The Beep Test comes for us all

If you have taken a P.E. class here or participated in a sport, then you are familiar with the Beep Test. Essentially, if you are a student, you will most likely have to complete this test at some point during your schooling. Some students may call it fun, some may call it horrible, but Athletic Director Merion George told us what the Beep Test is actually supposed to be.

George explained, “[The Beep Test] is a good opportunity for students to manage their fitness.” The test consists of several beeping sounds that increase in frequency throughout the course of the test. The trick is to run and have your foot touching the volleyball lines of the court (or whatever parameters that have been set up for you) by the time the beep sounds. Obviously, it gets harder as the test goes on.

According to Beepfitness.com, “The beep test is a multi-stage fitness test used to measure cardiovascular fitness and maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max).” The test gets more challenging as it goes on, and most athletes reach up to the 11-13 levels. But how difficult, or easy, is the test really?  

Freshman Aidan Nee said he ran to level 8. “I was tired,” he said, “I was tired before it, and it made me even more tired.” Sophomore Sabria Brown also had a more negative experience with the test. “After watching my fellow classmates go to higher… levels, my self-esteem lowered.” She reached level 5.

Senior Carlos Gonzalez had a better experience, and reached level 15.3, adding on to his score from last year. When asked if he found that to be challenging, he said, “I wouldn’t say hard, it was just more of a mental thing where you have to push yourself to the limit.”  Junior Camellia Liu said, “I really like the twelve-minute run better. I don’t think you have to get to a certain skill for running, you can just jog or run consistently.” In the twelve-minute run, another fitness test, Liu appreciates that you can run at your own pace, a thing the beep test–no matter how good one is at it–fails to provide.