TheSandwichMonster
Junior Senior
- Location
- Devon, UK
DISCLAIMER: Terminology, expressions and the knowledge in this post are as a result of accumulated knowledge based on conversations, some training, reading & studying. It's what I UNDERSTAND to be true, but I accept that I could also be wrong (and am happy to be proved so, if necessary).
DISCLAIMER 2: Some sites/references seem to use the terms Lactate Threshold (LT) and Anearobic Threshold (AT) interchangeably. That is NOT the way that I understand things (see disclaimer 1) and is not the case for the notes below.
Sorry for the delay. I've tried to type this out half a dozen times already and been distracted or decided I've gone over the top with detail. Ultimately, I hope it's useful, but we'll see. Here comes the science bit
This is an overly-simplified representation of what happens as you exercise at different intensities (power). Blood lactate is (typically) present in the body in concentrations of ~0.8 - 1.0 millimoles (mmol) per litre, though like heartrate it can be affected by illness and certain foods. Up to a certain power, your body can clear this blood lactate easily, hence the graph being flat at low(er) powers. This level of exercise represents your base fitness, or to put it simply, your "go all day" pace. Exercise at this level is essentially all aerobic, and fuelled by glycolysis (i.e. the conversion of carbohydrate to ATP via the Kreb's Cycle).
Ultimately, you reach a point where this is no longer possible, and blood lactate starts to accumulate faster than the body can disperse it: The Lactate Threshold (LT). This is unique to you and is also trainable to improve it. I know (because I've been tested) that my LT is 175 Watts, or roughly at 127bpm on an HR monitor. As you pass your LT, that's when you start to feel the burn in your muscles. If you have access to a turbo, and use the test in the pdf that I sent the link to, then you have a decent way of calculating your own LT.
Beyond your LT is where the pain starts to begin. Your body cannot fully disperse all of the blood lactate which is why your muscles begin to burn. Your body starts to utilise different energy-creation pathways and you move from purely aerobic, to a mixture of aerobic/anaerobic systems. These effort levels are still sustainable, but not indefinitely. Ultimately, as you put out more and more power you reach your Anaerobic Threshold (AT). This represents your maximal power output over a relatively short time, roughly equivalent to a short course TT: Say 20-30 minutes at most before you HAVE to slow down.
Once you're past your AT, then you're properly into the hurt locker. Your body is purely reliant on anaerobic methods of producing energy and that is simply unsustainable. Typically you can manage a couple of minutes at most before stars start to appear and you get the unwholesome urge to hurl.
So why all of this bumpf? Well mostly because each of those areas are trainable. Just by going out and riding, without any kind of aim in mind, your body will react to the physical impact of riding and slowly the systems involved will improve. However, as with many kinds of training, specificity is key. By targeting a single area to improve and focussing on it, you can produce much more focussed results:
Base/Endurance Training: Also referred to as Long, Steady Distance (LSD), or sometimes level 2. There are no shortcuts to this. It's built by getting out and riding. It takes the longest to improve this area of your fitness, but it also takes the longest to lose after periods of inactivity. The key to this level of training is to spend as much time as possible at, or just over, your lactate threshold. This is your "engine". Training in this way is represented by the green arrow on the graph: Taking my own LT of 175W, imagine that I'm able to train to increase it to 185W. Ultimately it means that, over a given distance, I will be quicker without tiring (LT represents "go all day", remember). Not only that, but it also has a positive impact on AT.
Mid-Zone/Tempo Training: This is that interesting no-man's land between the LT and the AT. In terms of training it is represented by mid-length rides at a more challenging pace. You may well hear them referred to as "tempo" or "race" pace. Training in this area is targetting clearance of blood lactate, whilst improving the efficiency of the body's energy-production systems.
AT/Threshold Training (intervals): The hurty stuff, aimed at improving top end power, typically targeted with interval training of varying lengths. See the red arrow on the graph. I've always been advised (but have no supplementary evidence to back this up) to target threshold power with longer intervals first, before moving onto the shorter intervals targeting the very top end of the power range. Typical longer intervals would be 2x15 or 2x20 minutes, maybe 3x10 minutes. Personally, my preferred choice is to do a 2x20 on a Thursday night: ~10min warm-up, 20min at (or just above) AT, 5min recovery, another 20min interval, ~10min cool-down.
Why base training is beneficial for your top end power: Take my own numbers as an example: LT is 175W (~127bpm) and AT is 295W (~167bpm). The difference between the two being 125W. If I attempt to improve my AT, it's possible to improve the number of watts that I can produce over a (relatively) short time. Picking an arbitrary number out of the air, let's say that that I increase it to 310W. I'll see an improvement on the club 10 TT, but it won't have any significant impact on the speed that I can ride all day at. However, if I train all winter at improving my LT and produce an increase to, say, 190W - then I am improving the base that my AT is built upon. Whilst it's not entirely reasonable to expect the same 125W difference between LT and AT, it is possible.
