Just finished up reading the “Triathlete’s Training Bible” and I want to begin a more detailed training regiman soon. However I am still not very clear on how to best figure out my lactate threshold, and that is what all of the exercise zones the book uses are based off of? I’d really appreciate if some of you could post the processes you have used to compute/figure your lactate threshold.
Thanks!
One way is to:
Warm Up
Go as hard as you can for 30 minutes without going so hard that you have to slow down at the end. Your average hr that you achieved and sustained will be close to your LT.
Cool Down
– Oh yeah, you should do this for each sport as they may differ a bit…
Isn’t it the average HR for the last 20 minutes of that test? I think that is how they recommend doing it in that book or “Going Long”.
Otherwise, I would think you are measuring what you can hold for 30 minutes, as opposed to the one hour ballpark estimate they say you should be able to do at an even pace at LT.
Ya, I just read the book about 2 months ago… Excellent book, but lactate threshold was a little vague.
From what I’ve read, the best possible method is to pay for the test. But unless you’re elite, who has the time and $$$.
The book lays out a couple of tests in bike and run to determine VT. He later says (very quickly) that LT is roughly VT at RPE of 17.
I’ve done some HRM training, intervals and such, since using the treadmill test for run and found that the results had to be close based on how I performed in the sessions.
Also, you can always use the old standby to find LT by using:
LT = 220 - Age
Won’t be right for bike unless you’re cyclist turned tri. But will probably be pretty close for run, mine was 1 beat off the test.
I haven’t done the bike tests yet, but hope to soon to get LT there.
Also, you can always use the old standby to find LT by using:
LT = 220 - Age
Just to clear up: That’s actually a formula for estimating max heart rate (not a great one at that). Unless you had a heart attack and subsequently started exercise training, HR max it is most definitely not where your LT lies.
Josef
Ya, sorry about that… bad mistake. But you can get the book’s version of your LT from max as he sets max of Zone 5c as your max heart rate.
Bad mistake. Also, in my meager reading, there are about 20 different ways to skin this cat with just getting a test being the only absolute.
According to Friel’s book, here are 2 ways to test LT & Max HR at the same time. This is what I recall and not straight from the book. I have done the run test and not the bike test. I believe the run test is pretty accurate for me:
RUN TEST: Go to a track. Warm up a little. Start very easy. Do 400s and record your split and HR for each lap. Try to run 5 seconds faster on every lap.
I started at 2:30 400s (123 bpm). Friel says start at an 8 out of 20 in perceived effort (I figure 1 being sleeping, 4-5 strolling, 20 as cardiac arrest) I ended up running a 77-second 400 with an average HR of 173. This should be close to 19 out of 20 in terms of effort.
I ran 16 or 17 laps (4+ miles, 25+ minutes). Friel says a 16 of 20 is LT, a pace you feel like you can maintain for 5 minutes or a bit longer. My LT was about lap 14 (85 seconds, 165 bpm). This is also close to my 5K pace (5:40 miles). My max was 181, but I always add 5 to get a max of 186 or so.
The bike test is similar. Start out a 13 or 14 mph and real easy and bump it up slowly mile by mile for 30 minutes or so. I’m sure my bike LT is lower.
Most training should be at about 25 beats below LT. Tempo is about 10 beats below LT. Intervals should be at or above LT, from what I have read. Works for me anyway.
If you want to know about bad mistakes, you should talk to my boss about me! 
If it makes you feel any better, I have a a couple degrees in Ex Phys and the multitude of LT and zone definitions are confusing to me as well…
Ya, sorry about that… bad mistake. But you can get the book’s version of your LT from max as he sets max of Zone 5c as your max heart rate.
I guess I missed that in the book (lots of info to absorb)! So your saying that the max of ZONE 5c is supposed to be equal to your max heartrate???
My max heartrate is appx 183(running), so according to the charts in the book, that puts my LT at 165.
Yup, roughly…
Using the tests are nice because as you get into great condition your LT may change a little (which will change your routines), but more likely your pace will just increase. Monitoring it this way is a good indication that your training is doing what it should.
But if you’re pretty new like me, just changing the old habits result in big improvements in time