@grenhall Not that you asked but it inevitably comes up. The lactate meter is cheap in the long run. It’s the cost of the strips that start to add up. That’s another reason I like this (mostly) sub-threshold testing (LT1 etc). Only use a few strips and once you’ve cross referenced with HR, you don’t assess that often.
I’ve just been watching my power steadily increase at roughly LT1 HR (and slightly above) for quite a few months.
I got my Lactate Edge meter this morning and thought I’d give it a go as soon as I got up so I’d get some fasted, resting levels just to see what they were before getting on the turbo. HR 57 (Resting 54) 1st reading 5.0 mmols That cant be right I though, 2nd reading 7.5 mmols!!!
When I emailed the company I got this curious reply from them
“Thank you for contacting us.
We often have problems in the UK with resting lactate levels, but not elsewhere in the World.
Please return your unit for a full refund.”
Rough translation - :The unit is fine, we Brits have a rubbish diet and we can’t be bothered arguing with you"
Did you make sure your finger was wiped clean w water? I’ve gotten weird readings during ISM steps b/c there was residual sweat on my finger. A bit of salt can really throw it off. I have a Lactate Edge.
Yeah. The strips are what hurt. I’ve become a bit less generous w testing after my third box.
I sanitised my hand first with an alcohol gel so could that be the problem do you think?
Yeah. They say not to use alcohol. Just water. And the gel probably has other stuff in it too.
Thanks
I’ll give it another go before returning it
Np. Also, don’t use the first drop of blood.
These high readings are typical for contamination. Sources are:
There is learning curve with this. However, resting levels before exercise are often higher. You should really read up on it before you get started. Otherwise it gets expensive with these strips.
See the guides here:
https://www.highnorth.co.uk/guides
or here
sun but freaking cold outside this morning, lost any motivation for an outdoor ride this morning. The carrot for some time in the basement, putting this into context:
with a good old decoupling test:
Well, definitely not an easy pace.
And nice to compare this to 10 W less in March (don’t know what the variability is with this though):
“Decoupling” (cardiac drift) really has nothing to do with lactate threshold.
My HR can take 30-45 minutes to settle down, so for decoupling I see a lot of negative numbers if using “early” data on a 90-180 minute z2 ride.
not for me
If I’m reading this chart correctly:
Your HR jumps at start of first interval (time = 10 minutes) and then takes some minutes to settle down.
Inside with a controlled start like that, my HR settles down within 15-25 minutes of the start of workout. Outside is longer due to power bursts dealing with traffic in first 10 minutes. I’m still riding mostly outside because California.
Perhaps I have trouble understanding the Englisch meanings of “jump” and “settle down” in this context but the chart shows the ratio power/HR. The points above the line indicate a lower heart rate. The first 5min heart rate built up to the steady heart rate of the test. Not settle down.
Today it took about 3min for HR to reach a steady state after the 10min warm up.
This is the explanation of the chart (one of my workouts)
Not for finding LT1.
LT2 is the ghost that is much harder to track down. IME, a field test is best for determining LT2, but LT1 is quite simple to determine.
I can’t catch up on the 500 posts that I missed, but Inigo was recently on that triathlon show as well. It definitely appears that the respiratory rate he is discussing for Z2 is right at LT1, while Z2 is sometimes prescribed as 80% of HR max, which for many individuals could be 1 mmol or more above LT1.
Yes, I’ve given feedback to David @ intervals. Personally I find the chart a bit confusing, but that’s because I’ve been looking at decoupling in TP/WKO for almost 5 years and would rather see separate tracks for power/HR and visually look for “parallel lines”
By “chasing ghosts” I mean attempting to differentiate between various thresholds.
I agree that with lab testing it is a lot easier to identify the initial increase in blood lactate than it is to identify the maximal steady state. That’s just one more reason why lab testing isn’t the gold standard that so many people seem to think that it is.
HR response is different for everyone, I believe you.
It is shorter for me inside, for example this inside workout:
looking at first z2 interval in WKO makes it a bit easier to see whats going on:
HR rises slowly for me, probably “settled down” (reached steady state) about 25 minutes in. But someone else could look at that and say it settled down about 13-14 minutes into the workout. The second z2 interval, after 2 threshold intervals, was almost completely flat (power went up 2W and HR was flat-line).
