From test to running

Step 1 of 6

Why test at all?

The same run for everyone is the wrong run for most of them.

When the whole squad runs the same distance in the same time, your fittest players finish easily and barely improve. The players who need fitness most are flat out, fall behind, pick up knocks, or stop turning up.

Effort for each player on the same run

A fitness test tells you how big each player's engine is. Then every player can be pushed the same amount, each over their own distance.

What it costs youOne test, about 20 minutes on a training night, every 6 to 8 weeks.

Step 2 of 6

Run one fitness test

Pick one test and use it every time.

Test	What players do	Good for
Bronco	1200 m of shuttles out to 20, 40 and 60 m and back, five times, as fast as they can. About 5 minutes.	Most squads. Runs in waves.
Beep test	20 m shuttles to the beeps, getting faster each level. The phone plays the beeps.	Big groups, indoors or out.
Yo-Yo IR1	20 m out and back to the beeps, with 10 seconds' rest after each.	Fitter squads. It's harder.
Time trial	A measured 1200 to 2000 m, as fast as they can.	When you have a measured loop.

The Bronco: three cones and a stopwatch, or the Testing Station's timer

Warm up well first. Test on the same surface and at a similar time of day each round, so the results compare.
The Testing Station times it for you: tap GO as they set off, then tap each player as they finish. Times and MAS save themselves, with no clipboard and no typing it all up afterwards. A helper can judge on their own phone.

Open the Testing Station How to set up each test

Step 3 of 6

What MAS means

MAS (Maximal Aerobic Speed) is the fastest speed a player can hold for about 5 to 6 minutes.

MAS stands for maximal aerobic speed. Think of it as the size of the player's engine: the quickest steady pace they can keep going. It's measured in metres per second (m/s). Most club players are somewhere between about 4.0 and 4.8 m/s.

ExampleJo's MAS is 4.4 m/s. That's 264 metres every minute, or just under 16 km/h, and Jo could hold it for about 5 to 6 minutes.

You don't work anything out. SquadBase turns each test result into MAS for every player: a Bronco or time-trial time, beep-test shuttles or a Yo-Yo level.

See your squad's results

Step 4 of 6

Turning MAS into runs

Same effort for everyone, different distance.

100% of MAS is the speed a player can hold for 5 to 6 minutes. Push them above it in short bursts, with rest in between, and their fitness goes up. That's why every run is set as a percentage of the player's own MAS.

A short, hard session might be 15 seconds at 110% of MAS, then 15 seconds' rest, repeated. SquadBase works it out for every player: their MAS × the percentage × the time.

15 seconds at 110% of MAS: both players work equally hard

The sums (the app does these)Sam: 4.0 × 110% × 15 s = 66 m. Alex: 4.6 × 110% × 15 s = 76 m. Alex's cone is 10 m further, and both finish the session properly worked.

Easier sessions use a lower percentage, such as longer runs at 90 to 95% of MAS. Short, sharp ones go above 100%. The Running Builder picks a sensible mix across the weeks and puts the cones on your pitch lines.

On shuttles (out and back), the app takes off a little for each turn, so the cones can be a metre or two shorter than straight-line sums.

Open the Running Builder

Step 5 of 6

Players of the same fitness level run together

Different cones, different distances, same time.

With 30 players you can't put down 30 cones. SquadBase puts players whose distances are within about 5% of each other into a group, and sets each group's cones from the group's average. That usually means 3 or 4 groups, each with its own bib colour, and everyone within a metre or two of their own distance.

Three groups by MAS, and one player on an individual block

Individual blocks are for players who don't fit a group:

back from injury and building up again;
missed the test, so there's no MAS for them yet;
well ahead of, or well behind, the rest of the squad.

They get their own plan instead of being squeezed into a group that's too hard or too easy.

Plan the running

Step 6 of 6

Retest and keep progressing

Retest every 6 to 8 weeks so the runs keep up with the players.

As players get fitter, their old MAS makes the runs too easy. Use the same test every 6 to 8 weeks and SquadBase moves every cone out for you. In Squad Dashboard and Player Dashboard you'll see who has improved.

Retesting is now quick, so it actually happens. It used to mean a clipboard, a stopwatch and an evening typing it all up, so most squads tested every 6 months, if at all. With the Testing Station a whole squad is tested in one training session and every result is saved as you tap.

In between tests, if a player is making their cones easily session after session, Nudge MAS in the Running Builder adds a little to their MAS.

Next level, in Pro mode: top speed (MSS) from a 20 m flying sprint. Two players with the same MAS but different top speeds need different distances on very short, fast runs. The gap between the two is their speed reserve, and SquadBase uses it when you have the sprint result.

The whole idea in one lineTest once, let the app work out MAS, run every player at the same effort over their own distance, in groups, and retest every 6 to 8 weeks.

Back to Start here Running Builder guide