How do you convert a Yo-Yo IR1 level to distance?

The table

The first column is the official level, the number you hear on the recording. Distances are cumulative: the figure on a row is the distance covered once every shuttle of that level is finished.

Level	Speed (km/h)	Shuttles in level	Shuttles so far	Distance (m)	Est. VO₂max
5	10.0	1	1	40	36.7
9	12.0	1	2	80	37.1
11	13.0	2	4	160	37.7
12	13.5	3	7	280	38.8
13	14.0	4	11	440	40.1
14	14.5	8	19	760	42.8
15	15.0	8	27	1,080	45.5
16	15.5	8	35	1,400	48.2
17	16.0	8	43	1,720	50.8
18	16.5	8	51	2,040	53.5
19	17.0	8	59	2,360	56.2
20	17.5	8	67	2,680	58.9
21	18.0	8	75	3,000	61.6
22	18.5	8	83	3,320	64.3
23	19.0	8	91	3,640	67.0
24	19.5	8	99	3,960	69.7
25	20.0	8	107	4,280	72.4

The estimated VO₂max column uses Bangsbo’s IR1 equation, 0.0084 × distance + 36.4, in ml/kg/min. It is an estimate from one number, not a lab measurement.

How to read a score

A Yo-Yo score has two parts: the level and the shuttle count inside it, written 16.3 for the third shuttle of level 16. To get the distance, take the total at the end of the previous level and add 40 m per shuttle.

A runner who stops on 16.3 finished level 15 at 1,080 m and ran three shuttles of level 16. That is 1,080 + 3 × 40 = 1,200 m.

Why the levels look odd

The level number is 2 × speed − 15. That is why 10 km/h is level 5 and 12 km/h is level 9. The first five levels are short on purpose: 1, 1, 2, 3 and 4 shuttles are a warm-up. From level 14 every level lasts 8 shuttles, so each row adds 320 m.

That regularity makes mental maths easy above 1,000 m. Every level you finish adds 320 m, and half a level is 160 m.

Distance and time

A shuttle is 40 m of running plus 10 seconds of recovery. At 16.5 km/h the 40 m take about 8.7 seconds, so a shuttle of level 18 uses about 19 seconds. The running time falls as the speed goes up, the recovery stays at 10 seconds. That is why the IR1 is longer than it looks: 2,040 m is 51 shuttles, and the recoveries alone make 510 seconds.

Where a distance sits

For group averages by level of play in soccer, with the level each average reaches, see What is a good Yo-Yo IR1 score for soccer players?. The full protocol, the recovery rules and the published norms are on the Yo-Yo IR1 test page.

If you already have a level and a shuttle count, the Yo-Yo IR1 calculator returns the distance and the VO₂max estimate without a table. For the continuous beep test, which has a different level system, use Beep test levels: speed, shuttles, distance and time.