"Increase your beep test score by 3 full levels in just 6 weeks by doing the RIGHT training!"
The reality of preparing for the beep test is that it is hard work. There’s nothing quite like that intense cardiovascular burn you get when your system is working to capacity.
Very often applicants say to me that they are confused as to why they have achieved a low beep test score when they have been ‘training hard for the past couple of months’. When I enquire into their training program the answer is nearly always the same; their training was not specific to the test they were preparing for.
Playing netball twice a week, going to the gym and doing a 5km run every Saturday is not a waste of time but it certainly isn’t the best way to prepare for the beep test.
In my beep test training guide you will find a heart rate training zone chart. It is important that you identify –
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Your maximum heart rate for your age
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The range of 90%-100% of your maximum heart rate for your age
Unfortunately for you this is the range you will need to visit on a regular basis in order to achieve an increase in your beep test score.
There are two main reasons why a 5km run, for example, is not the most effective activity for improving your beep test score. The first is that the beep test level required for most applicants only equates to a distance of between 1 to 2 kilometres. You can check the distances using the chart in this training guide. The second, and more important reason, is that a 5 km run for most people is likely to be done at around 65 to 75% of your maximum heart rate. (Few people could run 5km at 90+% of there maximum heart rate).
At the business end of the beep test the heart rate is challenged well beyond 75%. It isn’t until applicants get to the challenging stages of the beep test, as their heart rates rises to 90+%, that they realise the intensity of their training may not have been high enough.
You need to be working regularly at a high intensity (90%+) in order for your body to adapt and respond in a way which will give you the greatest results in your beep test score.
Our bodies will respond to the environment we create for it. If you sit on the couch watching television and eating pizza every night your body would adapt and respond. You’d get fat!
A 100meter sprinter usually won’t be much good at running marathons because they don’t run 100km a week. On the flip side, a marathon runner probably won’t be able to run the 100 meters in 10 or 11 seconds because their body has not been trained to do that.
Now working at an intensity of 90+% of your maximum heart rate is not something we can do for very long, but, with training you will increase the length of time you can hold the intensity. This will have a direct link to your improved beep test score.
The longer you can hang in there when the intensity rises the greater the score you will achieve. The side effect of training at high intensity is that your system copes better with the lower intensity levels and therefore your comfort zone expands. In practical terms what happens as you get fitter –
1: you are able to hang in there for longer as you hit your maximum heart rate and therefore reach a higher score and
2: the “hard work” no longer starts to kick in at level 4 rather level 5 is where it starts to get hard (as an example) because your system is coping better because of it’s increased capacity.
A v8 engine might reach a higher speed than a 4 cylinder but it also finds cruising at lower speeds very easy because it is ‘fitter’ than 4 cylinderJ
Most of us will stop the activity when we reach a level we find very uncomfortable (the outer boundary of our comfort zone). When in fact this is where the greatest benefit of the training starts! We must fight hard to hang in there for as long as we can once we reach that outer boundary of our comfort zone because it is the next 10 seconds, 30 seconds or minute that will force our bodies to adapt and improve. This is the ‘golden moment’ that expands our comfort zone. It’s this point in time that makes us fitter and will directly improve our beep test score.
It would be like a weight lifter or body builder trying to increase his muscle size but he keeps stopping every time the muscles reach a state of fatigue. This simply maintains the level already achieved. To get bigger and stronger it is in fact the 3 or 4 extra repetitions that give the greatest benefit. It is the extra 10 or 20 seconds of hanging in there at your maximum heart rate that will give you the greatest benefit!
I did say it was going to be hard work!
The key to running the beep test to the best of your ability is ‘efficiency’.
Using the analogy of driving your car from point A to point B 100km away. If you accelerate erratically and break at the last minute, race through the corners and change lanes all the time you will likely waste a lot of petrol and may not make it to point B.
The beep test is no different.
