Stéphane Morin (an expert in performance methodology) and Thomas Joubert (a physical trainer) have invented a test to circumvent the use of a VMA test. It’s called the 6-24 test.
Materiel needed
- A cones
- A soundtrack : sportbeeper pro is the ideal tool for carrying out this test.
Conduct of the test :
It is advisable to divide your working group into three. Some of the participants take the test, while the others mark, observe and encourage the group that passes. Finally, the third group warms up. Participants have to complete 24 accelerations lasting 6 seconds each. The time between runs is 24 seconds. The total duration of the test is therefore 12 minutes. The distance zone varies between 36 and 51 metres for professional footballers, or 21.6 and 30.6 km/h. At the finish, the distance between the lines in the zone is 3 metres. Races are made in the form of round trips. The athlete must repeat the speed chosen at the start as many times as possible. If this becomes too complicated, the athlete will move down to the next distance: a reduction of 3 metres. He will then try to cover this distance as many times as possible. When he can no longer do so, he moves on to the next lower distance, and so on.The objective for the participant is therefore to quit as late as possible. These efforts can be described as short, intense and repetitive.
This test can be carried out at any time, and it is advisable to do it several times a year to compare the results.
How do you analyse the results?
All you need to do is look at the total distance covered and a percentage of relative loss. To do this, simply apply this formula: (distance 1st repeat * 24 (total number of repeats) – distance actually covered. This will give a distance in metres, which will need to be converted into a percentage. The lower the percentage, the less distance is lost.