VO2MaxCalc uses the multi-stage fitness test, also known as the bleep test, beep test, pacer test, Leger-test or 20-m shuttle run test, is used by sports coaches and trainers to estimate an athlete's VO2 Max (maximum oxygen uptake). The test is especially useful for players of sports like Squash, rugby, soccer, hockey, netball handball tennis and many other sports; employed by many international sporting teams as an accurate test of Cardiovascular fitness, one of the all-important "Components of Fitness". This test is also part of the FITNESSGRAM physical fitness test to measure cardiorespiratory fitness. The test was created by Luc Leger, University of Montreal published in 1983, "A Maximal Multistage 20m Shuttle Run Test to predict VO2 Max", and was re-published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology in 1988 in its present form with 1 min stages under the name "Multistage 20-m shuttle run test for aerobic fitness"


Rules
The test involves running continuously between two points that are 20 m apart from side to side. These runs are synchronized with an audible beep 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.

Uses
Uses for the multi-stage fitness test extend far and wide, not just from sporting organizations but into various operational organizations as well, as a measure of basic fitness. It allows the organization to determine whether an employee (or potential employee) possesses a degree of fitness to be able to perform his or her duties. Examples of this include police officers, community support officers, fire fighters or soldiers. As a result, to be deemed sufficiently able to perform such duties, the multi-stage fitness test is used to determine whether an individual is capable of performing such duties (or training for those duties) based on what level they achieve. This test is used in physical education classes to determine whether a student is in their "healthy fitness zone" for cardiorespiratory health.
Various Association Football (Soccer) organizations also use it for evaluating players. There it is supposed to indicate how a player performs when tired. Ironically, there is no basis for this since the muscle type (see Fast and Slow Twitch muscles) is highly indicative of whether or not the test is useful. For people with predominantly slow twitch muscles the results of this test are the least useful. Another criticism for using this test is that it doesn't follow that soccer is not all constant running nor does the level of running constantly increase.
Calculations
These calculations were updated 17th Aug 09 and are based on the official Leger and Lambert (1) "A Maximal Multi-Stage 20m Shuttle Run Test to predict VO2 Max".

The multi-stage fitness test incurs a total distance of 4940 meters in a time of twenty two minutes and three seconds (22:03). Please note, there are a few errors in this table compared to the original one minute MSFT as published by Leger & Lambert [1], mainly in the round-ups on stage 8 & 20 these should be exactly one minute as originally designed.