Yo-Yo Test Ratings
You may have completed the yo-yo IR1 test and received a score, but the numbers may not mean anything without a reference point to make sense of the results. Normative tables (norms) are very useful to help guide you in the interpretation of the test results. The tables below give a general fitness rating based on the yo-yo test score. The yo-yo IR1 test calculator also gives a fitness rating.
The Rating Tables
These tables are for the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test, Level 1, the most commonly used yo-yo test version, with results for both men and women. The ratings can be determined from both the total distance and level achieved, which are just different ways of reporting the same result (see the Table data for the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1).
Table 1: Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Level 1) norms for adult MEN
| MALES | ||
|---|---|---|
| rating | meters | level |
| elite | > 2400 | > 20.1 |
| excellent | 2000-2400 | 18.7-20.1 |
| good | 1520-1960 | 17.3-18.6 |
| average | 1040-1480 | 15.7-17.2 |
| below average | 520-1000 | 14.2-15.6 |
| poor | < 520 | < 14.2 |
Table 2: Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test (Level 1) norms for adult WOMEN
| FEMALES | ||
|---|---|---|
| rating | meters | level |
| elite | > 1600 | > 17.5 |
| excellent | 1320-1600 | 16.6-17.5 |
| good | 1000-1280 | 15.6-16.5 |
| average | 680-960 | 14.6-15.5 |
| below average | 320-640 | 13.1-14.5 |
| poor | < 320 | < 13.1 |
Source of Rating Table Information
The table was first created by Topend Sports, using as an initial guide the fitness ratings for VO2max scores, combined with the formula for estimating VO2max from Yo-Yo test results (as published by Bangsbo et al. 2008), as well as adjusting the norms based on test results from a range of athletes from the same paper and other known test results from a range of athletes of varying fitness levels.
Reference
Jens Bangsbo, F. Marcello Iaia and Peter Krustrup, (2008) The Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test: A Useful Tool for Evaluation of Physical Performance in Intermittent Sports, Sports Medicine 2008; 38 (1): 37-51.
More Resources
- Purchase the YoYo Intermittent Recovery Test mp3 file
- Yo-Yo Test standards - minimum scores for sports.
- Yo-Yo Test sports results - top scores from many athletes.
- Use the yo-yo IR1 test calculator to get a fitness rating.
- Procedure for the YYIR1
- More Yo-Yo Test Norms
- Download a score sheet to record results of the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1, plus other yo-yo test scoring sheets.
- List of Yo-Yo Test Resources.
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