USING FIELD AND LABORATORY TESTING TO IMPROVE TRIATHLON PERFORMANCE

Chris Sweet, USAT Certified Triathlon CoachLaura Wheatley, MS Exercise Physiology 

Introductions

WHAT IS PHYSIOLOGICAL TESTING AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?• Physiological testing measures specific functions or

variables thought to be determinants of athletic performance.

• Testing can:o Determine Strengths and Weaknesseso   Benchmark Performanceo   Create accurate, current personal Training and Racing Zoneso   Monitor Progresso   Evaluate effectiveness of training programo Predict performance potential

     

WHAT DO I NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN SELECTING TESTS?•  Relevance

o Aerobic vs. Anaerobic tests• Specificity

o  When comparing treadmill and cycle exercise tests, scientists have found that heart rate and blood lactate levels at maximal exertion and aerobic threshold do not correlate; they would recommend sport-specific testing (Roecker, et. al, 2003)

• Practicality- Lab vs. Field• Validity - repeatable measurement• Accuracy - duh!

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LABORATORY AND FIELD TESTING?• Field testing 

+ Can be conducted by athletes or coaches in convenient locations/environment.

+ Cost and time effective.

+ Performed under "real world" conditions

- Limited parameters can be monitored

- May not be as reliable or accurate as a lab test.

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LABORATORY AND FIELD TESTING?

• Laboratory testing

+The most accurate measurements by measuring gas exchange and/or blood serum levels utilizing a controlled environment.

-May not be practical or specific (i.e. cycle ergometers)

-Metabolic cost of wind? surfaces? technique?

-Higher monetary and time costs

LAB TESTING- WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? (CIRCA 1985!)

WHAT PHYSIOLOGICAL VARIABLES CAN I MEASURE IN THE LABORATORY?

• VO2 (Oxygen) and VCO2 (Carbon Dioxide)

• Lactate (Blood)

• Ventilatory Threshold

• Exercise Metabolism (Economy)

• Fuel requirements

VO2• Expressed as ml/kg/min, or L/min, it measures the RATE

and VOLUME of oxygen that your body is consuming and utilizing for aerobic energy

• VO2= (heart rate x stroke volume) x (arterio-venous oxygen difference)o The fitness/efficiency of the respiratory, cardiovascular,

and muscular systems are all being assessed.o Stroke volume= the amount of blood the heart can pump

per beato High A-V difference is GOOD- muscles are extracting all

the oxygen!

VO2• The less oxygen needed to perform aerobic exercise, the

more efficient the athlete is• VO2max?

VO2MAX

o The more VO2 your body can process at maximal exertion, the better- could be used to indicate your "potential" for athletic performance.

VO2MAX - TYPICAL RANGES IN THE ISU EX PHYS LAB 

VO2MAX - ELITE ATHLETES

CAN I IMPROVE MY VO2MAX?

o 40% of variation in VO2max is attributable to GENETICS.o 5-30% of VO2max can be improved through training

(Bouchard et. al., 1986)o Greater gains have been observed in cardiac patients,

those with very low starting fitness levels, and those who have achieved substantial weight loss.

o However, "maximal aerobic capacity" is just one piece of the puzzle- how efficient are you at actually UTILIZING that oxygen to sustain higher workloads? Aerobic threshold and exercise metabolic testing in the lab may be more applicable to training and racing.

LACTATE

• As oxygen demand for activity increases, the body becomes less efficient at processing and utilizing it

• More carbon dioxide i.e. "waste" is produced.• When carbon dioxide production > oxygen consumption, the

body produces excess lactic acid to process the oxygen that can no longer be used for aerobic energy.

• This is called "Lactate Threshold" or LT, when the body switches to anaerobic metabolism ("without oxygen")

• Lactic Acid is a bi-product of anaerobic metabolism.

LACTATE THRESHOLD

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Lactate Differences

UntrainedTrained

Treadmill Speed

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VENTILATORY THRESHOLD

• When access to blood sampling equipment in the lab is not available, VT is an accurate alternative.

• Once excess lactate starts being produced, CO2 production ALSO increases to buffer it!

VENTILATORY THRESHOLD

EXERCISE METABOLIC (FUEL) TESTING

• My FAVORITE LAB TEST!• aka "Exercise Economy"• Measures exercise efficiency and nutritional requirements at

various training and racing workloads• At each intensity, we measure

o VO2o Total Caloric Expenditureo Carbohydrate vs. Fato Heart Rateo Pace/Powero Perceived Exertion

• Kenyans vs. Caucasians

FUEL TEST

FUEL TEST: MEASURING PROGRESS

FUEL TEST: TRAINING INTENSITIES

RQ: "Respiratory Quotient"• RQ = 0.7     100% fat     0% carb   (not likely)• RQ= 0.85      50% fat    50%carb   ( fat loss/aerobic training)• RQ= 1.0          0%fat    100%carb  (AT/LT)

Zone 1 Recovery: 0.7-0.82Zone 2 Aerobic:    0.83-0.89Zone 3 Tempo:      0.9- 0.96Zone 4 Threshold: 0.97-1.0Zone 5 Anaerobic: 1.0 +++

FUEL TEST: NUTRITIONAL NEEDS

• Fully "loaded"...o Males store 2,000 kcals of glycogen (carbs)o Females store 1,500 kcals 

• It is critical to replace carbohydrates used as energy during and/or after exercise

• Once carbs are depleted, the body turns to protein in the muscles as fuel!

