory measurement. But before we explain how to take the test, it is worth looking at how it came about.
Where the test comes from
In the late 1980s, the UKK Institute in Tampere, Finland, set out to answer one question: how could an ordinary person’s endurance be measured without a laboratory and without running? Laboratory running and cycling tests are expensive and also fairly strenuous for the average person. Walking—the most instinctive and natural way for people to move—was the logical choice. Pekka Oja, Raija Laukkanen, Matti Pasanen and Ilkka Vuori tested various distances before eventually settling on 2 kilometres. This was long enough to provide reliable results and short enough to make the test as easy as possible to complete. Their first validation study, involving 159 healthy people aged 20–65, was published in 1991. Incidentally, the test is still used in occupational health care in Finland, and it is also an approved alternative to the endurance test—the 2-mile run test, also known as the Cooper test—for reservists over the age of 45.
How accurate is it?
It does not replace a laboratory test, but it comes surprisingly close to laboratory results. In the original study, the formula explained 73–75% of the variation in laboratory-measured oxygen uptake. In 2023, a Spanish research group repeated the test with 410 adults: the correlation with laboratory results was r = 0.78, while agreement on retesting was 0.95–0.99. They tried to improve Oja’s formula but ultimately concluded that the formula devised 30 years earlier was already good enough. A 2021 systematic review rated the evidence for the test as “strong”.
The test also has its limitations. If you are extremely fit, you may not be able to work hard enough while walking, and the test will underestimate your fitness. If you walk too slowly, you will get an inaccurate result. A lower heart rate at the end of the walk does not make up for lost time. It is therefore important to walk as close to your limit as you can without breaking into a run.
How to take the test
Warm up for 5–10 minutes. Walk 2 km at a consistently fast pace, with no finishing sprint. Running is not allowed—one foot must remain on the ground at all times. Measure your heart rate immediately at the finish: use the reading on your heart rate monitor or count your beats for 10 seconds yourself; we will calculate the rest. Your time, heart rate, age, sex and body mass index are combined to produce a fitness index, where 100 represents the average for people of your age and sex. Importantly, this is not the average among users of our platform, but a genuine age-specific average validated by researchers. A score above 100 means you are fitter than average; if your score is below 100, you still have room to improve.
Most importantly: repeat the test
A single number tells you where you are today, but not where you are heading. Make testing part of your routine and repeat the test after a month or two. If possible, use the same route and choose similar weather conditions. The seasons will, of course, change, and sometimes you will need to wear more clothing and sometimes less. Still, try to avoid conditions so extreme that they could significantly affect the result, such as storm-force winds, sleet or a slippery route. Repeating the test lets you see which way your fitness trend is moving. FitQ keeps your previous test results.
Who should not take the test?
Do not take the test if you have cardiovascular disease, untreated high blood pressure, are ill or recovering from an infection, have an injury that gets worse when walking, or are pregnant or have recently given birth. If you experience chest pain, severe dizziness or nausea during the test, stop immediately.
The instructions and warnings are also available without logging in: fitq.me/et/tests/ukk2. You need an account to save your result.
Sources: Oja et al., Int J Sports Med 1991; Marín-Jiménez et al., J Sci Med Sport 2023; Castro-Piñero et al., J Clin Med 2021.
