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What is lactate testing and why should we test it?
Forget your traditional power zones for a second... From a physiological perspective exercise can be split up into 4 domains based on intensity: moderate, heavy, severe and extreme. Performing prolonged exercise in each domain will bring about a distinctive physiological response.
One method of analysing the physiological response to exercise is blood lactate testing. The lactate threshold (LT1) marks the border between the moderate and heavy exercise domain.
Knowing your lactate threshold allows you to be much more specific with your training. This is just as, if not more important for time crunched athletes. If you work a full-time job you are not going to be able to train nearly as much as the pro's, therefore, the hours you train become that much more important.
For example, you might still want to get those nice gains such as increased mitochondrial density that are associated with sustained moderate or 'zone 2' training, this usually comes with lots of hours of steady riding. However, if you know your lactate threshold could potentially achieve the same stimulus in a shorter time... You would do this by planning a session whereby you accumulate time at the highest intensity that still elicits a moderate physiological response (your lactate threshold).
Critical Power
Although they are similar in intensity, critical power (CP) unlike functional threshold power (FTP) actually denotes a point at which a physiological change occurs. It represents the boundary between heavy (steady-state) and severe (non-steady-state) exercise. CP is the highest intensity you can sustain without progressively drawing from anaerobic energy provisions.
It is just as simple to test as FTP and gives a much greater insight into your physiology. Not only will testing provide you with a threshold value, it will also show you how much work you are capable of performing above CP, this is known as W-prime (W'), you can think of this as your anaerobic battery.
Therefore, by keeping track of CP & W' you can see the effect your training is having on both your aerobic (CP) AND anaerobic (W') capacity and adjust it accordingly in line with your goals.
How it works
Each Blood Lactate test is conducted by our in house sports scientist, George Evans, who will guide you through the testing protocol, taking small blood samples at various points.
Once the test is over, George will crunch the numbers and give you your final levels. There will be a post test debrief where George will sit down with you and go through the data so that you leave with as much information as possible and how to implement the test results into your training.