Multi-stage fitness test
The beep test, also known as the PACER test or PACER, the 20 m Shuttle Run Test, or the multi-stage fitness test, is a running test used to estimate an athlete's aerobic capacity. In the test, athletes must run from one line to another before a timed beep. Athletes must continue running back and forth, each time reaching the line before the next beep. Once one can no longer run, the test is over and the number of laps is recorded. As the test continues, the time between beeps gets shorter.
The test is used by sporting organizations around the world along with schools, militaries, and others interested in gauging one's cardiovascular endurance, an important component of overall physical fitness.. The multi-stage fitness test is part of the most applied health-related fitness test batteries for children and adolescents, such as Eurofit, Alpha-fit, FitnessGram, PREFIT and ASSOFTB.
The multi-stage fitness test was first described by Luc Léger with the original 1-minute protocol, which starts at a speed of 8.5 km/h, and increases by 0.5 km/h each minute. Other variations of the test have also been developed, where the protocol starts at a speed of 8.0 km/h and with either 1 or 2-minute stages, but the original protocol is nevertheless recommended. The test appears to encourage maximal effort by children and the prediction of aerobic capacity from its results is valid for overweight and obese children, as well as those of normal weight.
In the United States, the President's Council on Youth Fitness now recommends schools use the PACER test instead of distance based runs like the mile. Reasons for this include...
- The beeps help young athletes develop a sense of taste
- There is no embarrassment of having everyone wait for the slowest person to finish or people not finishing at all
- Inexperienced runners often complete a race and still have energy left. With the PACER, runners continue until they have no energy remaining, ensuring scores reflect cardiovascular fitness over pacing abilities.
- Even if the distance ultimately completed is similar, psychological studies indicate people find it less daunting to be told to "run as much as you can" as opposed to "run ___ distance." Making fitness more appealing is important because, after graduation, leading a healthy lifestyle ultimately becomes a matter of personal choice.
Correlated measures
= VO2max / 3.5
Rules
The test involves running continuously between two points that are 20 m apart from side to side. The runs are synchronized with a pre-recorded audio tape, CD or computer software, which plays beeps at set intervals. As the test proceeds, the interval between each successive beep decreases, forcing the athletes to increase their speed over the course of the test until it is impossible to keep in sync with the recording. Many people who test people using the multi-stage fitness test allow one level to beep before the person makes the line, but some middle and grade schools allow two missed laps. If the person being tested does not make the next interval, the most recent level they completed is their final score.The recording is typically structured into 21 levels, each lasting around 62 s. 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 initially available on audio tape format. A problem with the tape was that it could stretch over time, or the tape player would play at inconsistent speed, making the timing between beeps inaccurate. Most versions of the tape had a one-minute recorded interval for calibrating the tape and tape player. Digital audio formats replaced the tapes, but checks were still required on the CD/player due to some tone controls possibly affecting the playback speed.Inexpensive beep test software is now popular due to modern electronic devices having excellent and consistent timing accuracy. The software generally runs on a portable electronic computer such as a tablet, phone or laptop, making the test easy to organise for teams, and also tracks player fitness over a season. The contemporary accepted format starts at 8.5 km/h with levels of 1 minute as described in Leger's and Lambert's paper of 1988. A highly convenient and comprehensive software, called BeepShuttle Junior has recently been created in order to improve the administration of the test, as well as the evaluation of its results. The software was presented at the 12th FIEP European Congress in Luxembourg in September 2017, and then published in the Journal of Advanced Sport Technology, in 2018. BeepShuttle Junior provides immediate assessment of cardiorespiratory fitness by using audio and visual signals, and calculates and assesses results of children and adolescents in accordance with comprehensive international norms. In addition, the software exports its results in files, which are compatible with Excel for further analyses, and can be applied for health and fitness screening, profiling, monitoring and surveillance in schools and sports clubs.
Some versions of the test include background music. Coaches may also play their own music as the beeps are going.
| Level | Laps | Cumulative laps | Speed | Speed | Lap time | Level time | Level distance | Cumulative distance | Cumulative time |
| 1 | 7 | 7 | 8.5 | 5.3 | 8.47 | 67.76 | 140 | 140 | 1:08 |
| 2 | 8 | 15 | 9.0 | 5.6 | 8.00 | 64.00 | 160 | 300 | 2:12 |
| 3 | 8 | 23 | 9.5 | 5.9 | 7.58 | 60.63 | 160 | 460 | 3:12 |
| 4 | 9 | 32 | 10.0 | 6.2 | 7.20 | 64.80 | 180 | 640 | 4:17 |
| 5 | 9 | 41 | 10.5 | 6.5 | 6.86 | 61.71 | 180 | 800 | 5:19 |
| 6 | 10 | 51 | 11.0 | 6.8 | 6.55 | 65.45 | 200 | 1020 | 6:24 |
| 7 | 10 | 61 | 11.5 | 7.1 | 6.26 | 62.61 | 200 | 1220 | 7:27 |
| 8 | 11 | 72 | 12.0 | 7.5 | 6.00 | 66.00 | 220 | 1440 | 8:33 |
| 9 | 11 | 83 | 12.5 | 7.8 | 5.76 | 63.36 | 220 | 1660 | 9:36 |
| 10 | 11 | 94 | 13.0 | 8.1 | 5.54 | 60.92 | 220 | 1880 | 10:37 |
| 11 | 12 | 106 | 13.5 | 8.4 | 5.33 | 64.00 | 240 | 2120 | 11:41 |
| 12 | 12 | 118 | 14.0 | 8.7 | 5.14 | 61.71 | 240 | 2360 | 12:43 |
| 13 | 13 | 131 | 14.5 | 9.0 | 4.97 | 64.55 | 260 | 2620 | 13:48 |
| 14 | 13 | 144 | 15.0 | 9.3 | 4.80 | 62.40 | 260 | 2880 | 14:50 |
| 15 | 13 | 157 | 15.5 | 9.6 | 4.65 | 60.39 | 260 | 3140 | 15:50 |
| 16 | 14 | 171 | 16.0 | 9.9 | 4.50 | 63.00 | 280 | 3420 | 16:53 |
| 17 | 14 | 185 | 16.5 | 10.3 | 4.36 | 61.09 | 280 | 3700 | 17:54 |
| 18 | 15 | 200 | 17.0 | 10.6 | 4.24 | 63.53 | 300 | 4000 | 18:58 |
| 19 | 15 | 215 | 17.5 | 10.9 | 4.11 | 61.71 | 300 | 4300 | 20:00 |
| 20 | 16 | 231 | 18.0 | 11.2 | 4.00 | 64.00 | 320 | 4620 | 21:04 |
| 21 | 16 | 247 | 18.5 | 11.5 | 3.89 | 62.27 | 320 | 4940 | 22:06 |
Users
World record
Score
Participation
The Guinness World Record for the largest group beep test is held by Army Foundation College, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire where 941 men and women took part.In popular culture
The introductory explanation of one multi-stage fitness test, the FitnessGram PACER test, has been widely spread as a copypasta, meme and in other comedic ways due to the test's modern use in schools, primarily in physical education classes."The FitnessGram™ PACER Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20-meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, start."
Episode 12 of the Australian children's comedy show Little Lunch is called 'The Beep Test'. The plot revolves around the school students' reactions to participating in the multi-stage fitness test.