VO2 max measures maximum oxygen uptake, and is widely considered the best way to assess an athlete's overall cardio fitness.
Many sports teams use the Multistage Fitness Test or Bleep Test to monitor their athletes VO2 max it features a series of short sprints and turns, making it ideal as an assessment tool for footballers, hockey players, rugby players and the like. However, due to the agility required for the short turns, it is not so well suited for runners, cyclists, or other pure endurance racers.
What You Need
- A flat, non-slip surface of at least 20 metres
- A 30-metre tape measure
- Marking cones
- An assistant
- The Multi-Stage Fitness Test CD
- CD Player
- Recording sheets
How Do You Perform The Test?
The test has 23 levels, each of which lasts approximately one minute. Each level is a series of 20m shuttles. The starting speed is 8.5km/hr and increases by 0.5km/hr at each level.A single beep on the CD indicates the end of a shuttle, while 3 beeps indicate the start of the next level.
The test is conducted as follows:
- Warm up thoroughly
- Measure out a 20 metres section and mark each end with a cone
- Start with one foot behind the cone the end of each shuttle
- If you arrive at the end of a shuttle before the beep, wait for the beep before you resume running
- Continue running for as long as possible until you can longer keep up with the speed set by the CD.
- The test ends at this point.
- Record the level, and number of shuttles completed at that level
- Cool down
What Results You'll See
By taking the test at regular intervals (e.g. every 6 to 8 weeks), you can monitor the development of your fitness.
You can also use the Multistage Fitness Test Table to convert your test score into a VO2max.
What's Being Measured Again?
This is a measure of VO2 max.
The beep test is a multi-stage fitness test used to measure cardiovascular fitness and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max). It is commonly used by coaches and trainers to measure athlete fitness, or used as a pre-requisite for police, emergency and military organizations. The test is also known as the bleep test, pacer test, 20m shuttle run test or Léger test. The Standard test has 21 levels, and each level consists of a different number of shuttles. The test is performed by running between two markers placed 20 meters (65.6 feet) apart, at an increasing pace as indicated by the beeps. The test ends when you can no longer keep pace, or level 21 is completed. The test can be performed by an individual without assistance, or used by a coach to test an entire team. The speed at the start of the test is quite slow, however it will increase with each level. A level lasts approximately 1 minute and the entire test requires an increase in speed from 8 km/h to 18.6 km/h. Back to top Your score is the level and number of shuttles reached before missing a beep. This information can be used to calculate a variety of things, such as your VO2 max and fitness level. Scores have been presented using dot notation, e.g. a score of level 12, shuttle 7 would be represented as 12.7. VO2 max is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise. The name is derived from V for volume, O2 for oxygen, and max for maximum. When used to compare the performance of endurance sports athletes it is expressed as a relative rate in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (ml/kg/min).Equipment
Procedure
Normative data
Male
Age Excellent Average Poor 14–16 12.7 8.9 < 6.6 17–20 12.12 9.2 < 7.3 21–30 12.12 9.3 < 7.5 31–40 11.7 6.10 < 6.4 41–50 10.4 6.9 < 5.2 Female
Source: Beashel P. et al; The world of sport examined; 1997 Age Excellent Average Poor 14–16 10.9 6.7 < 4.7 17–20 10.11 6.8 < 4.9 21–30 10.8 6.6 < 4.9 31–40 10.4 6.3 < 4.5 41–50 9.9 5.7 < 4.1 National team scores
Source: Beashel P. et al; The world of sport examined; 1997 Sport Male Female Basketball 11.5 9.6 Hockey 13.9 12.7 Rugby League 13.1 Netball 9.7 Squash 13.13 VO2 Max
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Our default Standard beep test is also known as the Eurofit Test. This protocol is commonly used in Europe and Australia. It was first published by the Council of Europe for Sport in 1983.
From version 1.3, we provide 11 beep test variations. You can choose from any of these tests:
The Standard Test starts with a speed of 8.0 km/h for the first level, then goes to 9.0 km/h for the second level. After that the speed for each level increases by 0.5 km/h.
The number of shuttles per level is set to keep each level to approximately 1 minute.
This version of the test is typically used by organisations in the UK and Australia, including the Australian Defence Forces.
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The Standard 8.5 test starts with a speed of 8.5 km/h and increases every level thereafter by 0.5 km/h. This test is the same as the Standard test apart from the speed of the first level.
This test variation uses the speeds specified by Luc Léger in 1984.
It is used by Canadian Forces and other organisations.
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This test was devised by Ian Birtwell for the Canadian national rugby programme. It uses a distance of 40 metres for each shuttle. The starting speed is faster than the Standard test and the speed increases more quickly for each level.
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PACER is an acronym for Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run and is part of the FitnessGram program. It is based on the original test published by Léger and Lambert in 1982.
This 15 metre shuttle length version is used where there is insufficient space to run the 20 metre version of the test.
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The UK Police variation of the PACER 15 test. This variation as used by the UK Police College has slightly different timings to the FitnessGram version.
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PACER is an acronym for Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run and is part of the FitnessGram program. It is based on the original test published by Léger and Lambert in 1982. The shuttle timings are similar, but different to the Standard (Eurofit) and Standard (Léger) test variations. For example, it starts at 8.0 km/h like the Standard (Eurofit) test, and increases by 0.5 km/h for all levels like the Standard (Léger) test.
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The YoYo tests were created by Bangsbo in Denmark in the 1990s for football (soccer) players. The YoYo Endurance Test Level 1 (ETL1) test is identical to the Standard test. The YoYo Endurance Test Level 2 (ETL2) version was created for more elite athletes, starting at a higher speed than the Standard test.
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The YoYo Intermittent Endurance Test Level 1 is a test variation that tests aerobic fitness in an intermittent way, more like the effort required in a football game. On every second shuttle the athlete rests for 5 seconds before continuing.
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The YoYo Intermittent Endurance Test Level 2 starts at a higher speed than the Level 1 test. On every second shuttle the athlete rests for 5 seconds before continuing.
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The YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 is designed for football (soccer) players. On every second shuttle the athlete rests for 10 seconds before continuing.
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The YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 2 starts at a hgher speed than the Level 1 version. On every second shuttle the athlete rests for 10 seconds before continuing.
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The test was created by Luc Léger from the University of Montreal, and first published in 1983.
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Please ensure your device is NOT set to silent mode.
If you are doing a crucial test, we recommend that you put your phone into airplane mode to avoid any interruptions.
Contact Us
If you have questions or feedback email [email protected].
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