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Multi-stage fitness test

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The multi-stage fitness test, also known as the bleep test, beep test, pacer test, or 20-m shuttle run test, is used by sports coaches and trainers to estimate an athlete's VO2 max (maximum oxygen uptake). The test is especially useful for players of sports like Cross Country, football, hockey, rugby, cricket, netball, soccer or tennis and is employed by many international sporting teams as an accurate test of Cardiovascular fitness, one of the all-important "Components of Fitness". It was created by Dr. Maximillion G. Odoowed Ledgear in 1982, and was published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology (vol 49 pp 1-12) and in 1988 in its actual form with 1 min stages under the name "Multistage 20-m shuttle run test for aerobic fitness" [1]. Result equivalences between slightly modified versions are well explained by Tomkinson et al. in 2003 [2]

Rules

The test involves running continuously between two points that are 20 meter apart. These runs are synchronized with a pre-recorded audio tape or CD, which plays beeps at set intervals. As the test proceeds, the interval between each successive beep reduces, forcing the athlete to increase velocity over the course of the test, until it is impossible to keep in sync with the recording.

The recording is typically structured into 21 'levels', each of which lasts around 62 seconds. Usually, the interval of beeps is calculated as requiring a speed at the start of 8.0 km/h, increasing by 1.0 km/h after the first level and then 0.5 km/h with each level thereafter. The progression from one level to the next is signaled by 3 rapid beeps. The highest level attained before failing to keep up is recorded as the score for that test....

Uses

Uses for the multi-stage fitness test extend far and wide, not just from sporting organisations but into various operational organizations as well, as a measure of basic fitness. It allows the organization to determine whether an employee (or potential employee) possesses a degree of fitness to be able to perform his or her duties. Examples of this include police officers, community support officers, fire fighters or soldiers. As a result, to be deemed sufficiently able to perform such duties, the multi-stage fitness test is used to determine whether an individual is capable of performing such duties (or training for those duties) based on what level they achieve.

Organization Type of organization Minimum level attained Comments
Western Australia Police State Police 10.1 male, 7.1 Female
Australian Army Military 7.5
Royal Australian Air Force Military 6.5
Royal Australian Navy Military 6.1
Metropolitan Fire Brigade Fire/Emergency Response 9.6
New South Wales Fire Brigades Fire/Emergency Response 9.6
New South Wales Police Force State Police minimum of 5.11
Queensland Police Service State Police Varies
Victoria Police Police 9.4 Male, 6.1 Female Varies by age - values quoted are for under 18-29 [3]
British Army Military 10.2 Male, 8.1 Female Varies by age - values quoted are for under-30s
Ontario Provincial Police Provincial Police 6.5
Royal Air Force Military Male: 9.10 Female: 7.2 Changes with Sex and Age
Royal Navy Military Variable2
Royal Marines Military 11.0 Minimum level to achieve
Royal New Zealand Navy Military 7.1 Minimum Fitness Level
English and Welsh Police Police 5.4[4] General roles. Specialist roles require higher levels.
S. League Sports League 13.1 All players (with the exception of goalkeepers) must meet the minimum level or they will not be allowed to play
Canadian Forces Military 6.0 Male, 4.0 Female Varies by age - values quoted are for under-35 [5]

1 The physical testing performed by the New South Wales Police Force is based on achieving points. As a minimum, a student must achieve 44 out of a possible 110 points (accumulated from each physical test) in order to pass the physical testing day. The better a student performs in a physical test, the more points they achieve. As an example: reaching 5.1 under this system entitles the student to five points. A level of 6.1 is rewarded by ten points, 7.1, fifteen points and so on.

2 The Royal Navy has a varying level dependent on age and gender, and is only used a base level during the Admiralty Interview Board with the main test, a 2.4km run to be completed upon arrival at BRNC Dartmouth.

Format

The original beep test was first only available on audio tape format. A problem with the tape was that it could stretch over time, or the tape player did not play at a consistent speed, therefore making the timing between beeps inaccurate. On most versions of the tape there was a one minute recorded interval for calibrating the tape and tape player. The compact disc or MP3 format is now used predominantly, and does not have the above problems with calibration. Downloadable software is also used because it has no timing errors and accurate to 1/100th of a second. Laptop software, usually running on a personal memory stick can make the beep/bleep test easier to organise for teams/groups and also track player fitness over the season.

Calculations

These calculations were updated 17th Aug 09 and are based on the official multi-stage fitness test of the English National Coaching Foundation.

Level Shuttles Speed (km/h) Seconds per shuttle Total level time (s) Distance (m) Cumulative Distance (m) Cumulative Time (min and seconds)
1 7 8.0 9.0 63.00 140 140 1:03
2 8 9.0 8.00 64.00 160 300 2:07
3 8 9.5 7.58 60.63 160 460 3:08
4 9 10.0 7.20 64.80 180 640 4:12
5 9 10.5 6.86 61.71 180 820 5:14
6 10 11.0 6.55 65.50 200 1020 6:20
7 10 11.5 6.26 62.61 200 1220 7:22
8 11 12.0 6.00 66.00 220 1440 8:28
9 11 12.5 5.76 63.36 220 1660 9:31
10 11 13.0 5.54 60.92 220 1880 10:32
11 12 13.5 5.33 64.00 240 2120 11:36
12 12 14.0 5.14 61.71 240 2360 12:38
13 13 14.5 4.97 64.55 260 2620 13:43
14 13 15.0 4.80 62.40 260 2880 14:45
15 13 15.5 4.65 60.39 260 3140 15:46
16 14 16.0 4.50 63.00 280 3420 16:49
17 14 16.5 4.36 61.09 280 3700 17:50
18 15 17.0 4.24 63.53 300 4000 18:54
19 15 17.5 4.11 61.71 300 4300 19:56
20 16 18.0 4.00 64.00 320 4620 21:00
21 16 18.5 3.89 62.27 320 4940 22:03

The multi-stage fitness test incurs a total distance of 4940 meters in a time of twenty two minutes and three seconds (22:03).

References

  1. ^ Léger L., Mercier D., Gadoury C., Lambert J. The multistage 20 metre shuttle run test for aerobic fitness. J. Sports Sci. 6: 93-101, 1988
  2. ^ Tomkinson, GR, Léger, L., Olds, TS, Cazorla, G., Secular trends in the performance of children and adolescents (1980-2000): An analysis of 55 studies of the 20 m shuttle run in 11 countries. Sports Medicine, 33:285-300, 2003.
  3. ^ http://www.police.vic.gov.au/retrievemedia.asp?Media_ID=32833
  4. ^ http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/publications/home-office-circulars/circulars-2004/043-2004/621148?view=Binary
  5. ^ http://www.cflrs.forces.gc.ca/menu/ps/rec/index-eng.asp

See also

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