Determining AeT...

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June 7, 2020 at 1:28 pm #42473

mzkarim
Participant

Hi,

I did an AeT test last week and got an 7.5% pa:HR, so decided to do it again today. These are the URLs:

AeT test done on May 31, 2020:
https://home.trainingpeaks.com/athlete/workout/5RDS3PVY4HCMRTI4FEYTRMETSU

AeT test done on June 7, 2020:
https://home.trainingpeaks.com/athlete/workout/RYDIYFEPO5ZVFTI4FEYTRMETSU

After the first AeT test, I did Week 1 of the 24-week Mountaineering Plan and then did the second AeT test today. Both AeT tests were done outside on relatively flat terrain and I was running at a comfortable aerobic pace each time. However, my watch showed my HR today to be quite a bit higher than last week. Also, I got notification from TP that my new threshold HR is 152 when, after last week’s test, it was 148.

Could you please take a look at my URLs and let me know if I am doing this properly, since this is such an important test? Also, could the fact that my threshold was higher in today’s AeT test mean that I am seeing the benefits of the Mountaineering Plan (I have only done one week of it) or could it be my Garmin watch didn’t record the HR accurately this time around? Could you guys help me interpret the results of both AeT tests and let me know if I need to do one again?

Thanks so much!
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Posted In: General Training Discussion

Participant

mzkarim on June 7, 2020 at 1:49 pm #42478

My goal is hiking and mountain climbing. I also love to run. Thanks!

Inactive

Anonymous on June 8, 2020 at 8:14 am #42516

The tests look in order to me. The only issue I see is that the second test was only 45′?

* The first test had zero drift: 150 / 151 = 0.99
* The second test had about 3%: 159 / 154 = 1.032

I think you’re all set to use 155 as your AeT HR. (One week of training won’t have made a difference.)

Inactive

Anonymous on June 8, 2020 at 8:14 am #42517

Moiez:

Both these tests look like the provided good enough data to determine that you started both at a HR/pace that is above your AeT. You need to slow down until the Hr:Pa decoupling is under 5%. I suggest using 145 for the next test.

TP uses the term “threshold” to indicate what we call the anaerobic threshold, not the aerobic threshold. Until you correctly set up your zones TP is arbitrarily assigning zones to you and it is generally wrong. That’s why we recommend these tests so that you can set your zones and get meaningful data from TP.

Are you using a HR chest strap monitor? See the sticky at the top of the forum about this.

Notice that in the forum index on the right side of this page there are 46 separate threads dealing with the AeT test. You’ll find a great deal more info there.

AeT tests should be spread out by about 6 weeks in order to see significant progress.

You’re on the right track.
Scott

Inactive

Anonymous on June 8, 2020 at 10:10 am #42523

Doh! It looks like Scott J. and I posted at the same time and came to different conclusions. I’ll touch base with him and circle back.

Participant

mzkarim on June 8, 2020 at 11:07 am #42526

Yes, please, that would be awesome! To answer your questions, I did use a chest strap HR monitor and Garmin Forerunner 735XT. The reason the second AeT was only 45 minutes was that my Garmin was running out of battery and I didn’t want it to just stop and not upload to TP.

The reason I did the second AeT was because the first one gave me a pa:HR of 7.5% so wanted to see if I could get the second one under 5% (that came in at 8%).

It would be SO helpful and appreciated if you guys can’t discuss and respond. Do I need to do another AeT test? Thanks so much!

Participant

mzkarim on June 8, 2020 at 11:22 am #42528

Correction: it would be SO helpful and appreciated if you guys CAN discuss and respond…

Clarification: I used the Garmin watch and chest strap HR monitor each time.

Inactive

Anonymous on June 9, 2020 at 11:09 am #42586

I see what I missed. I was just focusing on your heart rate and didn’t look at the pace, which varies a lot.

The problem is that there’s way too much gain in these sessions (~300+m in each). You need to use a dead-flat course if you want the Pa:HR metric to mean anything.

Participant

mzkarim on June 10, 2020 at 4:43 am #42607

Thanks so much for your valued inputs. I will do a treadmill and an outdoor test to get a consistent AeT.

Inactive

Anonymous on June 10, 2020 at 10:33 am #42616

Just one is required. The treadmill test will be more reliable.

Participant

mzkarim on June 10, 2020 at 10:45 am #42618

Perfect, thanks!!! I have found that I reach an easy aerobic effort at a lower HR on the treadmill than I do outdoors. Is it because the treadmill tends to do part of the work since the belt is moving?

Sorry for all the questions, but I want to get this crucial metric right. Thanks!

Participant

mzkarim on June 10, 2020 at 8:33 pm #42644

This test should work. I set the treadmill incline at 3.0 and speed at 4.3 and didn’t change them throughout the hour, running at what I felt was a comfortable pace. I think I can go with 142 as my AeT? The MAF formula gives it as 126.

https://home.trainingpeaks.com/athlete/workout/72PK45VYDAFJNTI4FEYTRMETSU

Inactive

Anonymous on June 12, 2020 at 8:39 am #42723

While this test is certainly adequate and I think you are drawing the correct conclusion that you can use 142 as your AeT HR, you over overlooking one of the test’s most important instructions:

Do not start the test until you HR has stabilized at what you feel is your AeT HR number.

In your test you HR was climbing steadily for the first 20 min before it finally began to stabilize. So, only the last 40 min can still provide a meaningful data set for looking at the HR drift. Since you had virtually no drift in HR between the first and second half of those 40 minutes I feel you can be pretty confident that 142ish is right for you.

The MAF formula is just that, a formula that is broadly applicable across a population but may not be usable by an individual. Consider that if you tested 1000 people using the MAF formula you’d find that it was accurate for 95% of the people you tested. A correlation of 95% is extremely good and indicates that it works as well as any real life model could ever be expected to work…….unless you are one of the 5% for whom it is not accurate. That is why we developed the HR drift test as it is an easy test for an individual to apply and will get actionable information for each person.

I hope this helps,
Scott

Participant

mzkarim on June 12, 2020 at 8:08 pm #42757

Thanks. I started the test after about 14 minutes, when I thought my HR had stabilized but should have waited a little longer. I’m glad I was able to get a good enough test to be able to determine my AeT.

So I set the top of my Zone 2 at 142 and the top of Zone 1 at 128 (see attachment). I need to do an AnT test to set the top of Zone 3. What value should I put in the “Threshold HR” box (is that AnT)? Do delete Zone 5 completely?

My Killer Core and Strength Training workouts are going well…:-)

Thanks so much!

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Participant

mzkarim on June 12, 2020 at 9:20 pm #42761

Actually, the article “Making the most of your UA Training Plans” on this website answers my questions quite well. I will delete all the Zone 5s.

Thanks so much!!!

Participant

mzkarim on June 13, 2020 at 6:04 pm #42783

I have done the AeT test (as above) but not the AnT test yet. When should I do the AnT test, how often should I do both these tests and how close to each other should the tests be as far as timeframe (eg. should one be done within 3-4 days of the other)? It does look like I will need a separate day for each test.

I start Week 3 of the 24-week Plan on Monday.

Thanks!!!

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