Make EASY Endurance Fitness Gains By Understanding This ! Lactate Threshold
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- čas přidán 11. 09. 2022
- Today's video takes the second part of my Lab Test with Adam Isherwood, at Oxford University in order to focus on the most important Threshold for most recreational cyclists. Lactate Threshold 1. The Power we can produce at this important Threshold dictates the maximum pace we can sustain for several hours.
It is a Physiological Threshold and NOT simply a % of an FTP test. So if we understand what should be happening in our bodies at this Threshold (breathing, heartrate, ability to talk and of course lactate levels in the blood), we can be more measured in our power selection during training and cycling outdoors in order to cycle faster for longer when it matters.
It was a key power metric I used in order to complete the Majorca 312 in a good time earlier this year, and has been front of mind during my recovery from injury, including my recent 45km +2300m ascent of Mount Teide in Tenerife.
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"This video will help us cycle long distances at our fastest sustainable endurance pace" - 5s in and you've got me in the palm of your hand Phill 😂
Too too kind Nick !! PS sorry for the delay in my reply, it’s been max max effort at work 🥵
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy no need to apologise mate, hope it all calms down soon!
@@nickbrownbill3413 Cheers Nick - me too ! Getting too old for the long long days and late nights and travel LoL ! Loved the look of your ride out with David this week 👌
For Science! Great vid - quite informative. So glad to see recovery is coming along well Phil.
Cheers Mike ! And for sure LT1 is a game changer 💯 sorry for the delay in my reply, it’s been extremely busy at work 🥵
i'm just revisting this phil. i believe your blood lactate fell below 1.4, because your slow twitch fibres began to use it as fuel, before the increase in power began to produce more than the mitochondria could clear. wonderful.
Thanks for the heads up Ian - and that would indeed be wonderful 💯 I think that riding at or around Lactate Threshold 1 for hours is my little party trick - so what you say makes sense and I’ll explore this with Adam next time I see him . Hope your weekend was good !
Awesome video as always Phill, great to see the accurate numbers here and your ability to guess them pretty well! Dr Adam should get a BBC spin off series a la "Wonders of the Universe" with Brian Cox, where he shows us the wonders of accurate physiological testing. I'm sure it'd be a hit.
Sadly not a doctor quite yet - but working towards it! 😅 Cheers!!
@@adamgisherwood ah best of luck with it all then Adam - I was in the same position 4 years ago so I know that looking thesis stress 😂 I'm sure you'll have no problems at all
@@nickbrownbill3413 Thanks, much appreciated!
Yep! @adamgisherwood should get a proper series 💯 He does a lot for GCN too ! You should visit for a test or two Nick
200-210w... That's massive Phil. Also really like the way they determine the actual LT1 threshold. Mine was just by doing the vo2max test protocol (3min step test with 40w steps). The physician who did my test told me they usually determine the step size based on half body weight with a max of 40w. Maybe I can talk him down a few watts next time :)
Completed the 320w step, but immediately failed the 360w. Vo2max had plummeted to 3.6L/min (from just above 4L/min) probably due to the pulmonary embolism and thrombosis, and I hope to regain at least some of it.
My LT1 was just below 140w unfortunately (hopefully that's a lot better now I've had a lot more miles in the legs). But looking at the graphs in my report, and the way your 2nd test to focus on the LT1 went, it might have just been a bit higher. My lactate went from base at 1.8 down to 1.5 at the beginning of the 120w step, then up to 1.7 at the end of it, then to 2.3 at the end of the 160w, and finally 2.7 at the end of the 200w step. After that 3.8 at 240 and 8.2 at 280. Ending at 12.8 on failure at 360w.
However, I'm not really doing well on the fat burn unfortunately, as my body peaks at around 20-23gr/hr of fat at the start of the protocol, then 15gr/hr at 120, and drops off to 7gr/hr at 160w, and only carbs at 200w.
I think the physician set my LT1 based on my fat usage combined with the lactate values, and went on the safer side to just below 140w, instead of aiming for the higher number. Just basing on the lactate values it might just be closer to 160w.
Ah well. Not really important at the moment, as I haven't got any gran fondo's planned for next year. Maybe the year after, but that's still at least 18-20 months away, so a lot of training miles to cover before then. I might do some longer tourist rides, and might check for a holiday to Mallorca or Tenerife for next year for a week / 10 days. We'll see...
Thanks Marco - and I think LT1 is my party trick. I think your numbers look excellent given what you’ve been through, and I too very much hope you continue to recover your fitness. So far as using the VO2 Max Test to calculate Anaerobic Threshold and LT1, from what I understand the 3min ramps can only estimate. And from the estimates we then need to do the longer ramp (8-10mins for each change in power) starting just below estimated LT1 (or estimated anaerobic threshold if testing that) in order to allow the breathing and HR and lactate to stabilise at the end of each 8-10min power block, to enable a more accurate lactate reading. I too don’t burn a lot of fat even at endurance pace - and from what Adam says most people he tests are very surprised as to just how much carbs they are burning at endurance pace. I’d highly recommend Tenerife for the long climbs and nice gradients - but I loved Majorca too 👌
Thank you for the attention to detail on this one. I recently rode 210 miles with 20,000 ft. Of climbing and I drastically overestimated the sustained power I needed to mete my goal time. I will use the nuggets gained here to develop a realistic power approach on the next go. Thank you Phil.
