For those here who are mathematically inclined there is a recent article on cycling and Maximal Lactate Steady State. Here is the cite:

Hauser, T., et al. (2014). "Comparison of calculated and experimental power in maximal lactate-steady state during cycling." Theor Biol Med Model 11: 25.

and can be found here:

http://www.tbiomed.com/content/11/1/25

To indicate the problem of using the MLSS parameter or any other threshold estimate alone for training without any knowledge of what is behind it, here is a quote from the article

Indeed, Bleicher et al. [12] verified, that two different athletes, (soccer and track), had
exactly the same velocity for onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA) of 4.4 m/s,
yet the individual parameters of VO2max and VLamax were higher for the soccer player
when compared to the track athlete (VO2max : 70 vs. 63 ml/min/kg ; VLamax 0.93 vs.
0.65 mmol/l/s , respectively). That confirms, therefore that identical MLSS could be
originate by completely different combinations of VO2max - and VLamax values. Using
either VO2max , VLamax or BLC alone, it is not possible to explain differences of Power at MLSS
between two athletes or the effects of training on the MLSS. As such, it would be beneficial
to understand, how MLSS is controlled by glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation
within the muscle cell.

It includes a bibliography relevant to the issue of thresholds.

Relevant to above quote, several years ago Sebastian Weber sent us information on some cyclists he was working with. Here is a chart that showed the same phenomena as the quote:



Other examples from Weber and his training organization in Germany (STAPS) are on our web page on cycling.

http://www.lactate.com/lactate_cycling.html

The title of one of the abstracts of an article on the STAPS site is (translated by Google)

VLamax, the maximum lactate formation rate - the secret of endurance performance

Food for thought when designing training programs.

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Jerry Cosgrove

Sports Resource Group
http://www.lactate.com
https://twitter.com/@LactatedotCom