Yo-Yo IR1 test: protocol, levels, distance, VO₂max and norms

What the test measures

The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 measures the ability to repeat intense efforts with a short recovery in between. That is exactly what a football, handball or rugby match asks for, and that is why Jens Bangsbo built it in the 1990s from the shuttle run: keep the 20 m shuttles, but insert ten seconds of recovery after each one.

The classic beep test measures MAS, an aerobic cruising speed. The Yo-Yo IR1 measures something else: the capacity to recover between two sprints and go again. Two players with the same MAS can have very different Yo-Yo scores, and it is the Yo-Yo that best predicts high-intensity distance covered in a match.

How it runs

Three lines on the ground: a start line, a line 20 m ahead, and a recovery line 5 m behind the start line.

On the beep, the player runs to the 20 m line, turns and gets back to the start line before the next beep. That is one shuttle, 40 m.
They then have 10 seconds to walk to the 5 m line, turn and come back to stand on the start line. A beep announces the next start.
Shuttles speed up by speed levels. One shuttle at 10 km/h, one at 12, two at 13, three at 13.5, four at 14, then eight at 14.5 km/h; from there, speed rises by 0.5 km/h, one level, every eight shuttles.

A player who does not reach the line in time gets a warning. On the second miss the test stops and the score is the last completed shuttle.

The levels: why 5, 9, 11, 12, 13…

The level number on the audio track is not a rank. It denotes the speed, through level = 2 × speed − 15. So 10 km/h gives level 5, 12 km/h level 9, 14 km/h level 13, 16 km/h level 17, 19 km/h level 23. A score is written “level.shuttle”, for instance 16.3: third shuttle of level 16, at 15.5 km/h.

The full chart below gives, for each level, the speed, the number of shuttles, the time per shuttle including recovery and the cumulative distance.

Reading your score

The official score is the distance in metres, 40 m per shuttle, added up from the first one. The site’s calculator converts a level and shuttle count into metres.

Adult norms, after Bangsbo and colleagues:

Men: under 520 m very poor, 520 to 1,000 below average, 1,040 to 1,480 average, 1,520 to 1,960 good, 2,000 to 2,400 excellent, above that elite.
Women: under 320 m very poor, 320 to 640 below average, 680 to 960 average, 1,000 to 1,280 good, 1,320 to 1,600 excellent, above that elite.

Benchmarks by population, from the same study: international male footballer around 2,420 m, elite 2,190 m, moderately trained 1,810 m; international female footballer 1,600 m, elite 1,360 m, sub-elite 1,160 m. The study gives no figure for amateur club players: the general table above is the only reference to place them.

VO₂max is estimated with the regression published with the test: VO₂max = 0.0084 × distance + 36.4. A score of 1,200 m gives 46.5 ml/min/kg, 2,000 m gives 53.2. It is an estimate calibrated on team-sport players, not a measurement.

What the Yo-Yo does not measure

It gives no MAS. The speed of the last level is not a maximal aerobic speed, because the interleaved recovery lets you run faster than your MAS during the shuttles. To prescribe continuous training paces, you need a VAMEVAL or a beep test. To prescribe short intermittent work, the 30-15 IFT gives a more direct reference speed.

Training for it

The Yo-Yo IR1 improves through intermittent work, not through jogging:

A baseline test, to place the player in the norms and set the target.
Short intermittent twice a week: 15 seconds fast, 15 seconds walking, as 20 to 40 m shuttles, two to three blocks of 6 to 8 minutes.
Repeated sprints with incomplete recovery, 6 × 30 m starting every 25 seconds, to get used to going again before being recovered.
One aerobic session a week, for the base.
A new test every four to six weeks. A gain of 200 to 400 m over one training block is common for an amateur player.

Set-up mistakes that skew the score

A missing or misplaced 5 m recovery line: players do not walk the right distance and restart from wherever they like.
Mixing up the IR1 audio track with the IE1 one, whose recovery is 5 seconds: the test becomes a third harder.
Counting metres from the start line to the 20 m line without the return.
Testing tired players at the end of a session: recovery between efforts is precisely what the test measures.

Full Yo-Yo IR1 level table

Speed and real duration of each level, cumulative time and distance at the end of the level. Each level number opens its own page.
Level	Speed	Runs	s / shuttle	Level duration	Cumulative time	Cumulative distance
5	10	1	24.40	24 s	24 s	40
9	12	1	22	22 s	46 s	80
11	13	2	21.08	42 s	1 min 29 s	160
12	13.5	3	20.67	1 min 02 s	2 min 31 s	280
13	14	4	20.29	1 min 21 s	3 min 52 s	440
14	14.5	8	19.93	2 min 39 s	6 min 31 s	760
15	15	8	19.60	2 min 37 s	9 min 08 s	1 080
16	15.5	8	19.29	2 min 34 s	11 min 42 s	1 400
17	16	8	19	2 min 32 s	14 min 14 s	1 720
18	16.5	8	18.73	2 min 30 s	16 min 44 s	2 040
19	17	8	18.47	2 min 28 s	19 min 12 s	2 360
20	17.5	8	18.23	2 min 26 s	21 min 38 s	2 680
21	18	8	18	2 min 24 s	24 min 02 s	3 000
22	18.5	8	17.78	2 min 22 s	26 min 24 s	3 320
23	19	8	17.58	2 min 21 s	28 min 45 s	3 640
24	19.5	8	17.38	2 min 19 s	31 min 04 s	3 960
25	20	8	17.20	2 min 18 s	33 min 21 s	4 280

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the Yo-Yo IR1 and the beep test?

Recovery. The beep test chains shuttles without a pause and measures maximal aerobic speed; the Yo-Yo IR1 inserts 10 seconds of walking after every shuttle and measures the ability to repeat intense efforts while recovering in between, which is what team sports actually demand. The two scores do not convert into each other.

What does a Yo-Yo score of 16.3 mean?

Speed level 16, third shuttle. Level 16 is run at 15.5 km/h; the score in metres is the sum of every shuttle of the previous levels, 27 shuttles or 1,080 m, plus three times 40 m, which is 1,200 m. In the published norms that is an average score for a man (1,040 to 1,480 m) and a good one for a woman (1,000 to 1,280 m).

Why do Yo-Yo levels start at 5 and jump to 9?

Because the level number denotes the speed, not the rank: level = 2 × speed − 15. The first shuttle is run at 10 km/h, so level 5; the second at 12 km/h, level 9; then 13 km/h (11), 13.5 (12), 14 (13), 14.5 (14), and from there one level, 0.5 km/h, every eight shuttles.

How long does a Yo-Yo IR1 take?

Each shuttle takes 7 to 14 seconds of running depending on the speed, plus 10 seconds of recovery. Reaching 1,200 m takes about 10 minutes; 2,000 m about 17 minutes; a professional at 2,400 m is on the course for about 20 minutes.

Yo-Yo IR1 or IR2?

The IR1 starts at 10 km/h and suits most players, amateurs and youth included. The IR2 starts at 13 km/h, with the same 10 s recovery, and is meant for elite players whose IR1 would exceed 2,000 m: it is shorter and discriminates better at the top of the scale.