Multi-stage fitness test
The multi-stage fitness test, also known as the bleep test, beep test, pacer test, Leger-test or 20-m shuttle run test, is a series of stages that have different tasks sometimes used by sports coaches and trainers to estimate an athlete's VO2 max (maximum oxygen uptake).The pacer test is "progressive aerobic cardiovascular endurance test". The test is especially useful for players of sports such as rugby, football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, hurling, hockey, netball, handball, tennis, squash, and fitness testing in schools and colleges plus many other sports; employed by many international sporting teams as an accurate test of cardiovascular fitness, one of the more important components of Fitness. The test was created in 1982 by Luc Léger, University of Montreal and published in 1983 with a starting speed of 8 km/h and stages of 2 min duration. The test was re-published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 1988 in its present form with a starting speed of 8.5 km/h and 1 min stages under the name "The multistage 20 metre shuttle run test for aerobic fitness". Result equivalences between slightly modified versions are well explained by Tomkinson et al. in 2003.
Annual Fitness Test
In the British Army, the Annual Fitness Test is designed to assess soldiers' lower and upper body strength and endurance. The test was formerly known as the Combat Fitness Test – and is still colloquially known by soldiers as the CFT. The test involves a fast-paced march at fifteeen minutes per mile (brisk walking pace), in full combat gear including the SA80 personal weapon, across rough terrain and roads. The distance covered and the exact weight of the equipment carried depends upon the type of unit, but is usually six or eight miles and 15 kg to 25 kg dependent on service or arm.
Typically, British Army Infantry units will carry the most weight (25 kg). Combat Support Arms (Royal Engineers, Royal Corps of Signals, and Royal Artillery) carry a lower amount of weight (20 kg). Combat Service Support Arms such as the Army Medical Services, Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and Adjutant General's Corps carry the lowest (15 kg). Female soldiers carry the same weight as their male counterparts, determined by their cap badge.
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