Fitness testing and assessment is an important part of training. There are many different ways of testing your fitness and strength, with some better than others. The dreaded bleep test at school is a classic example of a fitness test and is still used in policing today. Nowadays, chances are your smart watch can track your fitness for you, with many of the newer Garmin watches providing VO2 max testing as well as lactate threshold testing. But you don't need an expensive watch to track your fitness! We've put together some of the best fitness assessments around, why not give one a try and see if you're where you want to be?

VO2 Max

The VO2 Max test is a very popular fitness test among runners and triathletes as it is a universal indication of cardiovascular fitness. VO2 max is a rating of your body’s ability to consume oxygen. This is affected by factors such as how adapted your muscles are to exercise and how much blood your heart can pump.

This is the classic scene that you have probably seen in films and TV shows many times.The most accurate VO2 max tests take place in laboratories, whereby participants are given an oxygen mask to wear while running on a treadmill with their effort getting progressively more intense. Oxygen intake is monitored and VO2 max is the point at which oxygen uptake stops increasing. The units of oxygen are then measured per kg of bodyweight and a VO2 max score is calculated.

It is possible to do a VO2 Max test yourself outside of a laboratory. You can do this at the gym on a regular treadmill, all you will need is a stopwatch and a calculator. 

How To Perform A VO2 Max Test

• Warm up on the treadmill for 10 minutes by walking and jogging at a gentle speed.
• The test begins at a speed of 8km/h (5mph) and an incline of 0%.
• Start the stopwatch and begin jogging.
• After 3 minutes, adjust the treadmill incline to 2.5%, and then keep increasing by 2.5% every 2 minutes thereafter.
• When you are unable to continue, the test stops.
• Make a note of your time.
• Once you have your time, use the following equation to calculate your VO2 Max:

VO2 Max = (Time x 1.444) + 14.99

Time is calculated in minutes and fractions of minutes, so for example, 13 minutes and 15 seconds would be 13.25 minutes, 13 minutes and 30 seconds would be 13.5 minutes and so on.

Whilst many new smart watches provide VO2 max readings, these are only estimates, as they don’t take into account the measure of ventilation, oxygen and carbon dioxide concentration of the inhaled and exhaled air. While they may be a useful guess, don’t get caught up by the value you’ve been given.

What Does Your VO2 Max Score Mean?

Once you have your score, you'll want to know what it actually means. Use the table below to see how your score rates.

Female

Age	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent	Superior
13-19	<25	25 - 30	31 - 34	35 - 38	39 - 41	>41
20-29	<24	24 - 28	29 - 32	33 - 36	37 - 41	>41
30-39	<23	23 - 27	28 - 31	32 - 36	37 - 40	>40
40-49	<21	21 - 24	25 - 28	29 - 32	33 - 36	>36
50-59	<20	20 - 22	23 - 26	27 - 31	32 - 35	>35
60+	<17	17 - 19	20 - 24	25 - 29	30 - 31	>31

 

Male

Age	Very Poor	Poor	Fair	Good	Excellent	Superior
13-19	<35	35 - 37	38 - 44	45 - 50	51 - 55	>55
20-29	<33	33 - 35	36 - 41	42 - 45	46 - 52	>52
30-39	<31	31 - 34	35 - 40	41 - 44	45 - 49	>49
40-49	<30	30 - 32	33 - 38	39 - 42	43 - 47	>48
50-59	<26	26 - 30	31 - 35	36 - 40	41 - 45	>45
60+	<20	20 - 25	26 - 31	32 - 35	36 - 44	>44

 

As you can see, the higher the reading, the better.

Top VO2 Max Scores

These athletes achieved the highest VO2 Max scores in the world. How does yours compare?

Athlete	Gender	Sport/Event	VO2 max (ml/kg/min)
Espen Harald Bjerke	Male	Cross Country Skiing	96.0
Bjorn Daehlie	Male	Cross Country Skiing	96.0
Greg LeMond	Male	Cycling	92.5
Matt Carpenter	Male	Marathon Runner	92.0
Tore Ruud Hofstad	Male	Cross Country Skiing	92.0
Harri Kirvesniem	Male	Cross Country Skiing	91.0
Miguel Indurain	Male	Cycling	88.0
Marius Bakken	Male	5K Runner	87.4
Dave Bedford	Male	10K Runner	85.0
John Ngugi	Male	Cross Country Runner	85.0
Greta Waitz	Female	Marathon runner	73.5
Ingrid Kristiansen	Female	Marathon Runner	71.2
Rosa Mota	Female	Marathon Runner	67.2

Sit and Reach

The sit and reach test uses flexibility as a basis for judging your level of fitness. The test measures the flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings. Tightness in this area is associated with lumbar lordosis, forward pelvic tilt, and lower back pain.

