This time of year the athletes are required to perform a bleep test to see how they have improved since the last time. This will be used as a starting point to produce a full needs analysis and scheme of work.

What is a Bleep Test?

The multi-stage fitness test, also known as the bleep test, pacer test, Leger-test or 20-m shuttle run test

The Stages involved

(Léger et al.,1988).

Rules

The test involves running continuously between two points that are 20 m apart from side to side. These runs are synchronized with a pre-recorded audio tape, CD or laptop software, which plays beeps at set intervals. As the test proceeds, the interval between each successive beep reduces, forcing the athlete to increase their speed over the course of the test, until it is impossible to keep in sync with the recording (or, in rare occasions, if the athlete completes the test). Many people who test people using the Multi-stage fitness test allow one level to beep before the person makes the line, but if the person being tested does not make the next interval then the most recent level they completed is their final score. 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 8.5 km/h, increasing by 0.5 km/h with each level thereafter. The progression from one level to the next is signaled by 3 quick beeps. The highest level attained before failing to keep up is recorded as the score for that test.

Reference

Léger, L.A.; Mercier, D.; Gadoury, C.; Lambert, J. (1988). “The multistage 20 metre shuttle run test for aerobic fitness”. J Sports Sci 6 (2): 93–101