Lactate Threshold Test

I’m about to start my next block of training so it’s time to do a new Lactate Threshold test. The last one I did was in December 2009 and I’m sure I’ve raised my LT since then.

How to do a Lactate Threshold test on a home trainer:

• 15min warm-up
• 10min hard
• 20min harder
• 10min warm-down
• Average heart rate over the 20min section is a good estimate of LT

Here you can see that I warmed up steadily until I got to my old LT of 162bpm at 12 minutes and then slowly increased the intensity to a point where I felt it was the maximum I could sustain for the duration of the test (25:00-45:00). The last five minutes were tough but in the end I averaged 177bpm, 15 beats higher than my old level.

Joe Friel’s heart rate zones based on a LT of 177bpm:

• Z1. 116-145 Recovery (60%-75%)
• Z2. 146-158 Aerobic (76%-82%)
• Z3. 159-165 Tempo (82%-85%)
• Z4. 166-176 Subthreshold (86%-91%)
• Z5a. 177-180 Superthreshold (92%-93%)
• Z5b. 181-186 Aerobic Capacity (94%-96%)
• Z5c. 187-193 Anaerobic Capacity (97%-100%)

My Garmin can only manage five heart rate zones so Z5 will be 177-193 (92%-100%).