Beep test levels for police
what every level really means

The beep test, properly the 20 m multistage fitness test or shuttle run, was published by Luc Léger and colleagues in 1988. You run back and forth between two lines 20 m apart, reaching each line before the next beep. The beeps get closer together every minute or so, until you can't keep up.

It's popular with police because it needs no equipment beyond a 20 m strip and a recording, tests many people at once, and mimics the stop-start running of foot pursuits. It measures aerobic fitness, but turning, pacing and willingness to hurt all affect the result. Every force except SA Police uses it; the national fitness test guide covers the other events.

Read across a row to see what a level asks of you. At level 5 you have 6.86 seconds to cover each 20 m; at level 7, 6.26 seconds. That's less than half a second difference per shuttle, but over 10 shuttles with a turn every time, it's the difference between comfortable and finished.

Each new level only shaves a fraction of a second off each shuttle. It's the accumulation that beats you.

A beep test result is always a level and a shuttle within that level. Forces write it differently, which causes real confusion online. This is how each force's published minimum should be read.

The leading zero in "7.01" exists because levels have up to 16 shuttles in the standard table: "7.10" would be shuttle 10, not shuttle 1. Your score is the last shuttle you completed on time. In Queensland, if you fail to reach the line after your warnings, your score is your last successfully completed shuttle.

The spread is larger than it looks. Victoria's minimum, the lowest, is 660 m in 4:16; NSW's is 1,040 m in 6:22. That's 380 m more running, the last of it at 11.5 km/h rather than 10.5 km/h. Each force's own page has the rest of its test: NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

Thinking in minutes helps you plan training. If your force's minimum is at level 7, you need to be able to keep running, with a turn every few seconds, for over seven minutes, and the last minute of it is the fastest.

Two things stand out. First, the test is short. Even level 10 is reached in about ten minutes, so this is a test of aerobic power, not endurance. Second, distance per level rises steadily, from 140 m at level 1 to 220 m at level 10, because more shuttles fit into each minute as you speed up.

VO2 max is the maximum rate your body can use oxygen, measured in millilitres per kilogram of bodyweight per minute. Measuring it properly needs a lab. Léger's 1988 paper gave an equation to estimate it from the speed reached in the shuttle run. It was built for children and adolescents, and the authors report that adults can use it with age held at 18 (correlation r = 0.90 in 77 men and women aged 18 to 50).

Use these numbers as context, not a target. No Australian force sets a VO2 max standard; they set beep test levels. Two people with the same VO2 max can score differently because of turning skill, pacing and body weight, which is exactly why practising the test itself works so well.

The beep test punishes two things: speed you can't sustain, and energy lost on turns. By the end of level 7 you have run 61 shuttles and turned 60 times. Each turn means braking from 11.5 km/h to zero and accelerating again, so your average running speed between turns has to be higher than the level speed.

Practising turns is the cheapest improvement available. Applicants who only train on roads or treadmills often have the fitness for their target level but lose it at the lines.

This plan is for a healthy adult who currently stops around level 5 and can run continuously for 20 minutes. Level 7, shuttle 5 is 1,120 m in 6:47, compared with 660 m in 4:16 to start level 5. That's 460 m and about 2.5 more minutes of running, the hardest of it at 11.5 km/h.

1. 1

   Week 1: baseline

   Test + 3 runs

   Full beep test on day 1, on a surface like your test venue. Then: one easy 25-minute run, one turns session (10 × 20 m shuttles at an easy pace, focusing on the stop and turn), two short strength sessions.

2. 2

   Week 2: first intervals

   Intervals at level 5

   Interval session: using the beep test audio, start at level 4 and run to level 5, rest 2 minutes, repeat 4 times. Easy run 30 minutes. Turns session with 12 shuttles. Strength twice.

3. 3

   Week 3: build

   4 repeats

   Intervals: start at level 5 and run until you miss the line, rest 2 minutes, 4 repeats. Easy run 30–35 minutes with 4 × 20-second strides at the end. Turns and short shuttles.

4. 4

   Week 4: re-test

   Re-test

   Lighter first half of the week, then a full beep test. Most people have gained a few shuttles to a level here. Note where you stopped and why: legs, breathing or turns.

5. 5

   Week 5: raise the speed

   Intervals at level 6

   Intervals start at level 6: run until you miss, rest 2 minutes, 5 repeats. Easy run up to 40 minutes. Add a short tempo run (10 minutes at a comfortably hard pace) to the turns session.

6. 6

   Week 6: hardest week

   Peak load

   Intervals start at level 6, 5–6 repeats. A second, shorter interval session of 6 × 1 minute at level 7 pace on a 20 m strip. Easy run 40 minutes. Strength once.

7. 7

   Week 7: sharpen

   Intervals at level 7

   Intervals start at level 7: run until you miss, rest 2–3 minutes, 4 repeats. Easy run 30 minutes. One full practice test at the end of the week if you feel fresh.

8. 8

   Week 8: taper and test

   Taper

   Two short sessions only: 3 efforts starting at level 6, and an easy 20-minute run with strides. Nothing hard in the 48 hours before your test.

Good technique can be worth half a level or more for an applicant who has never practised. Here's what to work on.

Check your force's rules. Queensland requires you to come to a complete stop and turn, not run a small semi-circle, and you can't leave the line before the beep. It allows two warnings for missing the line, and a successful catch-up resets them. The AFP allows a maximum of two warnings in its single attempt. Other forces brief their own rules on the day.

A practice result is only useful if it's honest. Measure 20 m exactly with a tape, not by pacing it out, and use a flat, non-slip surface: a basketball court, a dry grass oval or a quiet car park. Have a friend watch the lines and count your shuttles.

1. 1

   Set up

   5 minutes

   Mark two lines exactly 20 m apart with tape or cones, and leave room to slow down behind each line.

2. 2

   Warm up

   10 minutes

   Ten minutes of easy jogging, leg swings and a few practice turns at increasing speed.

3. 3

   Run from level 1

   Test

   Start the audio at level 1, stay on the beeps, and go until you miss the line twice in a row.

4. 4

   Record it

   Log

   Write down the last shuttle you completed on time, the surface, the temperature and how you felt. Compare like with like next time.

Plateaus are normal. If you've been stuck on the same level for three weeks, the cause is usually one of four things, and each has a fix.

If none of these fit, look at total load. Running hard every day feels productive but leaves you too tired to hit the speeds that actually drive improvement. Three good runs beat six tired ones.

Every force that uses the beep test pairs it with other events. NSW adds 5 more, including 25 push-ups and a 90-second prone bridge. Queensland pairs it with cadence push-ups and a 90-second plank. Victoria adds grip, agility, push-ups, a prone bridge and a timed swim. Train your weakest event as seriously as the beep test.

For the full picture, read our police fitness test guide for all 8 forces, check your force's WA, AFP, Tasmania or NT profile, and prepare for the written side with the entrance exam practice.