Lactate going down during steady effort?

Creator

Topic
January 18, 2023 at 9:48 am #74771

getfstr
Participant

Hi all,

I’m in the process of getting used to regular lactate testing (on my own at home).

Did a 1h15min steady ride on the bike erg today (15min linear ramp, then 1h steady), wattage held my the erg.

Tested lactate at 30 / 60 / 75min and got results that surprised me:

30min: 1,8 mmol at HR of about 136
60min: 1,4 mmol at HR of about 140
75min: 1,2 mmol at HR of about 142

Is it normal that Lactate declines during such a session? Thought it would go up!

When determining AeT, should I look at the short term lactate or the end of the workout?

I thought this may be related to food intake, but this was about 2-3h post lunch. Still an effect?

Thank you for your guidance!
Creator

Topic

Posted In: General Training Discussion

Moderator

pedro on January 18, 2023 at 10:51 am #74777

Hi ,

For measuring the lactate threshold , would help to have someone, in order to be more accurate .
But measuring like you did, you can only see that as normal , lactate concentration in blood will increase with exercise if your work is done above zone 2 .
The lactate is produced in higher percentage when you work with higher intensities , the body has the capacity to remove it but in the aerobic zones where the percentage that the lactate produced is low and the body works mostly aerobic.
AeT is when you have 2 mmol and will correspond to heart rate at a certain pace , speed or power .
AnT 4 mmol …
Those values can change slightly in some athletes but in general those values are standard .

I hope I could answer all your questions

Cheers,

Pedro Carvalho

Participant

getfstr on January 18, 2023 at 10:54 am #74781

Hi Pedro,

Not sure this answers my question to be honest. My lactate is going down at a steady effort (wattage held constant), and I’m wondering why and what the implications are.

Thanks.

Moderator

pedro on January 18, 2023 at 10:56 am #74782

How much is that steady power? And how much that corresponds to your Ftp ?

Participant

getfstr on January 18, 2023 at 11:09 am #74783

160W. Don’t have a real FTP test but I think it is about 230-240W – so this is 65-70%.

Participant

getfstr on January 18, 2023 at 11:10 am #74784

Also, the fact that Lactate is declining, doesn’t this mean that I’m very well within Zone 2 or potentially Zone 1 even?

Moderator

pedro on January 18, 2023 at 11:14 am #74785

Hi ,

By working in lower zones or under your lactate threshold , the lactate value tends to decrease .
Especially at 65% , the body has the capacity to remove lactate .
Don’t understand what you mean with implications, what is the goal of you doing those measures and what do you want to achieve with that ?

Cheers ,

Pedro

Participant

getfstr on January 18, 2023 at 11:23 am #74786

Goal:

Identify my proper Z2 power by aiming for Lactate close to 2mmol. Right now I’m not sure what the right power is since I don’t know when to measure Lactate: 10min in, 30min in, … seem to give me different results.

Moderator

pedro on January 18, 2023 at 11:29 am #74787

Oh ok , for achieving your aerobic threshold , you have to do a step test .
There are a many protocols , they normally add 20 watts per min , and measure lactate until they achieve a value of 2.0 mmol . After achieving the 2.0 , you have a certain power , speed , heart corresponding that lactate value .

Cheers ,

Pedro

Participant

Andreas on January 19, 2023 at 12:34 am #74804

I also find the decreasing lactate strange/interesting. 2-3h after lunch is not exactly fasted though. It would be interesting to see what numbers you get if you do the same thing directly in the morning before eating something.

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Lactate going down during steady effort?