Posted in Player Development

yoyo fitness test

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The Yo-Yo determines the maximum aerobic endurance of a player. The test is derived from the Shuttle Run Test.

With this test the participants run back and forth across the gym or training pitch between two lines/markers set twenty meters apart until the players fails to reach the mark at the ‘beep’ on three consecutive laps or shuttles. After each individual shuttle the players have an active recovery period of 10 seconds. For this, the player jogs up-and-down two cones set 5 meters apart.

This makes the test very different from the standard shuttle run and is why coaches feel it is more representative for rugby.

The test is usually performed indoor and the speed of the participants is determined by the interval between the audio beeps played on a CD player, cassette or laptop.

Background information on the YoYo test

The starting speed is 10 km/h and each minute the speed is increased by decreasing the interval between the beeps, see the table below for ‘beep’ interval times for each one minute stage.

Yo-yo intermittent Recovery Test protocol 1

StageSpeed
(km/hr)		Shuttle bouts
(2x20m)		Split distanceAccumulated
distance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15		10,0
12,0
13,0
13,5
14,0
14,5
15,0
15,5
16,0
16,5
17,0
17,5
18,0
18,5
19,0		1
1
2
3
4
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8		40
40
80
120
160
320
320
320
320
320
320
320
320
320
320
40
80
160
280
440
760
1080
1400
1720
2040
2360
2680
3000
3320
3640

Players should pivot on the line at the moment of the beep (not quicker or slower). The test result is expressed in stages, you can score between 1/2 or 1 stage.

Yo-yo intermittent Recovery Test protocol 2

StageSpeed
(km/hr)		Shuttle bouts
(2x20m)		Split distanceAccumulated
distance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14		11,5
12,0
12,5
13,0
13,5
14,0
14,5
15,0
15,5
16,0
16,5
17,0
17,5
18,0
10
11
11
11
12
12
13
13
13
14
14
15
15
15		200
220
220
220
240
240
260
260
260
280
280
300
300
320
200
420
640
860
1100
1340
1600
1860
2120
2400
2680
2980
3280
3600

Considerations

Remember that the test results will have an impact on your Selection policy? Starting line-up? Training schedule? If you do not know why you test than do not test!

Also, test results need to be comparable with earlier or later test, be hesitant to run the test on the pitch when it is too soft.

Set the player targets? Than create an understanding how they should be able to improve. Just setting targets is not enough.

Practicalities

Timing is critical so it is important for the CD/MP3 or older audio cassette plays at the correct speed. We have found that CD players can be affected by pitch controls (set these at neural or off), MP3 playback speed can be affected by mismatch on CODEC sample rates. This is why we developed the Beeptest software that uses the computer clock for timing accuracy. The software helps you with administering the test, no need for notepads anymore just click on the player name and his score is recorded. You can set the software to Yoyo mode or the 20MSRT (or devise your own…)

Have a look at the website of Bitworks for more information.

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