How To Perform A Sit and Reach Test

• Warm up for 10 minutes by doing dynamic stretches.
• You will need a box, a marker, and a ruler/tape measure.
• Sit with your legs outstretched and your feet flat against the front of the box.
• Place the marker (it can be anything, a rubber is probably best) on top of the box at the edge closest to you.
• Keeping your legs dead straight, lean forwards and push the marker along the box as far as you can using your fingertips.
• Once you have pushed the marker, measure how far it went.

What Does Your Sit and Reach Score Mean?

Rating	Males (cm)	Females (cm)
Excellent	>70	>60
Very good	61-70	51-60
Above average	51-60	41-50
Average	41-50	31-40
Below average	31-40	21-30
Poor	21-30	11-20
Very Poor	<21	<11

The Vertical Jump Test

The vertical jump is a measure of fitness through explosive power in the legs. The test is really simple to complete, to set up all you need is a wall and a tape measure. Start by getting the participant to stand next to the wall and stretch their closest hand up as far as they can and make a mark of this point. This is the standing height. The participant then leaps as high as they can in the air and touches the wall at the highest point of their jump. The distance from the start point to the highest point is then measure as your score. Take the test 3 times and take an average for the most accurate results.

What Does Your Vertical Jump Score Mean?

Rating	Males (height in cm)	Females (height in cm)
Excellent	>70	>60
Very good	61-70	51-60
Above average	51-60	41-50
Average	41-50	31-40
Below average	31-40	21-30
Poor	21-30	11-20
Very poor	<21	<11

Cooper Run Test

The Cooper run test is one of the most popular fitness tests used to determine aerobic endurance. It is also used as part of military training, with different scores being required to make the different role entry requirements. The test lasts just 12 minutes and participants are required to run as far as they can for the entire duration. The test can also be used to measure VO2 max using several equations (in ml/kg/min) from the distance score (a formula for either kms or miles):

VO2 max = (35.97 x miles) - 11.29

VO2 max = (22.35 x kilometers) - 11.29

What Does Your Cooper Run Score Mean?

Age	Very Good (metres)	Good (metres)	Average (metres)	Bad (metres)	Very Bad (metres)
13-14	Male: 2700m + Female:2000m+	2400-2700 1900-2000	2200-2399 1600-1899	2100-2199 1500-1599	2100- 1500-
15-16	Male: 2800+ Female: 2100+	2500-2800 2000-2100	2300-2499 1600-1899	2200-2289 1500-1599	2200 1600
17-20	Male: 3000+ Female: 2300+	2700-3000 2100-2300	2500-2699 1800-2099	2300-2499 1700-1799	2300- 1700-
20-29	Male: 2800 + Female: 2700+	2400-2800 2200-2700	2200-2399 1800-2199	1600-2199 1500-1799	1600- 1500-
30-39	Male: 2700+ Female: 2500+	2300-2700 2000-2500	1900-2299 1700-1999	1500-1899 1400-1699	1500- 1400-
40-49	Male: 2500+ Female: 2300+	2100-2500 1900-2300	1700-2099 1500-1899	1400-1699 1200-1499	1400- 1200-
50+	Male: 2400 + Female: 2200 +	2000-2400 1700-2200	1600-1999 1400-1699	1300-1599 1100-1399	1300- 1100

 

The Bleep Test

The bleep test is a classic and is often used in school lessons. The test involves 20m shuttle runs from two marked points. The aim is to reach the cone before you hear the bleep. As the test continues, the frequency of the bleeps increases, with the time between getting shorter and shorter. The test requires a recording of the bleep and the score is then measured depending on how many rounds you last.

What Does Your Bleep Test Score Mean?

	men	women
excellent	> 13	> 12
very good	11 - 13	10 - 12
good	9 - 11	8 - 10
average	7 - 9	6 - 8
poor	5 - 7	4 - 6
very poor	< 5	< 4

 

Whichever test you decide to do, don’t just do it once and leave it at that. In six weeks time, hit it again, and see if your score has improved. Fitness tests are a great way of monitoring your progress and seeing if your training is actually working. Fitness tests make goals measurable and give you a benchmark to aim for. Do you have any other fitness tests that you enjoy doing to measure your fitness?