Multi-stage fitness test

The multi-stage fitness test, also known as the bleep test, beep test, pacer test, Leger-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 pacer test is "progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance test ". The test is especially useful for players of sports like rugby, football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, hurling, hockey, netball, handball, tennis, squash, and fitness testing in schools and colleges plus many other sports; employed by many international sporting teams as an accurate test of cardiovascular fitness, one of the more important components of Fitness. The test was created by Luc Leger, University of Montreal published in 1983, and was re-published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 1988 in its present form with 1 min stages under the name "Multistage 20-m shuttle run test for aerobic fitness". Result equivalences between slightly modified versions are well explained by Tomkinson et al. in 2003.

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 decreases, 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.

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. Digital audio formats are now used predominantly. Calibration checks are still required on the CD/MP3 due to some tone controls affecting the playback speed.

Inexpensive PC Beep Test Software is very popular with the advantage of no timing errors/accurate to 1/100th of a second, as used by the top team coaches. This generally runs on a Laptop, making the beep/bleep test easier to organise for teams/groups and also tracks player fitness over the season.

These calculations were updated 17 Aug 2009 and are based on the official Leger and Lambert "A Maximal Multi-Stage 20m Shuttle Run Test to predict VO2 Max".