@Mikael_Eriksson, and anyone else for that matter, Ive been doing testing with INSCYD for the last 5 months and as a result of the prescribed training programs my VLaMax has gone from .48 down to .22 while my VO2Max has stayed pretty much the same. My next training block will try and maintain my low VLaMax whilst boosting my VO2Max. After doing the INSCYD test last week my coach commented that he’s never seen anyone that produces the amount of lactate that I do. My question is, what does it say about my physiology that I’m producing so much lactate? Does it have any implications in regards to performance? I discussed it breifly with my coach but I was interested in second and third opinions.
2 Likes
Well, wouldn’t “net lactate production” be a better term. You may produce “normal” levels of lactate but your capabilities to remove it may suck. And isn’t this something you see a lot with time crunched folks who can’t train the volume that is necessary to build mitochondria (the place where lactate gets metabolised).
1 Like
The lactate is clearing but I’m producing a massive amount of it when I’m pushing all out. My training volume has been around the 12 - 16 hours per week for the last 3 years, so I’m not exactly time crunched.
Isn’t VLaMax equivalent with maximal lactate production rate? And isn’t 0.22 pretty low thus contradicting big production rate?
What did lead your coach to say that you have such a high production of lactate?
2 Likes
My knowledge of how everything ties together is not that great, that’s why I’ve left everything up to my coach. I performed 4 intervals. The fourth one is basically all out for a minimum of 2 minutes (I managed just short of 3 minutes). It was after this interval that my coach commented that he’d never seen anyone with such high lactate levels. My basic understanding is that a lot depends on how quickly you clear the lactate which I was managing to do.
1 Like
If he literally said: “such high lactate levels”, it just means you are tough and managed to go where others have already quit. There is a rate of production == VLaMax, rate clearance given by the aerobic system (VO2Max). Once you go above steady state (~FTP), your lactate will accumulate. The high concentration of lactate is a result of the accumulation (you produce more than you can utilize by your aerobic system). The acidosis (high concentration of H+ ions associated with high lactate concentration) is usually the reason you stop - you are feeling the burn.
Obviously, even with low rate of production you can accomplish high concentrations. The concentration of lactate you can tolerate might be higher than average.
1 Like
Thanks for the response. Maybe I’m reading too much into it. I’m still a fare way off my peak power numbers and this comment has been stuck in my head since doing the test last week. I still haven’t received the full report so I’ll have a word with him when he sends it to me. I was just wondering if it was indicative of a performance limiter.
I don’t think so. Talk to him what he meant with the remark.
1 Like
According to the INSCYD website, 0.22 mmol/L/sec is a low rate of lactate production.
So not sure how you can be both low and high at the same time - maybe under different testing protocols?
What kind of training did you do to lower your VLaMax?
Long endurance, lots of time at fat max, cadence pyramids at low power, long intervals at sub threshhold at very low cadence. To be clear, the first three intervals of the test I managed without producing massive blood lactate and I can hold my power just under threshhold for a very long time, it was the final all out interval that did it.
1 Like
Seems like your training is working for you - good endurance, while also having good short duration power?
1 Like
My endurance and fat max are “relatively” good. My VO2Max and top end power needs a fare bit of work, that’s why in the next training block I’m guessing I’ll be trying to raise my VO2Max. My coach did say this was the direction he’d be taking me. As I mentioned previously, I’m a long way off my best numbers and his comment has been playing over in my head since the test. As I had no fixed training on the weekend I did an outside ride and I felt good(I didn’t record anything). I somehow need to stop comparing my current fitness levels with my peak from 4 years ago.
What was the number? 20 mmol/l? 30 mmol/l?
I’m not sure of the exact numbers. I’ll post them once I receive the report. I was hunched over my bike struggling to breathe when he made the comment. Now to add, he’s sent my test off for a second opinion. Apparently after the final interval my blood lactate levels had decreased significantly and then boom! They shot through the roof again. I’m now slightly more confused.
1 Like
The good new is that you’re probably not producing the lactate he thought. The bad news is you’ll have to repeat the test.
1 Like
Sounds like 16-17 to me 
But from the testing perspective, the higher the better.
Another thing I was told is to keep the cadence consistent over all four intervals.
1 Like
@Berggeiss Basically what @dostring said. If you reached a high lactate concentration despite a low VLaMax, it indicates one or both of
- poor ability to metabolise lactate (in which case lactate shuttling training would be good)
- a high lactate tolerance (which is a good thing, especially in events lasting about an hour or shorter)
1 Like
Thanks for the reply! INSCYD took a look at my test results and as a result my numbers were slightly adjusted. My new VLamax is 0.32 and my current VO2max is 59. My new trading plan will work on getting my VO2max back up closer to where it used to be. I also have lots of workouts that should improve my lactate shuttling abilities.
So i had a thought here. I remembered Sebastian Weber saying that once you give your body some lactate to burn (i.e., you fire up that glycolitic engine) it really would prefer that lactate and would take a while to switch back to fat. So his recommendation was, if you’re trying to do a long endurance ride that stays in the fat zone without firing up the glycolisis, don’t do had efforts intermixed.
So then question for all the other amateur physiologists here. Would tacking on extra endurance minutes after an interval session actually be helpful for further reducing VlaMax, because you’re kind of engaging (but not fully, at max) the glycolitic fibers, kinda like sweet spot?
Or is it too risky, since your glycolisis would be continuing, and you’d eventually deplete the glycogen? Making the risk of getting run down outweigh any benefit?
Germane to all current issues facing the sport and the world, i have read that glycogen depletion of immune cells is one of the big things that can depress immune function:
2 Likes
@Berggeiss did I understand your coach was drawing lactate samples during the testing? For some reason my field tests are causing the model to generate an error and not produce a report. The first test didn’t have an overpaced 20-min effort, and I had to repeat that test. Still getting an error. Mikael is having INSCYD take a look.