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You should not run any faster than you need to in order to keep up with the beep. Don’t arrive more than 1 second before the beep
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Do not place anything more than the toes on one foot over each end line
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Ensure you breathe slowly and with control right from the start. Breath out slowly and maintain a steady breathing rhythm
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Do not sprint off from the line then slow down. Maintain a constant smooth pace for as long as possible
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Gently swing the arms and keep your back straight to ensure good running technique
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Your mind and body should be relaxed
What you may notice when you start to reach levels around the 3, 4 or 5 mark (depending on your fitness) is that your breathing rate will rise all of a sudden. Don’t panic it’s just your body changing to better cope with the workload. You will settle in to a rhythm after about 30 seconds.
If you understand that it is normal and it’s your body’s way of coping it won’t bother you as much. I like to think of it like this –
When we jog across a street or walk up a flight of stairs our body doesn’t need to fire up the ‘big engine’ to cope. The ‘little engine’ handles that sort of stuff. If the intensity increases or the duration of these incidental moments of exercise increases then the body makes the decision (when it’s ready) to switch off the little engine and hand over the rains to the big engine (your aerobic system). In order to fire up the big engine (which ultimately will be more efficient) the engine requires more oxygen (fuel). There is a bit of lag when changing from little engine to big engine which can give you the feeling of fatigue for a few seconds. It is quite common for this to mess with you mind and make you think you are running out of petrol already. If you understand that it’s just your body’s way of coping and you are expecting this change then it won’t concern you as much. After about 30 seconds the ‘lag’ will dissolve and you will settle in to a rhythm. Sure the work rate is increasing but if you’ve done the training your body will handle it.
Now of course at some point in time the smooth, rhythmical approach gets placed under so much stress that, as hard as you may try, fatigue sets in to the point where the technique starts to fail. When you reach this point your mind set needs to change from calm and relaxed to very focussed and very determined. This attitude will soon need to be upgrade to aggressive and very competitive. I think most of the time our mind gives up when our body still has a little to give.
If you have been training with high intensity, it will help your mental strength. As the test gets really hard to keep up with you can dig deep and keep pushing because you know you’ve trained at least as hard as this. “I can keep going, I’ve pushed harder than this in training!”
Pacing or shadowing is another issue worth being aware of. Pacing or shadowing is where you use the pace of other participants to help you maintain your speed. We can use other participants next to us as a pace setter. In effect you become their shadow and this acts in a small way to help sweep you along. Don’t try to beat the person next to you. We actually want to do the opposite. We want to be sitting just on their shoulder, half a pace behind them. Now this is useful of course if they are running a fraction too fast for the beep. If they are timing their runs well you will have to move up and sit side by side with them. Just be careful not end up racing or trying to beat the person next to you because you may well unwittingly use up a lot more fuel than you need to be.
Okay, so now you ready to start the sweaty part! How often should I train and how many times per week should I be training?
What's the best training to do to improve your beep test score?
The 6 week training guide will take you through 24 very specific sessions which are designed specifically to take you from week 1 to week 6 in a very deliberate and structured way. You'll be shown -
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exactly how many sessions to do during each phase of the program
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exactly what exercises to do in each session
If you have the motivation, the beep test training guide has the formula, all you need to do is follow it!
Now, it’s time to get started. Make sure you see you doctor before you get to serious about things.
Good luck with you training and I wish you all the best with your beep test!
You can find a copy of my beep test traininig guide at our online shop. I have created this training guide specifically for my clients to ensure they are doing the right training for the beep test which forms part of the Victoria Police Fitness Test.
In the beep test 6 week (24 session) training matrix you will get over 25 pages of information, tips, techniques as well as the most effective exercises you need to be doing to get the best results out of your training effort.
Order now and receive surprise bonus material!
Don't make the common mistake of failing your first attempt just trying to save a few bucks. How much would you pay for the right advice if you only had one more chance to pass?
Do it right the first time!
Russell Kempster
Prime Motion Fitness Training
0414 498 152
