Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Timer
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The Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test, developed by Jens Bangsbo, has athletes run 2 × 20 m shuttles at increasing speed with a ten-second active recovery jog between each[1]. The recovery period is what distinguishes it from the beep test and what makes it a closer match to how team sports actually load the body.
Each work bout is short — roughly ten to fifteen seconds depending on the level — and the recovery is a fixed ten seconds throughout. The test ends when the athlete twice fails to complete a shuttle in time. Total time to exhaustion varies widely, typically six to twenty minutes for IR1.
Why team sports prefer it
Football, rugby, hockey and basketball are intermittent: repeated high-intensity efforts separated by incomplete recovery. A continuous test like the beep test measures something real but not that specific pattern.
The Yo-Yo test's ten-second recovery replicates the incomplete-recovery structure, which is why it is widely used in football and why its results track match running performance more closely than continuous tests do.
IR1 versus IR2
IR1 starts slower and is appropriate for a broad range of athletes; IR2 starts substantially faster and is intended for well-trained athletes for whom IR1 takes too long and finishes at too low an intensity.
They are separate tests with separate norms, not two difficulty settings of the same test. Scores are not comparable between them, and picking the wrong one wastes the session — IR2 on an unfit athlete finishes almost immediately.
The recovery must be active
The ten seconds is a jog around a marked cone, not a stand. Standing still changes the physiological demand and makes the score incomparable to properly-administered tests.
It is also the most commonly bodged part of test administration, especially with large squads. Marking the recovery area clearly and having enough space for everyone is worth the setup time.
Structure of the two Yo-Yo intermittent recovery tests[1]. IR1 and IR2 are separate tests with separate norms.
| Element | IR1 | IR2 | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shuttle | 2 × 20 m | 2 × 20 m | Out and back |
| Active recovery | 10 s | 10 s | Jog, not stand |
| Starting speed | Lower | Higher | IR2 for trained athletes |
| Typical duration | 6–20 min | 2–10 min | Self-terminating |
| Ends after | 2 failures | 2 failures | Consecutive misses |
| Score | Distance covered | Distance covered | Not level alone |
- The ten-second recovery is what makes it intermittent — standing still instead of jogging invalidates comparison with properly administered tests.
- IR1 and IR2 scores are not comparable; they are separate tests, not difficulty settings.
Sources
- The Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test, developed by Jens Bangsbo and colleagues and widely documented in sports science literature , Widely documented in sports science literature — accessed 2026-07-28