• FUEL testing can pinpoint nutritional needs during training and racing

FUEL TESTING- NUTRITIONAL NEEDS

SWIM FIELD TESTING

No practical lab testing options.

T20 or T30 (timed twenty or 30 minutes)  Proven valid by comparing to lab tests T-30 Test Protocol Step 1 Do the swim maintaining a constant speed at maximum effort.Step 2 Record distance swum (d) yardsStep 3 Time in (t) = 30X 60 secondsStep 4 Swimming speed = d divided by t in yards per second VA

 Obtaining Individual Training Repeat Times from VA

Adjustments have to be made for training at different distances. Tables exist but very good guideline is as follows:400y use 99% of VA ; 200y use 102% VA ; 100y use 107% VA ; 50y usr 108% VA

T-20 PACE CHART

http://www.virtualswim.com/tri-paceone.html

SWIM FIELD TESTING

Baseline sets:

10X1003X5001000 all out

If done regularly, baseline tests can tell you if your training is progressing, plateauing or regressing.

Questions?

BIKE- LAB TESTING

• Using a cycle ergometer or bicycle trainer

• Wearing breathing apparatus to measure gas exchange

• Potentially receiving finger or earlobe capillary pricks for lactate measurement

• Cost: $80-$200+

BIKE- LAB TESTING

• VO2max test = Test to exhaustiono After extensive warmup, the test lasts 8-12 minuteso Ramp or Step Protocol (Ramp preferred)o Male: Begin at 100-150W, increase 30-50 W/mino Female: Begin at 75-100W, increase 2-30 W/min

• Lactate measurement not practical unless intravenous• Test will yield LT and VO2max measurements• LT may be skewed (not steady-state)• Training zones based off of percentages

BIKE - VO2MAX

Run VO2max graph (cycling = switch pace for watts)

BIKE- FUEL TESTING

• Bike FUEL test= incremental test until ATo After warmup, test begins at recovery intensity: RQ ~

0.80o Each stage lasts 3-5 minutes, until athlete reaches

steady-stateo Subsequent stages:  RQ= 0.85. 0.90. 0.95, 1.0o OR whatever workloads athlete desires, particularly

desired race workload• A longer test- athletes can experience dry mouth (water can

be sipped a few times, but too often will skew data)

BIKE- LAB ERGOMETER?

• "Comparison of Physiological Responses between a Monark Cycle Ergometer and a Velotron in Trained Cyclists"

• Laura's Master's thesis• HR/VO2 the same at AT and VO2max• Power was significantly higher on Velotron• Take home:  Lab ergometers OK if training with heart

rate, but specific ergometer needed for power training zones.

• I didn't compare RQ values?

  

BIKE FIELD TESTINGDifferent LT test protocols My preference: 20 minutes minus 3%  Field Test Protocol:15 minutes easy5 X 1 minute just over goal LT, 1 minute easy5 minutes easy20 minutes all-out Another common test: Average of 2x20, with 5 minutes easy between 20 minute intervals.  Joe Friel: 30 minutes, take average of last 20 minutes. (Bike and Run) 

BIKE FIELD TESTING

Power vs. HR testinglimitations of HR

 Trainer vs. Outside

-keep 'em seperate Time Trials as LT tests

100% of 40K97% of 20K

Controlling for conditions?Repeatability? 

BIKE FIELD TESTING

Bike Baseline sets. Many options. Consistency and repeatability are key. Power-based:10X1 minute on, 1 minute off3X10 minutesHill repeats Time-basedRide a standard course.  Keep track of speed, time and conditionsTimed Hill repeats

Questions?

LAB TESTING - RUN

• Similar protocols as Bike VO2max/FUEL, using running speed instead of power output

• Some research indicates keeping treadmill at 1% incline to simulate metabolic cost of environmental factors

RUN FIELD TESTING

Field test protocol for determining run lactate threshold: 10 minute easy warm-up5 X 1 minute at LT pace, 1 minute easy5 minutes easy20 minutes all-out LT is ave. HR for the 20 minutes minus 5%

 

RUN FIELD TESTING

Baseline sets:  3X1 mile6X800m10x400m Set course for timeHill repeats Pros and Cons of using races as baselines-controlling for conditions

Questions?

HOW OFTEN SHOULD I TEST?

How frequently should testing occur?

Every week?  (Chuckie V)

Less Often? (Long hard bike tests) 

Psychology of testing

Off-season- should you test at all?

RECOMMENDATIONS? Lab Testing only

1x/yr: 2x/yr: baseline, before A Race 3x/yr: baseline, midway/before A Race

Field Testing only 4-8 weeks After major training blocks 3-4 weeks before “A” races

Combination?Seeing progress is motivating!

CONCLUSIONS

Testing is GOOD!

Determine baseline fitnessMonitor progressEvaluate and modify your training programCreate accurate, current personal training and racing zones

Lab testing is beneficial, but not always practicalLab technology is becoming more mainstream and commercially available

Field testing is easily accessible, repeatable and affordable, but not always accurate due to uncontrolled variables.

  

CONCLUSIONS

"Testing is of no value unless the information gained is used to improve your training or confirm that you are training in an appropriate manner.“

-Joe Friel, Triathlete's Training Bible