Student Reflection Journal Sample - Grade C
Student's name has been removed for confidentiality.
The multi stage fitness test or as it is better known as “beep test” is used by
many organisations to estimate the VO2 max of their subjects. What is the
theory behind it? (8 marks)
The theory behind this beep test is that it is the multistage fitness test also known as
the beep test is used by sports coaches and trainers to estimate an athlete’s VO2
max (maximum oxygen uptake). This test also measures cardiovascular fitness of an
athlete, which is one of the all-important “components of fitness”. The rules of the
tests is that it involves running continuously between two points that are 20m apart
from side to side. These runs are synchronized with certain instruments and
softwares which plays beeps at set intervals. As the test proceeds, the interval
between each successive beep reduces, forcing the athlete to increase their speed
over the course of the test, until it is impossible to keep in sync with the recording (or,
in rare occasions, if the athlete completes the test). The recording is typically
structured into 21 'levels', each of which lasts around 62 seconds. 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 rapid beeps. The highest level attained before failing to
keep up is recorded as the score for that test. This beep test is used for the multi
stage fitness test extended far and wide, not just from sporting organizations but into
various operational organizations as well. This is as a measure of basic fitness. It
allows these organizations to determine whether an employee (or potential employee)
possesses a degree of fitness to be able to perform his or her duties.