I believe @Mikael_Eriksson is offering the INSCYD testing quite a bit cheaper than that.
Plus, there are plenty on here who spend way more than that to make their bike ever so slightly lighter (tiny marginal gain), so I’d personally say the INSCYD testing is way better value 
Totally agree.
This is exactly the line of thinking that led me to ask what I did (see @markbrouns answer). I actually want to keep riding the way I’ve been riding (ss/tempo/z2, long intervals, focus on fatigue resistance, etc). I feel myself getting stronger. My CTL is the highest it’s ever been, and I feel fantastic.
So switching over to slamming intervals was the last thing I want to do. But if I’m to buy into the VLamax/VO2max concept, I might need to do it to move the needle. Thing is, the threshold needle isn’t the only needle to move. But as an under-developed amateur, it’s still pretty important.
Out of curiosity, how does your 5 min power compare after all the SS/Z2 vs a higher intensity TR plan? Asking because I’m up quite a bit in 5 and even 1 min power vs GBHV.
I’ll be doing intervals soon myself and not looking forward to it either. But, first road races are in April and can’t show up too undercooked.
I’ve only ever done sustained power build (last year). All my numbers are up from last year (across the whole PD curve). So hard to narrow that down to one type of training I think
This was the one I had the biggest gains with.
I think there is a misunderstanding of “marginal gains”. The question is “bang for bucks”. What training stimulus can lead to the greatest performance improvement.
Maybe not surprising in that case.
Ironically in terms of TR programs the Olympic Triathlon Build is about as polarised as it gets. Two Zone 2 endurance workouts, one VO2 Max session and one session that’s described as threshold but is at 108% so at the high end of that for 5-6 minute intervals with nothing in the middle. That hits all the pathways for increasing VO2 Max rather than VLaMax.
I’m thinking of using it as a rough template for my next training block for that very reason.
@tofel Sorry to have hijacked your thread a bit…
Could you share what improvement you saw from this particular build and how it compares to other training you’ve done? Was it completed as prescribed, workout compliance, etc.?
…with the least amount of training stress/work.
In addition there is a running VO2max session on the day between these two.
Oh that’s alright! 
In my experience, base plans usually lead to a slight decline in FTP. However, without them a Re-Build is simply to hard. My compliance is very high I would say.
What I understood from the WKO4 webinars of Tim Cusick, you will have most adaption after 8 really good VO2max workouts. So introducing a 4-5 week block with VO2max and endurance WO should suffice. Then you can continue back into SS
Sorry for anwering you so late, @stevemz After creating this post, I logged a few weeks of very consistent training. All the zones and advice given to me felt just right. I was going to retest and very confident to see improvement. However, my first dental implant and the later infection of it, flushed those productive weeks down the drain. I am on my way back and plan to visit the INSCYD lab within the next two months. 
How was this person able to estimate VLaMax?
When I did my VLamax testing (INCSYD) they didn’t need lactate. I had to do a few over-paced efforts (so you shouldn’t just use existing PD curve values). But it allowed me to do it in my own time and remotely.
Out of curiosity, what did the efforts look like?
@stevemz
I followed their written and video instructions and used Workout Creator. I think it’s more common to do it outside but it was January, etc. The first screenshot is the whole file
The second screenshot highlights the actual test/protocol. (those non-highlighted initial spikes are openers)
Two 5-second sprints (seated). A 5-minute effort, and a 20-min effort.
(sidenote: I had to re-do the seated sprints a week or so later outside, likely due to my using a wheel-on trainer or just sprinting like a triathlete…still not sure 
)
I used resistance mode and the intervals are only there to give me the audible cue, how long to recover, etc. Technically I could have used one of the TR Free Rides but it just made it easier to follow by creating this.
So when doing the 5-minute effort, I started out at my 1-minute power. For the 20-min effort, I started out at my 5-minute power (or thereabouts). You fade quickly and hang on.
Tim
So they deliberately have you overshoot for a period of time and then settle in? That’s interesting…
Exactly. And they are very adamant about it, effectively saying: “you can’t mess that up…don’t properly time-trial this…try to do it as if you don’t know how to pace” I meant to follow up and ask why (just out of curiosity), but I never got around to it. Maybe burnoff? Apparently my 5-min effort is textbook perfect for what they wanted. My 20 min was “good enough”.
Hilariously, if you look at that 5 minute effort you’d think I’d never done endurance sports in my life.
I’m guessing they are using the over-pace ratio to the full effort as a way of understanding the anaerobic component?
Frankly I’m terrified of the prospect of trying to start out a 5 minute effort at my one minute power. Sounds truly horrible.
I bet that’s it. They then have an algorithm that estimates anaerobic vs aerobic based on how much you fade. And they apply this to the 5 and 20 min efforts to estimate VLaMax and MLSS. They likely have built the algorithm with years of comparing power tests vs lab/blood tests.
