Endurance & conditioning

Beep Test (Multi-Stage Fitness Test) test protocol

20-metre continuous shuttle runs at progressively increasing pace, dictated by audio beeps — the most widely used continuous aerobic field test.

Last updated May 20, 2026

What it measures

Continuous aerobic capacity (VO2max). Less sport-specific than the Yo-Yo IR1 for intermittent sports, but well-validated and widely used across military and field-sport selection.

Equipment

  • Two cone-marked lines 20 m apart
  • Official multi-stage fitness test audio (Léger / 'beep test')
  • Loudspeaker

Protocol

  1. Athletes line up behind the start line.
  2. On the first beep, athletes run to the far 20 m line and arrive before the next beep. Continue back and forth.
  3. Speed increases each minute (each 'level'). Multiple shuttles per level.
  4. If the athlete arrives late one beep, they get one warning. Two consecutive late arrivals end their test.
  5. Record the level and shuttle of the last fully completed shuttle (e.g. 'Level 12.3').

Scoring

Reported as level and shuttle (e.g. '12.5'). Convertible to estimated VO2max using the Léger equation. Performance House stores both the raw level/shuttle and the VO2max estimate.

Typical ranges

Elite male soccer: levels 13.5–15. NCAA male soccer: 12–14. NCAA women's soccer: 10–12. High-school field-sport athletes: 9–12.

References

  • Léger LA, Lambert J (1982). A maximal multistage 20-m shuttle run test to predict VO2max. Eur J Appl Physiol.

Use this test in Performance House

Performance House supports Beep Test (Multi-Stage Fitness Test) as a built-in test metric — log results from any device, see longitudinal trends, and contribute the result to the athlete's Performance Index automatically. Free for up to 5 athletes on the Starter plan.

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