[gfilip]

gfilip on December 26, 2019 at 6:32 am · in reply to: A “high” baseline lactate concentration? #34984

I too appear to have a high baseline lactate level, although I certainly don’t “feel” like I have FT dominance.

I had a lactate panel completed at a university lab where while on a treadmill, the technician would draw 3 blood samples from my fingers and each sample was tested in its own lactate meter. I repeated this test at the same lab with the same crew after 5 months of base training. I did not eat anything before nor did I perform any exercise before the midday testing on both occasions. My baseline lactate from the first test was right around 3.0 mmol/L (early on in the treadmill test this came down to a lowest reading of 2.0 mmol/L at easy effort). Five months later the baseline was lower at 2.0 mmol/L, still a relatively high number (did not have a lower reading during the treadmill test, it just kept on increasing with effort). The baseline readings were done basically when I arrived at the lab; no warm-up, food, etc.

In the 5 months between tests, I averaged 43 hours of training per month and also experimented with my diet, going from high carb around the time of the first test, to low-carb/keto for the last 2 months or so before the 2nd test. I think the change in diet had the biggest impact as the carb/fat usage from gas exchange readings shifted quite dramatically.

Hope this is useful in some way.

[gfilip]

gfilip on April 22, 2019 at 7:26 am · in reply to: Aerobic Threshold and Strength Training #20843

Hi there,

I’m sure the pros will give you a detailed response but I can help with some of your questions based on what I’ve learned from the 2 books and this website/forum.

1) It does sound like your AeT is lower than the formula suggests. The MAF seems to correlate well for most people with a history of endurance training but tends to over-estimate the AeT for others. I am one of those people without a long history of structured training so I can maintain nose breathing for at least 10-15bpm above my AeT that I’ve confirmed with a lab lactate/gas test and a 60-minute treadmill test. I’d recommend redoing the treadmill test using the standard protocol of a 15-minute gradual warm up followed by 60 minutes of constant speed/incline. Take the ratio of the average HR from the second half of the 60-minute test to the average from the first half. If the ratio is greater than 1.05 (5% test), then the HR you noted at the very beginning of the 60-minute test is above your AeT and you should redo the test with a lower starting HR.

2) Early on, I’d be cautious with your total volume of training even at or below the AeT. Your body needs time to adapt to the training stimulus and doing too much too quickly can have a negative impact on your performance. Stick to the plan early on and see how your body responds. Once you get a feel for this response, you can try experimenting with higher volumes and how they impact you.

3) I’ve read that most people have problems with the L-sit, and I did too. It really is a matter of time and consistency. I was unable to get off the ground even with crossed legs. After several weeks of consistent core training, I got to the point of holding crossed legs off the ground, then short bursts of straight legs, and now finally I can hold the L-sit for ~10 seconds. The other core exercises will strength your core obviously, so just stick with it and keep trying the L-sit, it will come.

4) There is a very in-depth discussion on this in the books. I believe it boils down to the fact that it takes a relatively long time to build up the support systems for the aerobic energy pathways whereas your body quickly takes to the glycemic pathway of anaerobic training. I am far from an expert on this so I’d recommend the books for more info or Scott J. may chime in on here.

[gfilip]

gfilip on March 5, 2019 at 5:44 am · in reply to: AeT and elevation #17490

Thank you Steve, that is a very useful article.

[gfilip]

gfilip on February 27, 2019 at 6:59 am · in reply to: AeT and elevation #17036

Hi Scott,

Should I expect a similar impact on the AeT but in reverse when coming from ~1,000′ to train at ~6,000′ for several days? I certainly expect the AeT to be lower at the higher elevation but am trying to figure out just how much lower it may be. Will nasal breathing still be a good marker for the AeT with this type of an elevation change?

Thanks

Greg

[gfilip]

gfilip on January 16, 2019 at 6:30 pm · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #15989

Thanks for the notes and input Scott. I agree that I was likely not warmed up enough for the aerobic system to be fully ready and thus the relatively high initial levels.

As for the CHO:FAT cross-over and AeT, in the “Getting Test Part 2” article, there is this:

Where the lines cross (the Cross Over Point) corresponds to where fat and carbs each contribute 50% of the total calories. This corresponds very closely to the aerobic threshold.

but I’d be happy to hear from Scott J. as well.

[gfilip]

gfilip on January 16, 2019 at 1:27 pm · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #15969

I completed a lactate and gas exchange flat treadmill test last week. I am attaching my results for reference.

My baseline lactate seems way high (~3mmol/L) and this makes the lactate results difficult to interpret. I had a day of rest before this test but I suspect I was still carrying some fatigue from the previous week and from a recent sinus infection. Not sure how that affects resting lactate levels.

During the early stages where HR<140, the levels dropped off to approximately 2mmol/L so I am not sure if I should use the increase above 2mmol/L at around 140bpm as the aerobic threshold, or if I should take an average of the early stage (~2.5mmol/L) and then look at where this baseline increases by 1mmol/L. The former corresponds to AeT of ~135bpm whereas the latter corresponds to AeT of ~150bpm, which better matches what I’d expect based on my nose-breathing and HD drift testing.

The report indicates an AnT of 174bpm based on the ventilatory threshold whereas my outdoor testing gave me ~172bpm, so quite close. I think it makes sense to continue Z1/Z2 aerobic base building to close in the AeT-AnT gap.

The metabolic results are more encouraging as the crossover point is right around 140 to 145bpm.

Greg

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[gfilip]

gfilip on December 27, 2018 at 8:55 am · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #15539

Thanks for the details Reed.

It is pretty amazing to see how high your HR can be while staying in the AeT even though you consider yourself not highly trained. I’m not sure how old you are but with a guess of around 30 (sorry if way off!), the average formulas would put you at around 150bpm for AeT. Unfortunately for me, I very much follow the average and at 32, I’ve been able to bump my AeT up to ~153bpm from ~147bpm or so over the course of a very unstructured year. My numbers are all based on the treadmill HR drift testing but I suspect I am not far off. I’ll be getting a proper lab test done in early January so I’ll be sure to share my results to contribute to what you’ve shared with us.

Greg

[gfilip]

gfilip on December 27, 2018 at 6:55 am · in reply to: Interpreting blood lactate test. Also, zone definitions. #15533

Hi Reed,

Great posts and progress, thank you for sharing the details of your training.

I have a question about your runs during the most recent 6 months where you saw a drastic change in your AeT HR. You mentioned targeting 5 to 6 hours a week with 1 longer runs and and 4 easy runs. What ratio did you use typically for these? Something like a 1.5-hour long run and then 4x 45-minute runs? Did you include very easy recovery runs every week or just when you felt your body needing an easy workout?

Also, at the 177bpm AeT, are you breathing through your nose without much difficulty? Could you also share which lactate meter you’re using for your tests?

Thanks!

Greg

[gfilip]

gfilip on December 27, 2018 at 6:37 am · in reply to: Timing of Phases in Training for Ice and Mixed Climbing #15532

Hi Scott,

Eight weeks does seem like not a long time. What prompted my question is the statement from Steve in the article that he recommends people to train for at least eight weeks. I hope to make the training period longer than that but wanted to see how the phases should be divided up if not training for the full 24 weeks or so. Your answer is very helpful in doing that, thanks.

Greg