[Giulia]

Hi all,
I am a 27 year old women and mountain enthusiast.
1 month ago I did an effort test on a treadmill to better determine my FC zones, Aerobic Threshold (AeT) & Lactate Threshold (LT).

It turned out that my AeT=161 bpm, and my LT=190 bpm (you can see the results of the test attached).
If I make the calculation between those two, it shows that I have an aerobic deficiency syndrome (190/161=18%). However I feel like in term of pulsation the AeT is quite high enough for an aerobic base. I am more concerned about the LT that seems to be very high… Thus making a very large Zone 3 from 161 to 190. Then zone 4 and 5 are very close to each other spanning from 191 to 200 bpm (my FCmax = 200).
The doctor that made the test told me that I am a type of person with FC curve rising fast at the beginning, then flattening in the end – it took me some time to reach my maximum FC (this seems to concern 1/4 of people).

Do you think that I am in a aerobic deficiency syndrome and that I should build a better endurance base – increase training in zone 1 & 2 ?
I am a running frequently since 2 years, doing skimo each weekend from December to May, doing alpinism & climbing in summer-autumn. I am feeling more comfortable in endurance than speed and intervals.

Thank you !
Giulia

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[Fletcher]

Fletcher on February 8, 2022 at 7:50 am #63097

This is very similar to me…

Resting – 43bpm
(self tested)
AeT = 156bpm
AnT = 187bpm
Max = 202bpm

With me there’s no in-between – I can either comfortably run at a semi-decent pace under AeT or run at AnT. At the last marathon, my avHR was 178bpm.

You’re right, it does seem high, I’ve started training at low Z2 (145bpm) hopefully that’ll continue to push everything up and reduce the training stress… hopefully.

Sorry I don’t have much insight, other than to let you know you’re not alone:)

[Giulia]

Giulia on February 9, 2022 at 1:46 am #63136

Oh yes we are quite similar in AeT and AnT 😉 Happy to see that I am not the only one !

I have done lots of long hiking (4-5h) in my youth since the age of 6 as my parents were often in the mountains, and I’m used now to long mountain days, so maybe that could explain the high AeT. Still I am a bit surprised that AeT and AnT are so high, but it seems to work well with the lactate curve ? I would say that I “feel” like my AeT should be more around 150 bpm. For the AnT this is hard to say with the feeling. I know that I’ve done some ski tours staying for 45min at 180bpm and could follow the pace, but it’s hard to keep it more than 1 hour.

Also, regarding the ADS, what is important is the difference between the AeT and AnT (they have to be quite close to each other, meaning you will have a greater Z2), so if my AnT is around 180bpm, this would mean that I can still improve my aerobic base ?

I am also training at 145-150bpm to increase aerobic capacity, combining with strength workout. But I would say that my biggest problem is to increase my pace, so I guess I have to keep working my aerobic base for now.

If someone can help us/have an idea on this, would be great !

[tobischneider]

tobischneider on February 9, 2022 at 12:44 pm #63141

Following… Seems quite interesting to me as well 🙂

[Reed]

Reed on February 10, 2022 at 8:37 am #63180

Heart rate numbers are pretty different from person to person, with a large genetic component. One of my first lab tests showed an AeT of 162 and AnT of 185, similar to your numbers. Highest heart rate I’ve recorded was 210.

One thing that I notice is the lactate level: 2.7, 2.0, 2.5, etc. Especially the 2.7mmol/L reading at a heart rate of 135. Those seem a little high for a baseline / aerobic (normally closer to 1.0-1.5?). Can you describe the test, and what sort of warmup you had?

But overall – it seems like this is a great data point that suggests opportunity to increase your AeT heart rate level and your pace at AeT by focusing on sub-150-bpm volume.

[Giulia]

Giulia on February 10, 2022 at 9:16 am #63184

Hello Reed, thanks for your reply 🙂

I think that I might have a “small” heart, I am frequently rapidly rising to 145-155bpm, but feeling quite good there.

The test was a treadmill test starting at 5.8 km/h, then increasing speed with 1.2 km/h at each step (increasing speed every 3 minutes).
I have to say that the warm-up was quite fast for me: I walked fast for 3 minutes, then started running at 5.8 km/h for 3 minutes and speed was then increasing.
So at the end like a 6 minutes warm-up or so.. Which is way below what I need to warm-up usually.

Yes I think that I will continue focusing on increasing AeT heart rate level and pace. Do you think that doing some strength training (core and legs) can be useful for now ?
My current plan is 8 weeks of Zone 1-2 workout (2x 1h run, 1 long skimo day during the weekend), with 2x moderate strength workout (core and legs exercises of the TftUA book).

[Reed]

Reed on February 10, 2022 at 10:18 am #63187

That sounds like a very short warmup. The aerobic system can take 15-30 minutes to really get going, and the goal of the AeT test is to get an assessment of that system. The lactate numbers and the shape of the curve (i.e. Conconi point) probably gives you a good estimate of your anaerobic threshold. You might consider finding a flat road and trying a 1-hour aerobic test (https://uphillathlete.com/heart-rate-drift/).

If what described is the entirety of your plan, then you might consider more shorter runs during the week (e.g., 4x 30-minute runs rather than 2x 1-hr runs). More day-to-day consistency that can build on itself, because you’ll recover and super-compensate from that 30-minute run before the next one. I think it can also be easy to end up as a “weekend warrior” where a long day makes it hard to recover quickly enough for sustained progress.

[Giulia]

Giulia on February 11, 2022 at 1:21 am #63231

Thanks for your advice Reed !
I will do a heart rate drift test to confirm my AeT. But if my AnT is well estimated to 190 then I may have great opportunity to increase my AeT and pace at AeT. I will focus on that !

Sorry that was unclear, but these 8 weeks are just the beginning of my plan. The entire plan is for now:
– 8 weeks building aerobic base: I will consider doing more consistent shorter trainings in Z2, thanks for the advice. I am also planning to increase the volume each week, and take a “lighter” recovery week after each cycle of 3 weeks. I might also extend this base period depending on my ADS.
– then 4 weeks bringing more intensity in Zone 4-5 to develop my V02max: 2x per week short to medium Interval training, with Z1-2 trainings to recover and maintain base. But this will depend on how much I can develop my aerobic base after 8 weeks.
– then 1x week Interval training to maintain the Max aerobic speed, also still Z1-2 trainings. Rest until the final objective!

[sashaholmes1999]

sashaholmes1999 on February 17, 2022 at 6:31 am #63427

really interesting.. i loved it