The Beep Test And Soccer Fitness
Soccer or football is a game loved by millions around the world. Soccer players are required to have a good level of Vo2max fitness in order to be effective in a competitive playing environment. Beep test training can help create this.
The beep test fitness test provides players and coaches with a means of testing and measuring the effectiveness of training aimed at improving players Vo2max.
The beep test is also known by the names Bleep Test, Multistage Fitness Tests and less commonly, the yo-yo test. The beep test is performed, by players from a large range of sporting codes, as a method of testing fitness.
The nature of soccer demands that players have the cardiovascular fitness endurance to be able to move around the field continually, at times sprinting, without fatiguing to the point where other skills are affected.
Due to the similar movement patterns required during the beep test fitness test when compared with the demands on soccer players during games, the beep test provides an accurate indication of a player’s capacity to perform at the desired level without the onset of fatigue.
If a soccer player was to increase their Vo2max, through a properly structured beep test fitness training program, the benefits would be well worth the effort required to gain that increase.
A higher tolerance to lactic acid build up would mean soccer players could run faster for long before fatiguing. This could mean the difference between getting to a free or uncontrolled ball before an opposing player when both players are running hard to gain possession.
Not only is the benefit of increased vo2max, obtained from beep test training, that players may out run opposing players, but, a high cardiovascular fitness endurance level results in ball skills being maintained for longer in to the match.
Often ball skill errors are higher towards the end of a soccer match due to the onset of cardiovascular fatigue. Beep test fitness training provides a higher level of Vo2max, a higher level of lactic acid resilience and a greater level of cardiovascular fitness. All of these fitness attributes combine to maintain a high level of fine motor skills, which makes the player more effective and more valuable to the team.
Performing the beep test during soccer training sessions is also a great way to build teamwork and support amongst players and helps to hold individual players accountable, in front of their peers, for the management of their own cardiovascular fitness standards.
All soccer players should incorporate a quality beep test fitness training program in their overall fitness building strategy.