Thanks ever so much for your lovely comment, Richard 🙏 I’m really pleased this video resonated. And for sure it’s worth experimenting indoors with a 2 hour block of power at a constant power at or around your upper zone 2 lower zone 3 to find out if you can sustain the power with controlled breathing, easy to clear the lactate from the legs, and a HR that doesn’t drift up into threshold territory (I find indoors my GR drifts up a little higher than out). Do 2-3 of these to find the right power and then try a 3 hour. Plus eat plenty of carbs during (80-100g). Best of luck in your training - its really enjoyable to try and match what should be happening physiologically with the actual power zones 💯
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy thank you Phil.
Top vid as always. Thanx to Phill and The Lab Guru
Cheers Zaahier - glad you enjoyed it 💯
Thanks again Phil. All about topping up the carbohydrate.
Pleasure Ethan !! And for sure its very much alllllll about topping up the carbs ! 💯
beautiful science as usual phil. an interesting topic may be, once you arrive at LT1, how the lactate continues to rise in the blood or does it plateau? perhaps this rate would be an indication of our endurance in terms of time. so if you ride at LT1 for 60 mins, does the lactate build slower as you get fitter? i believe that the lactate is created by the faster twitch muscle fibres and recycled by the slow twitch fibres before spilling into the blood. hence the need to work at lower intensity to build those mitochondria in the efficient slow twitch muscle fibres.
Cheers Ian !! And really sorry for the delay in my reply, it’s been extremely busy at work 🥵. But my understanding is that when riding at or just below LT1 (Lactate Threshold) the breathing, HR and lactate should be stable at the controlled and low levels. This is because right up to the Anaerobic Threshold / FTP the body is able to clear out the lactate as quickly as it accumulates. So at a lower intensity such as LT1 the lactate will be 1milimole above the base level but, won’t build further because the body can comfortable you clear it - hence we can ride for several hours at a time comfortably👍
What a timing 😀
Cheers Suad 🙏 and sorry for the delay in my reply, it’s been extremely busy at work 🥵
fun fact. a standard running workout is 6 x 3mins @ v.o2 with 3min recoveries. each interval feels just like that 3min vo2 test you performed here. max heart-rate is often reached. now you know wot running training feels like. it’s bloomin’ hard. much harder than cycling (and i do both).
As a runner turned cyclist true vo2 max efforts on a bike are WAY more painful.
Yep - running is proper hard at intensity !! And much harder on the recovery I used to find (I did a lot of running in the Territorial Army 🥵)
What made you cross over OUTDOOR55 ? I found the running tough on the muscles and joints in terms of the recovery
Where can you have this done in the us, in this fashion? There are lots of places but I wonder if they have equipment that is similar or if it’s just a flashy guess
Hi Jeff - I’m not sure in the USA. But would guess that there are some high quality sports science labs with good reviews that will do the same. Worth a discussion as to the testing protocols being used for VO2 Max (should be a big ramp with power increasing 25W every 3 mins) vs Anaerobic Threshold (the VO2 Max test to estimate Anaerobic Threshold followed after rest by a slower ramp with power rising ever 10 mins and starting a bit below estimated anaerobic threshold and ending above with lactate taken - or alternatively critical power testing) vs Lactate Threshold 1 (as per this video)👍
What is your heart rate at lt1, and max heart rate? Great info.
Cheers Rod 👍 wearing the back brace it averaged a stable 160-165bpm for the Teide Climb (and I think the back brace raises the body temp and HR) - so without likely 5bpm lower . My max is 180-182bpm
Hi phil did you notice an increase in hr when, hit the max lactate threshold ? Would be helpful as a rough guide, if you can’t use a lactate tester to hand ? I try to work on hr not drifting above 110-120 ( my max would be 188-192 these days) when doing zone 2 (220-234ish) 2hours plus on the trainer. Well your recovering brilliantly, look likes the motivation levels are high🔥🔥🔥🔥 keep up the good work 😀💪💪💪💪
Thanks Kris - really appreciate you saying all that 🙏, and apologies for the delay in my reply . Before going to Tenerife I wanted to estimate my LT1 - and I did so with 1.5-2hour rides indoors at consistent power. I found that my HR averaged a consistent 160-165bpm over these rides (vs my max of 185) - but because I was wearing I’m wearing the back brace - my HR is higher. Plus it tends to be higher a drift a bit indoors. And terms of other sensations I was able to breath easily and talk - and there was no issue with lactate in the legs. Sounds like your LT1 may be a bit higher 👍
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy no worries Phil, nice one for replying back 😀.. my plan this season over in NZ is to get a lot more zone 2 rides in, see if it has a positive effect on racing at training performance. Fingers crossed 🤞I’ll give you an update in 2-3 months time 💪.. best wishes with the road back to fitness and recovery 👊
Hi BRWM!
