Lactate Test?

[drghfx]

Has anyone had a lactate test done? A buddy of mine had one done a couple of weeks ago. The test suggested most of his training should be done at an extremely high heart rate. His coach looked at it and thought the level of HR was crazy. Just wondering what anyone else thinks about the test.

[La]

I had it done (one for the bike, one for the run) by our Tri Club's coach a few years ago. It was the test where you run/bike at increasing levels of difficulty while wearing a HRM and he pricks your finger and tests the amount of lactate in your blood. The result gives you the ranges you should be using for different zones of working out (I think this coach used a 5-zone model). He also asked me about perceived exertion along the way (I couldn't see my own HR).

The results of my tests is that my ranges are what are normally recommended for women my age (at the time), and the difference in HR zones between bike and run were also typical (15 BPM for MHR). Since all the resources give a range for HR zones, it's helpful to know what your actual/individual HR values should be for each zone.

With this kind of test you have to repeat it regularly as your zones will change as your fitness improved (or declines, after a period of inactivity).

[HCcD]

That is weird, as I have been told the revers from Peak Centre, the couple times I have had my Zones Tested ... Almost most of training (40-60%) should be in Zones 1-2 and perhaps, 5% done at Zone 5, which is usually sprints, etc ... I have heard a lot of runners commented on how running slow really feels hard when first starting to train by HR traing ...

http://www.peakcentre.ca/

[La]

That is weird, as I have been told the revers from Peak Centre, the couple times I have had my Zones Tested ... Almost most of training (40-60%) should be in Zones 1-2 and perhaps, 5% done at Zone 5, which is usually sprints, etc ... I have heard a lot of runners commented on how running slow really feels hard when first starting to train by HR traing ...

http://www.peakcentre.ca/

You're talking about two different things:
1) Lactate testing to find out what your HR zone ranges are
2) In which zones you should be training for different types of workouts

#1 should be the same, regardless of where you are tested (though some variation will exist, depending on how the tester defines the zones and how many zones they are using). #2 will vary according to the training methodology/philosophy of the particular coach.

[HCcD]

Regardless, of the methodology, the catch is that they suggest that you come back, where possible, every 2-3 months and fork out your $120-$180 .... to get retested, as "training effect" will result in changes to your HR Zones, Lactate results, etc ...

And, having said that, the first year that I was tested, and results provided to me and my Coach, at the time ... during our post-test meeting, they suggested that if we / I follow the training zones/results, that my potential performance results would be achieved, for 5K thru Marathon .... Anyhoo, my Coach gave me my workouts and which Zones to train in, and by the end of the year, when I double-checked my performance vs their potential estimations, it was pretty bang on, if I recall ...

[Jwolf]

This was me when I did my test back in 2009:

http://runningmagazine.ca/lab-rat-putti ... threshold/

I did a follow-up test about four months later after running in the zones they suggested and I saw significant improvement at the time, but I haven't been tested subsequently. It is the kind of thing that you do have to monitor regularly to be able to stick to the right zones by heart rate, but after a while you can figure it out on your own (in coordination with pacing and perceived exertion).

The protocol used by Peak Centre where I got tested gives 5 zones: zone 1 is for "easy pace", aerobic running -- not necessarily slow but slower than many people like to run. For me this zone was between 141-156 (my max was about 190 and my LT HR was about 170). They suggest most running is in this aerobic zone 1, with smaller percentages (10-20% total) in the upper zones (for things like tempo runs and intervals). The heart rates and paces for the upper zones are given as well.

I don't really understand your friend's conclusion that "most of his running" should be at a fairly high heart rate. Most running should be in the lower heart rate zones with a significant but smaller percentage in the higher zones. If "most" running is in the high heart rate zones, then you won't be able to do a lot of running.

[drghfx]

This was me when I did my test back in 2009:

http://runningmagazine.ca/lab-rat-putti ... threshold/

I did a follow-up test about four months later after running in the zones they suggested and I saw significant improvement at the time, but I haven't been tested subsequently. It is the kind of thing that you do have to monitor regularly to be able to stick to the right zones by heart rate, but after a while you can figure it out on your own (in coordination with pacing and perceived exertion).

The protocol used by Peak Centre where I got tested gives 5 zones: zone 1 is for "easy pace", aerobic running -- not necessarily slow but slower than many people like to run. For me this zone was between 141-156 (my max was about 190 and my LT HR was about 170). They suggest most running is in this aerobic zone 1, with smaller percentages (10-20% total) in the upper zones (for things like tempo runs and intervals). The heart rates and paces for the upper zones are given as well.

I don't really understand your friend's conclusion that "most of his running" should be at a fairly high heart rate. Most running should be in the lower heart rate zones with a significant but smaller percentage in the higher zones. If "most" running is in the high heart rate zones, then you won't be able to do a lot of running.

Exactly. All the zones seemed quite high. His coach uses Owen Andersen's tables (I think) where at least the lowest zone is lower than Daniel's. They are much lower than the lactate test was recommending.

[Jwolf]

This was me when I did my test back in 2009:

http://runningmagazine.ca/lab-rat-putti ... threshold/

I did a follow-up test about four months later after running in the zones they suggested and I saw significant improvement at the time, but I haven't been tested subsequently. It is the kind of thing that you do have to monitor regularly to be able to stick to the right zones by heart rate, but after a while you can figure it out on your own (in coordination with pacing and perceived exertion).

The protocol used by Peak Centre where I got tested gives 5 zones: zone 1 is for "easy pace", aerobic running -- not necessarily slow but slower than many people like to run. For me this zone was between 141-156 (my max was about 190 and my LT HR was about 170). They suggest most running is in this aerobic zone 1, with smaller percentages (10-20% total) in the upper zones (for things like tempo runs and intervals). The heart rates and paces for the upper zones are given as well.

I don't really understand your friend's conclusion that "most of his running" should be at a fairly high heart rate. Most running should be in the lower heart rate zones with a significant but smaller percentage in the higher zones. If "most" running is in the high heart rate zones, then you won't be able to do a lot of running.

Exactly. All the zones seemed quite high. His coach uses Owen Andersen's tables (I think) where at least the lowest zone is lower than Daniel's. They are much lower than the lactate test was recommending.

What I don't understand then is why he got the test if it wasn't in coordination with his coach's methodology?

Like La said, it's not really the "lactate test" that recommends the zones, but the methodology applied by the coach using the data. In general the lactate test gives HR numbers corresponding to aerobic threshold HR and anaerobic threshold HR (based on levels of blood lactate), and may give speed zones on the treadmill that correspond with the HR zones.

If his coach is using a certain methodology to get training zones, the lactate HR data should just augment that information, not replace it. So it just makes me wonder what his data said and how it is incongruent with what his coach recommends for paces.