The beep test is great because as long as you have a 20m space, the recording, and some grit, you too can determine your fitness within 20 minutes. I’ve used the beep test for over a decade with a range of athletes and general population clients to get an idea of their cardiovascular fitness. Furthermore, individuals looking to get a snapshot of where their fitness is at can use this test with very little equipment and set up and they can perform it on their own.
(3) reasoned that the 20m Shuttle Run test is an ideal field test because judgment about pace is eliminated by using audio signals, the incremental test ensures a gradual rise in work rate and heart rate, the test is highly reliable (r = 0.975), and large numbers of participants can be tested at a time. A VO2max test can cost upwards of $150-250 in most Canadian cities, and will set you back an hour of laboratory time, the beep test was developed to be used as a convenient field-based physiological testing alternative. The 20m shuttle run, also known as the beep test, is validated and reliable test which is predictive of the maximal rate of oxygen consumption (VO2max), and is considered as a gold standard field test for the measurement of aerobic fitness (1,2).
