Every test you will be made to do
Protocols, indicative benchmarks, the faults that make a score meaningless, and — the part most of these pages leave out — how to actually improve the number. Written from the same testing battery Train Smart uses.
Running and repeat-effort tests
The tests your engine is measured on — and the ones with training plans behind them in the app.
Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test
Your ability to repeatedly perform high-intensity running and recover between efforts.
Protocol & benchmarksBronco test
Repeat-effort capacity with change of direction under fatigue.
Protocol & benchmarks2km time trial
Aerobic capacity, expressed as the fastest pace you can hold for roughly six to nine minutes.
Protocol & benchmarksrepeat-sprint ability test
Fatigue resistance in maximal sprinting.
Protocol & benchmarks5km time trial
Aerobic endurance across roughly 18–30 minutes of continuous effort.
Protocol & benchmarks10km time trial
Aerobic endurance over 35–60 minutes.
Protocol & benchmarksround engine test
Sport-specific work capacity in the format the sport is contested in — rounds, not kilometres.
Protocol & benchmarksbowling spell test
Speed-endurance in the specific action, and the point at which technique degrades under fatigue.
Protocol & benchmarksbeep test
Maximal aerobic capacity, estimated from how long you can keep making a progressively faster 20m shuttle.
Protocol & benchmarksAFL Draft Combine tests
A deliberately broad picture: aerobic capacity, acceleration, vertical power off one leg and two, agility and repeat-effort ability.
Protocol & benchmarksPower, speed and strength below the waist
20m sprint test
Acceleration — how quickly you get from a standing start to full flight.
Protocol & benchmarksvertical jump test
Concentric lower-body power.
Protocol & benchmarksrunning vertical jump
Your ability to convert horizontal momentum into vertical height off one leg.
Protocol & benchmarksNordic hamstring test
Eccentric hamstring strength, expressed as the angle from vertical at which you lose control of a slow Nordic lowering.
Protocol & benchmarksback squat 1RM test
Maximal lower-body strength.
Protocol & benchmarkstrap bar deadlift 1RM
Whole-body pulling strength — the lift with the clearest carry-over to accelerating.
Protocol & benchmarksstanding broad jump
Horizontal lower-body power and the ability to land and control it.
Protocol & benchmarkssingle-leg hop test
Single-leg power and landing control, and the left-right asymmetry between them.
Protocol & benchmarksStrength and power above the waist
bench press 1RM test
Maximal upper-body pressing strength.
Protocol & benchmarksmax pull-ups test
Relative pulling strength and upper-back endurance.
Protocol & benchmarksmax push-ups test
Pressing endurance and the trunk control to hold a rigid line while you do it.
Protocol & benchmarksweighted chin-up test
Maximal pulling strength once bodyweight has stopped being a challenge.
Protocol & benchmarksoverhead press 1RM
Maximal strict overhead pressing strength and the shoulder stability to express it.
Protocol & benchmarksmedicine ball chest throw
Upper-body power: the speed end of pressing.
Protocol & benchmarksrotational medicine ball throw
Rotational trunk and hip power, and the asymmetry between sides.
Protocol & benchmarkshandstand press hold
Overhead pressing robustness and shoulder position at your own bodyweight.
Protocol & benchmarksWork it out here, free
Pace & split calculator
Per-kilometre pace and lap splits for any target time.
OpenBronco split calculator
Per-round splits for a target Bronco time.
Open1RM calculator
Estimate a max from a set you have already done, plus the percentage table.
OpenACWR calculator
Acute:chronic workload ratio from four weeks of load.
OpenTest, train, retest
Train Smart opens every program with a testing session and re-tests every eight weeks on your sport’s own battery — then re-prices your training weights and conditioning paces off the results.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.