Following being featured in Jamie Oliver's new series 'Jamie's Dream School', the fitness test known as 'The Bleep Test' has attracted considerable interest from many schools, sporting teams and organisations. The programme showed Daley Thompson using The Bleep Test in Daley Thompson's Fitness Test, with teenagers taking part in the Jamie Oliver Dream School experiment.

The particular version of The Bleep Test used in the TV series is that produced by fitness industry specialist's Personal Fitness Tests www.personalfitnesstests.com, a member of the Fitness Industry Association (FIA) and one of the UK's leading provider of fitness tests. The Bleep Test is a specific fitness test which is designed to measure fitness and keep participants in peak physical condition. Lasting just over 20 minutes the test enables individuals, sports coaches and trainers to estimate the maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) of those taking part.

The Bleep Test is already employed by many international sporting teams as an accurate test of cardiovascular fitness and is one of the all-important and crucial 'Components of Fitness'. It is also used by a number of organisations during their application process including the Army, Navy, Royal Air Force, Fire Service and Police.

The Bleep Test involves running continuously between two points that are 20 metres apart. These runs are synchronised by bleeps, which are played at set intervals. As the test proceeds, the interval between each bleep reduces, forcing the participant to increase velocity over the course of the test, until it is impossible to keep in sync with the recording.

The recording is structured into 21 'levels', each of which lasts around 62 seconds. The interval of bleeps is calculated, at a running speed of 8.5km/h, increasing by 0.5km/h with each level. The progression from one level to the next is signalled by rapid bleeps. The highest level attained before failing to keep up with the bleeps is recorded as the score for that test.

The Bleep Test is useful to sports teams and schools and is especially beneficial for players of sports such as cross country, football, hockey, rugby, cricket, netball, and tennis.

Personal Fitness Tests provides a number of useful tools to help people achieve their fitness goals, safely and effectively. Tests are designed to increase the participant's fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance and cardiovascular capacity.

The company offers all of its fitness testing products on MP3 and CD, together with downloadable information booklets to accompany the tests. The fitness tests that are currently available are:

The Bleep Press-up Test – Version February 2010.
The Bleep Sit-up Test – Version February 2010.
The Bleep Test – Version August 2009.
The Bleep Personal Fitness Test – Version August 2010.

To find out more about The Bleep Test and other useful fitness tools visit the Personal Fitness Tests website at www.personalfitnesstests.com.