The recent podcast on Metabolic testing was excellent. It contained so much information, but has got me thinking about it in a different way. It has thrown out some questions for me.

1) In the early part it suggested that the Crossover Point was the most important metric for training at, but later in the podcast it suggested that it should be Fatmax. For most people, these will not coincide. Is there a view as to which is the preferable HR to train at/under.

2)It made the very important distinction that a VO2max test should be tested differently to MET.
It suggested that VO2max should be short with 1 to 2 minute step ups in speed. There was no detailed description of the ideal way to carry out the MET. e.g. How long/what intensity for warmup?, how long for each step up? what are the recommended speeds for each step up? etc I don’t suppose Dr Sickle’s MET protocol is available?

3)The MET should be carried out fasted. If a runner does not train fasted, can the Fatmax be different to the MET results?

4)It made the point about training to be good at both burning fat and carbs. Presumably this meant that speedwork is essential (is there another way to train to burn carbs)?

5) The eat fat to burn fat has always been something that I have found unconvincing. If you train in the fat burning zone, will fat burning not be improved, even though the diet is not low carb?

Many thanks for an excellent podcast.