AeT/AT Test Analysis (Beginner Runner)

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February 10, 2021 at 1:03 pm #50679

Philskies
Participant

Hi everyone, thank you for reading my first post. I recently did a AeT/AT/VO2 max test and I am hoping I could get some help analyzing some of the information from the report. I’ve attached the file here.

Background info:
Training:
I am a 39yr old male. All my life, I’ve never done much cardio. I mostly lifted weights. I looked relatively fit (15% bf), but my endurance was crap. In Sept 2020, I started getting into endurance and researching things like AeT, ADS, and Maffetone training. Over the next 4-5 months, I was determined to get my AeT engine up to par. This included about 65hrs of Maf HR running/walking, which equated to about 460km. I would say 95% of my training was below MAF HR (140). Most of my training is done fasted at around noon, my last meal being the previous night. When I first started, my MAF speed @ 140bpm was about 8:45-9:00min/km. It is now about 7:00min/km.

Diet:
I’ve been on a low carb/carnivore/keto diet for over a year. I also do 18-36hr fasts occasionally and find it very easy. I do not have carb/sugar cravings. I eat “normally” (SAD) for social events, and I’ll have occasional cheats meals, but for the most part I’m quite low carb carnivore. Due to this, I figure I should be fat adapted.

Testing:
After about 4 months of training, I wanted to do a AeT/AT/VO2 test to see where I was at. I did the test yesterday, and I was quite surprised by my Carb/Fat ratio. According to the test, at a measly HR of 118-128, my carb to fat ratio was 72/28!! At a HR of 129-138, it was 84/16, and at 139-145, it was 87/13. From my understanding, that would mean that my crossover point is at a HR well below 118!? Or that I might not even have a crossover point! How could I be that bad of a fat burner??

Also, the report says that my AeT is 138 and my AT is 151. These numbers seem to be reasonable based on my performance and my understanding of physiology, but it does seem to contradict the carb/fat ratio value.

Also, I noticed my AeT is very close to my AT; does this mean I should spend some more time increasing my AT to make room for my AeT to improve?

End notes:
I am most concerned about the carb/fat burning values. Does it make sense that I have that bad a case of ADS?? I’m just a beginner trying to improve my overall endurance/health and improve my MAF speed to 6:00min/km. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you!

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Posted In: General Training Discussion

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Philskies on February 10, 2021 at 7:14 pm #50697

Testing protocol:
I was given 15 minutes to do a very gradual warm up on a treadmill, at the end of which I reached a HR of 135. I did a 5 min walk for a cool down. Then we took another 5 min to strap the gas mask on to begin the test. At the start of the test, my HR was about 105.

-25 min: warm up
-10 min: walk
-5 min: gas mask install
0 min: 105 bpm (begin test)
2 min: 110
4 min: 120
6 min: 128
8 min: 137
10 min: 143
12 min: 150
14 min: 160
16 min: 172
18 min: 182 bpm

I compared this to UA’s recommended protocol and it looks like we increased the speed a bit too quickly. Could this ruin the data though?

Participant

Rachel on February 12, 2021 at 2:43 pm #50792

It seems like there is a chance that your aerobic system wasn’t fully “online” and that could have messed up your carb/fat results. Were you fasted or not for the test? It does seem surprising that your fat burning was so low even with your fasted workouts & low carb way of eating. Although if you don’t have a long history of aerobic work that could be part of it.

That said the AeT matches pretty well with your MAF number. If you want to feel even more confident in your AeT and AnT you might want to try the field tests. You could target 140 for AeT. AnT is especially good to field test because it’s really the best way to find your real world AnT. And AeT would be good to verify because I honestly can’t quite tell why they decided 138 was your AeT based on the data in the PDF. It would be good to do a HR drift test to make sure you don’t need to target a lower number. If your AeT is too high you may be working inadvertently in zone 3.

If you don’t use Training Peaks let us know — we use it to analyze the data for the drift test, but there’s also a forum member who developed a simple tool to do the analysis.

HR Drift Test

DIY Anaerobic test

Participant

Philskies on February 14, 2021 at 11:27 am #50826

Thanks for the feedback Rachel. I appreciate it.
Yes, I was fasted for the test for about 15 hrs.

Once the weather gets better or the gyms reopen, I’ll try the DIY tests and compare the results.

Participant

Reed on February 16, 2021 at 8:03 am #50892

Hi Phil,

Echoing Rachel… the warmup seems pretty short, and if you ended your gradual warmup at 135bpm but your AeT is 138 – the warmup wasn’t easy enough. And ramping up every two minutes is pretty fast.

Did they also take lactate measurements? It’s not clear from the PDF what led to the determination of either your AeT or AnT. It seems like they’re in the right ballpark, though.

It sounds to me like you’re making really good, patient, consistent progress. Keep it up! Another four months spending four hours per week training below 140bpm will lead to continued improvements.

One last thought regarding carb / fat ratio and diet: this test is just one data point, and might not be accurate because of those same reasons above. If your diet, intermittent fasting, etc., is giving you energy and making you feel good, keep with it. Carbohydrates are important. Low carb relative to the standard American diet is still plenty of carbohydrates. 🙂

Inactive

Anonymous on March 4, 2021 at 7:27 am #51527

First, great job on your improvements so far. Going from 9m/km to 7m/km is excellent. Celebrate it.

…because you may never see another 29% improvement again. As fitness and training increase, the marginal gains become less and less.

But take heart. At 65 hours of training over your first five months, you are just at the very, very, very beginning of what could be (if you stick with it) a decade-long process. You have plenty of low-hanging fruit to harvest. Don’t sweat it.

With respect to the test, was this TCR in Calgary? Did Cory do the test? If so, then I suspect the numbers are accurate. I’ve done two tests with Cory, and the results were the same as my DIY lactate tests.

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AeT/AT Test Analysis (Beginner Runner)

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