Right, I hope that makes sense and is in some way useful to somebody. I'm not used to writing up stuff like this, so I'm fully expecting someone to poke holes in what I've written. Just remember that I'm learning this stuff as I go along and there's almost certainly someone who knows significantly more!
DISCLAIMER 2: Some sites/references seem to use the terms Lactate Threshold (LT) and Anearobic Threshold (AT) interchangeably. That is NOT the way that I understand things (see disclaimer 1) and is not the case for the notes below.
Sorry for the delay. I've tried to type this out half a dozen times already and been distracted or decided I've gone over the top with detail. Ultimately, I hope it's useful, but we'll see. Here comes the science bit
Ultimately, you reach a point where this is no longer possible, and blood lactate starts to accumulate faster than the body can disperse it: The Lactate Threshold (LT). This is unique to you and is also trainable to improve it. I know (because I've been tested) that my LT is 175 Watts, or roughly at 127bpm on an HR monitor. As you pass your LT, that's when you start to feel the burn in your muscles. If you have access to a turbo, and use the test in the pdf that I sent the link to, then you have a decent way of calculating your own LT.
Beyond your LT is where the pain starts to begin. Your body cannot fully disperse all of the blood lactate which is why your muscles begin to burn. Your body starts to utilise different energy-creation pathways and you move from purely aerobic, to a mixture of aerobic/anaerobic systems. These effort levels are still sustainable, but not indefinitely. Ultimately, as you put out more and more power you reach your Anaerobic Threshold (AT). This represents your maximal power output over a relatively short time, roughly equivalent to a short course TT: Say 20-30 minutes at most before you HAVE to slow down.
Once you're past your AT, then you're properly into the hurt locker. Your body is purely reliant on anaerobic methods of producing energy and that is simply unsustainable. Typically you can manage a couple of minutes at most before stars start to appear and you get the unwholesome urge to hurl.
So why all of this bumpf? Well mostly because each of those areas are trainable. Just by going out and riding, without any kind of aim in mind, your body will react to the physical impact of riding and slowly the systems involved will improve. However, as with many kinds of training, specificity is key. By targeting a single area to improve and focussing on it, you can produce much more focussed results:
Base/Endurance Training: Also referred to as Long, Steady Distance (LSD), or sometimes level 2. There are no shortcuts to this. It's built by getting out and riding. It takes the longest to improve this area of your fitness, but it also takes the longest to lose after periods of inactivity. The key to this level of training is to spend as much time as possible at, or just over, your lactate threshold. This is your "engine". Training in this way is represented by the green arrow on the graph: Taking my own LT of 175W, imagine that I'm able to train to increase it to 185W. Ultimately it means that, over a given distance, I will be quicker without tiring (LT represents "go all day", remember). Not only that, but it also has a positive impact on AT.
Mid-Zone/Tempo Training: This is that interesting no-man's land between the LT and the AT. In terms of training it is represented by mid-length rides at a more challenging pace. You may well hear them referred to as "tempo" or "race" pace. Training in this area is targetting clearance of blood lactate, whilst improving the efficiency of the body's energy-production systems.
AT/Threshold Training (intervals): The hurty stuff, aimed at improving top end power, typically targeted with interval training of varying lengths. See the red arrow on the graph. I've always been advised (but have no supplementary evidence to back this up) to target threshold power with longer intervals first, before moving onto the shorter intervals targeting the very top end of the power range. Typical longer intervals would be 2x15 or 2x20 minutes, maybe 3x10 minutes. Personally, my preferred choice is to do a 2x20 on a Thursday night: ~10min warm-up, 20min at (or just above) AT, 5min recovery, another 20min interval, ~10min cool-down.
Why base training is beneficial for your top end power: Take my own numbers as an example: LT is 175W (~127bpm) and AT is 295W (~167bpm). The difference between the two being 125W. If I attempt to improve my AT, it's possible to improve the number of watts that I can produce over a (relatively) short time. Picking an arbitrary number out of the air, let's say that that I increase it to 310W. I'll see an improvement on the club 10 TT, but it won't have any significant impact on the speed that I can ride all day at. However, if I train all winter at improving my LT and produce an increase to, say, 190W - then I am improving the base that my AT is built upon. Whilst it's not entirely reasonable to expect the same 125W difference between LT and AT, it is possible.
Right, I hope that makes sense and is in some way useful to somebody. I'm not used to writing up stuff like this, so I'm fully expecting someone to poke holes in what I've written. Just remember that I'm learning this stuff as I go along and there's almost certainly someone who knows significantly more!
