Training & Nutrition - Go in for testing

Tomorrow I am scheduled for a VO2 max, anaerobic threshold, and max heart rate tests. I think they will also tell me my max watts. Is there any other critical info that I should request while I'm doing this?

Find out at what heart rate you're burning fats as your primary fuel source and at what point you begin to burn carbohydrates as your primary fuel source. That would be nice to know also so you can work on getting your body towards using fats as your primary fuel source as much as possible.

Koffee

Find out at what heart rate you're burning fats as your primary fuel source and at what point you begin to burn carbohydrates as your primary fuel source. That would be nice to know also so you can work on getting your body towards using fats as your primary fuel source as much as possible.

Koffee

How do they determine when this change in fuel occurs?

How do they determine when this change in fuel occurs?

Off-topic, but I like your avatar!

I'll send a PM later with an explanation of how they determine this.

Koff

How much does this cost? Did your regular physician refer you to someone? I would like to have this done at some point in time but dont know where to begin to be honest.

How much does this cost? Did your regular physician refer you to someone? I would like to have this done at some point in time but dont know where to begin to be honest.

Mine is being done by a coach and not recommended through a doctor. I met her through some people that came to FL to train during the winter months. She has the machines in a triathlon store and she charges around $85. I believe she is one of only a very few that has the equipment to do it in our greater metro area, outside of a medical facility.

I'll send a PM later with an explanation of how they determine this.

Koff

I didn't receive a PM, but are you referring to aerobic threshold (AeT)?

I'll send a PM later with an explanation of how they determine this.

Koff

Why so secretive? I'd like to know how they do it.
:)

Well, how did things go? What results did you get :)

Well, how did things go? What results did you get :)

Well the results are good and bad in my opinion.

VO2max = 51.4 at 179 bpm hr
AT = 32.6 at 129 bpm hr
AeT = 22.4 at 111 bpm hr

I'm just about to turn 44, so I felt the 51.4 VO2max was not too bad for an old man. The bad part is my AT is only 63% of VO2max. It is a little odd because I ride nearly 200 miles per week, but I guess my rides tend to be too high intensity. The recommendation was to increase the amount of time I ride with a hr between 111 and 129 (between Aet & At). I guess this means I will be riding alone, because there is no way my group will ride that slow. I'll give it a try and then retest in a few months.

Well the results are good and bad in my opinion.

VO2max = 51.4 at 179 bpm hr
AT = 32.6 at 129 bpm hr
AeT = 22.4 at 111 bpm hr

I'm just about to turn 44, so I felt the 51.4 VO2max was not too bad for an old man. The bad part is my AT is only 63% of VO2max. It is a little odd because I ride nearly 200 miles per week, but I guess my rides tend to be too high intensity. The recommendation was to increase the amount of time I ride with a hr between 111 and 129 (between Aet & At). I guess this means I will be riding alone, because there is no way my group will ride that slow. I'll give it a try and then retest in a few months.

Please help me understand this a bit more as I find this all very interesting.
Does this mean your MHR is 179? If so, the fact that you go anaerobic at 129 is quite surprising.
What exactly is AeT?
Furthermore, what is the basis of the recommendation to spend more time at lower heart rates to increase your AT level?

Sounds like money well spent if you can fully digest the results and put a plan of action in place.

-mark

Please help me understand this a bit more as I find this all very interesting.
Does this mean your MHR is 179? If so, the fact that you go anaerobic at 129 is quite surprising.
What exactly is AeT?
Furthermore, what is the basis of the recommendation to spend more time at lower heart rates to increase your AT level?

Sounds like money well spent if you can fully digest the results and put a plan of action in place.

-mark
I think someone like Koffee could offer a better explanation than I, but the Aet is the aerobic threshold. This is the point where you start to produce some lactic acid. You also change fuel sources at this point from burning only fat, to burning some carbohydrates. No acid can be produced when burning only fat. The AT is the anaerobic threshold where acid starts to accumulate, in other words your are producing acid at a rate faster than it can be dissipated. The max heart rate of 179 is the peak at burning 51.4 Vo2. I am pretty sure at the end of the test I pushed it up to almost 184 bpm, but I was really toasted at this point.

The riding recommendation is tied to moving my AT to a higher percentage of VO2max which seems to make sense. I would welcome any comments on this training recommendation however.

In a nutshell I feel my problems is that I can ride long under 25- 28 mph and I can sprint with the best at the end. I can not maintain over 30 mph for an extended period and then sprint. When I get pushed into this situation, my sprint time duration is very short. My goal is to be able to keep the high mph without going into the red zone so I can still have a good long sprint at the end.

Sounds like you should invest in Dave Morris' book. He explains very thoroughly what to do as far as routines go to achieve specific results. Very different workouts for time trialists vs MTB racers vs crit riders, etc. He is a USOC physiologist, so he definitely has the credentials to offer workout advice. I like his workouts, they are based on interval training in blocks (2-3 days in a row, with several rest or easy days in between) and seem to be a very effective way to use your (for me, limited and therefore precious) workout time.

I think someone like Koffee could offer a better explanation than I, but the Aet is the aerobic threshold. This is the point where you start to produce some lactic acid. You also change fuel sources at this point from burning only fat, to burning some carbohydrates. No acid can be produced when burning only fat. The AT is the anaerobic threshold where acid starts to accumulate, in other words your are producing acid at a rate faster than it can be dissipated. The max heart rate of 179 is the peak at burning 51.4 Vo2. I am pretty sure at the end of the test I pushed it up to almost 184 bpm, but I was really toasted at this point.

The riding recommendation is tied to moving my AT to a higher percentage of VO2max which seems to make sense. I would welcome any comments on this training recommendation however.

In a nutshell I feel my problems is that I can ride long under 25- 28 mph and I can sprint with the best at the end. I can not maintain over 30 mph for an extended period and then sprint. When I get pushed into this situation, my sprint time duration is very short. My goal is to be able to keep the high mph without going into the red zone so I can still have a good long sprint at the end.

Did you get a wattage measurement at AT? Most people don't put out big wattage at 129 BPM and I'd guess you're no different. If they were doing the blood tests to measure LA in the blood, did they use 4 mmol as a base to figure your AT. If so, I don't know how much I'd read into using the 111-129 HR zone as your training levels.