Do you know what percentage of your FTP the LT1 was at? Would be nice to get an answer so i could ball park where my zone might be since i dont have the possibility to test in a lab like this.
Sure Alexander - it was at 83% of my FTP. But when I’m fitter and have more top end (pre crash) it was at 80%. Should sit on the transition between Z2 and Z3 if accurately calculated 👍
Just to clarify Phil, your testing seems to indicate the Assioma pedals read 5% under the actual power?
I find that a little odd - as my Assiomas read consistently with other power readings I have from the trainer or the crank. I wonder if the lab PM is actually off...
@@lechprotean Can guarantee it's not - calibrated annually to a medical standard (as otherwise any drift would affect the results of our studies!)
My Assioma reading 10 w more than tax neo!
Yes Tony - I love my Assiomas - but correctly calibrated I find they read 10W lower than the lab bike, but 10W higher than my WattBike Atom Gen 2, and WattBike Pro !!
I do love the Assiomas - and have 2 pairs. But consistently (and correctly calibrated) they have read 10W lower than the lab bike - but 10W higher than my WattBike Atom Gen 2 and WattBike Pro !!
My issue is finding the group that has the same threshold as me so I can jump on.
Agreed, JFomo 💯 - riding above your anaerobic threshold will cause rapid depletion of your glycogen and build up of lactate. And riding a bit above your Lactate Threshold 1 will cause a sustained depletion of glycogen and in turn limit your longer endurance rides in an attritional way
@@BikeRacingWithoutMercy Theres a 210km event next month, I haven't signed up to it yet but I really want to do it, I'm just worried I'll end up doing to whole loop solo since my Z1 and Z2 are not as high as the more experience riders.
Adam How does Strava calculate each person's VO2 max? And why are they charging people? Has Strava become a scam?
Great Video guys! Still much more to learn in my opinion we are in a nonsense stage of cycling training. This is fact.
All of the estimates of things like VO2max, be it from Strava/Garmin/others, are essentially educated guesswork. They take parameters such as how your HR aligns with your power and overlay that into population level data to generate an estimate. Issue being this doesn't really work very accurately on a personal level - people have different physiological characteristics that affect how their HR responds to exercise/what their power-duration curve looks like/etc. So if you took the estimated VO2max for say 1000 athletes, the average of that would probably be fairly close to the true average if established in a lab, issue being there would be huge variance on an individual level within that - some people way above their estimate, some way below, some ~aligning. So you'd have little confidence that your "estimate" as an individual is accurate, and obviously that's the most important thing if you're using the results to inform your training/racing!
@@adamgisherwood every person's fitness is as individual as a fingerprint
If you get a bunch of people the same age that do the same activity, their numbers are going to be totally off.
I can get 10 guys my age and our heart rate is not going to be the same.
There is no way they can gauge our fitness.
@@HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed Exactly the average might be "as expected" but each individual could vary within that. 5, 5, 5 and 1, 5, 9 both have an average of 5, but within the second set the numbers are all dramatically different!
@@adamgisherwood many people's heart rate reacts to fitness a lot different than others.
Some people's heart rate will lower a lot faster than others will. And when they're fatigued, their heart rate will rise a lot more than others will.
That's what I'm saying. There's no way that they can gauge it.
@@HarryTzianakisTheGodOfSpeed Yes, I'm agreeing with you....
I “like” this one.
Cheers Adam 🙏 LT1 is indeed the BOSS of all the thresholds for most of us 💯
I found none of this helpful. All you did was talk about yourself the entire time. For those of us who don't have the money to go to a lab to have our lactate threshold measured, how are we supposed to figure it out? Did I miss where you told us that?
You dont need to do this lan test to become strong in cycling really. Just ask any ex physiologist. Yes you are correct this is all about “hey look at me” how cool I look with this mask with metabolic cart blah blah. Self centred if you must say 🤷♂️
I agree that there is no requirement for cyclists to take lab tests. And indeed I didn’t use a lab test to calculate estimate my LT1 at 200W ahead of climbing Tiede as my first big ride following my injuries. And in the video I reference this and also discuss the sensations (breathing, HR and ability to clear lactate easily from the legs etc) that I monitored on long indoor rides to come up with the 200W estimate. For many people their FTP is not accurate (prone to overstate the anaerobic threshold for many), and in turn their power zones are not accurate and in any case are set on the basis of a large population - so provide further inaccuracies for the individual . So when people ride endurance - they can be overestimating their sustainable power or underestimating. Highlighting that for me personally based on a standard FTP Test, Training Peaks would have calculated the transition from Z2 to Z3 at 180W, and conversely the 20min test consistently overestimates my anaerobic threshold. Furthermore most of us do not have a good understanding as to what should be occurring from a physiological perspective as we progress through our individual power curve. And in my experience understanding LT1 correctly does enable you to ride your fastest pace over some very long distances provided you stay on top of the nutrition before and during the ride. Yes I did this based on me and my physiology, but tested by a subject matter expert and very accomplished cyclist at Oxford University - and there are messages in this that are hopefully relevant to all, and you are both welcome to disregard this. I am not looking to sell anything to persuade people to do anything unlike the vast majority of channels on CZcams.