Monday, May 10, 2010

The Beep Test - [Beep]ing Hard!

As part of my studies for a certificate 3 in fitness, yesterday our lecturers put us through our paces, performing all sorts of tests that we would expect to use on clients - flexibility, power, strength, etc. One of the tests we got to do was a beep test, which I was looking forward to, as it's something we hear about all the time with Aussie Rules draftees. Player x gets result y on the beep test, which is supposed to be exciting and we all go "ooh" or "aaah" in wonder at the endurance prowess of our club's next superstar. None of us generally have a clue what it means though!

Well now I do. And my score was 13.13. So this is where you're supposed to go "oooh" or "wow" or "is that all!". I would probably expect a "huh?" though. Well as it turns out, it's a good indicator of your VO2 Max, and mine is 60.7. Which I think is a load of horse[beep].

According to that, I should be able to complete a marathon in 2:41:46. Ha! I am aiming for 3:30, but will be happy if I can push that to about 3:15. And even more laughingly, I should be able to run a half marathon in 1:17. Double ha! My best time (6 months ago) was 1:41. I know I could beat that comfortably now, but by 24 minutes? What are you smoking?

So why the disparity? Am I mentally weak? Or mentally strong but physically weak? Has anyone else had their VO2 max tested, and does it measure up to their race times? According to this page, VO2 max is only an indicator of potential, which seems more realistic to me than claiming it as an accurate guide. So now I know I should in theory be able to run sub 3 hours. If nothing else, it's a goal to aim for. Now for more training. Barman, bring me another!

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