Quick Facts About The Bleep Test




by Gavin McShane Calloway


First developed by Leger and Lambert in 1982, the bleep test has been widely used by physical trainers and coaches in different countries all over the world. Fair enough, the examination tool has undergone a lot of transformations over the years, and had been known by several names as multi-stage fitness, yo-yo and shuttle run test, but the main purpose remains the same. It is used to quantify the maximum oxygen uptake or VO2 of its subjects.

By maximum oxygen uptake, it actually means the amount of oxygen a human body can transfer and use during an activity with progressive demands. For many establishments, it is a method of determining whether professionals like policemen, fire fighter and army members are capable of doing their jobs efficiently. It is also used to establish baseline information on the fitness levels of physical education student as well as sports players.

The main advantage of this tool is it doesn't cost a lot due to the simplicity of the materials it needs. With a flat surface indoor or outdoor, a measuring tape that can reach 20 meters, marking cones, a recording sheet, and a beep audio file or CD, the exercise could already commence.

The cones would have to be set at 20 meters apart in two straight lines using a well-calibrated measuring tape. The marks for the lines should be well established as individuals who are tested are going to use them significantly during the examination. Several people can take the bleep test at the same time, starting in one line across the other. Once they hear the beep from the CD, they would have to run to the other side and stay there until they hear another beep.

The running should take place only when a beep is heard. The intervals between the sounds can be very wide at the beginning of the activity but it will eventually decrease minute after minute. The purpose of which is to let the subjects keep up with the speed. Even if they hear the beep at the middle of the line, they still have to complete running the 20-meter distance before returning to the other side to catch up.

In the event that a subject cannot endure to finish running the distance for two consecutive turns, he would have to stop the test and have his VO2 computed. The algorithms that will serve the basis for the calculation would really depend on the standards indicated in the country or in the recording sheet. The correctness of the test would depend also on how well the subject and the test administrator followed the instructions.

Factors may affect the overall performance of subjects such running efficiency, anaerobic capacity and environmental conditions. People who have had enough practice may tend to score more highly than those that didn't. Moreover, the drive to do the exercise would also affect the results as some individuals may just not feel like performing well on a particular day. Thus, outcomes can sometimes be subjective.

The bleep test is undoubtedly a physically stressful activity; thus, it should only be performed by people who are fit enough. For disabled and older individuals, finding out about their physical condition may be done in other ways. The quantitative results of people's VO2 would change depending on the location and the standards used; hence, this should not be treated as fixed.




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