Self testing lactate after steady state pieces; suggested protocol

[blwsk]

Over the past several years I have been ran through lactate steps tests, typically with 25 watt steps. The idea was to plot a curve with the 4 to 6 points and find the points at which blood lactate concentration rose above 2 and 4 mmol/l. More recently, I have done 3x 20' at varying wattages, with the goal being finding a wattage actually producing <2mmol/l of lactate at the end of 20 minutes of "steady state".

My 6k test progression has been pleasing, suggesting a rightward shift of my lactate curve. However, as we're approaching the winter months, I'm looking to fine-tune my steady state workouts and ensure I'm reaping as much benefit as is possible. I've a few questions regarding lactate testing:

1) I've purchased a lactate plus meter and am looking to test myself after steady state pieces, so as to make more granular my lactate curve progression. Would this lead to reliable, useful data? What would be a sensible protocol?

2) Is there sense in testing multiple times per week, even after nailing down a steady state wattage? Would this provide information worth having or would it be not be worth the effort?

I do approximately 100-120k of steady state per week, with 2 harder sessions mixed in, and 2 lifts.

Thanks for the help!

[JMalcombe]

Was hoping someone would weigh on this by now, mainly because I'm sure there are people out there with much more knowledge on this than me. My sample size has also only ever been myself, and n=1 is great for me but potentially very misleading for others depending on how similar to me they are.

I have experience of being put through step testing using the 4' intervals (just enough rest to get a blood sample then you go again). Can't remember what the steps in power were but I think they worked from ~2:03-2:04 down to 1:40 ish through the first six steps with the 7th being all out. While certainly interested I basically found that they are:
A - basically impossible to do by yourself because by the time you get 4-5 steps in there's sweat everywhere and you're generally kinda shaky, not to mention that that many holes in your finger bloody hurts (pun intended)
B - there is apparently no rhyme or reason in the relationship between 2 (or 4) mmol lactate power on this vs power at 2mmol measured during an SS session.

What I've settled on is measuring lactate values during normal SS (almost exclusively on the ergo, then just extrapolating the HR from the ergo into the boat since that's easier). I don't know if you've ever seen anything from MChase, but I would recommend reading anything you can get your hands on (website for the club he coaches is Westerville Crew I believe). He has found great success with measuring lactates after the first 20' of SS. I did try this and found that it somewhat resembled a regurgitated kebab the morning after a night you can't remember in terms of how much sense the results made, and have found much more personal success with measuring after 30+ mins. To note on this is that my target value would be 1.5mmol as per Rowing Faster - 2.0 seems a bit more prone to random variation and feels too hard for SS too.

Of note is that things such as weights/high intensity work will tend to increase your lactate level, especially if your next session is in less than 12 hours (again, personal experience), and another thing that seems to have a big effect is the availability of carbs in your body - lots of carbs and you burn them and produce more lactate, no carbs to burn and no lactate. Probably worth taking note of if you plan to do something silly like go on that caveman diet or whatever (tip; not so great for people churning out 10-12 hours of solid work every week, given that carbs make up a very significant portion of the fuel your body would want to use for that work. Works for people who do less/just strength and weights since that uses much less energy overall - crunch the number if you want but it's true).

Apologies for the expansive essay.

TL;DR

1) I would personally recommend only measuring your lactate at UT2/Category VI/whatever they're calling it now, somewhere in the 1.0-2.0mmol range during SS sessions. It might take a bit of experimentation to find what works for you, but sometime after 20' and before 45' into the session should work well.

2) The only time I would retest immediately would be if you increased your wattage to ensure that your lactate hasn't skyrocketed for some reason, apart from that testing once weekly should be plenty, and help to avoid erroneous results.

[Remomex]

I'm also interested in this, especially since I'm considering gifting myself a lactate analyzer for Christmas.

I've scoured the forums and the postings of McChase and others and other than checking lactate after 20 or so minutes of SS to fine-tune the proper intensity I haven't really read any other suggestions for how to test other intensities outside of SS. Sounds like a step-test isn't as useful as I once thought, but I'm curious about testing protocols to find the proper range to do my higher-intensity workouts in.

Hopefully others chime in at some point!

[bloomp]

This would absolutely be a good way to monitor intensity.

That being said, it's not terribly cost effective. If you're SSing for 90-120 minutes 6 times weekly, breaking it into segments of 20-30' to test lactate, you'll spend a lot of money on analyzer strips and lancets.

It also would be an absolute pain for n > 1. A team of 16 would require you stagger the starts to get to everyone at different rest times, or several monitors.

So yeah if you have the money for 18-30 lancets and analyzer strips/week go for it (you're looking at around $150/month in equipment). This is why most physiology labs will set a catheter and draw blood, put it on ice and do the chemistry later to isolate the lactate and run it through a spectrophotometer. Much more cost effective.

I think you'd be well served testing after the end of the entire SS workout a 2-3 times weekly.

[Remomex]

I definitely wouldn't test more than every couple of weeks just to make sure I am continuing to train at the right intensity. Definitely don't have the time, resources, or money to be testing multiple times each practice I do SS in.

[RiggerJigger]

Why not prick yourself every once in a while in between 20 minute blocks to make sure your in the right zone?

[SDsweep]

Why not prick yourself every once in a while in between 20 minute blocks to make sure your in the right zone?

If you're confident that your first reading was accurate, it shouldn't change between SS pieces done at the same rating and wattage, so it's redundant. If you're actually at SS, it means you're clearing lactate at roughly the same rate it's accumulating ("steady state" comes from "maximal lactate steady state"), and that will hold true for a long time. That being said, I've also had better luck getting reliable readings after 30 minutes than 20, as someone said above.

[scullerjonny]

The problem you face with self testing is that you will be covered in sweat and it will be very difficult to get an accurate and non-contaminated reading. A very good german coach that knows more about this stuff than I could ever possibly know tested elite lwts at 210, 250, 290 and 310-330 watt 7 min steps (you would only do the 4th step if 290 was under about 3.5). He tested every 6-8 weeks. Frankly, this is enough. If you really want to test during pieces, get someone who knows how to get a clean sample do it for you. Otherwise, you will be dealing with questionable if not completely useless numbers. But, if you get a good and reliable test every 6-8 weeks, that is enough.

[SDsweep]

The problem you face with self testing is that you will be covered in sweat and it will be very difficult to get an accurate and non-contaminated reading. A very good german coach that knows more about this stuff than I could ever possibly know tested elite lwts at 210, 250, 290 and 310-330 watt 7 min steps (you would only do the 4th step if 290 was under about 3.5). He tested every 6-8 weeks. Frankly, this is enough. If you really want to test during pieces, get someone who knows how to get a clean sample do it for you. Otherwise, you will be dealing with questionable if not completely useless numbers. But, if you get a good and reliable test every 6-8 weeks, that is enough.

This is all true, though if you're only testing to try to make sure you're doing your SS at the correct intensity you will be less sweaty. It helps to have a partner to help test though. Personally, I have my wife insert the strip into the tester and hand me the lancet and an alcohol wipe. I'm able to get pretty good readings off of my own pinky after wiping it with the alcohol, but I had lots of issues with getting my sweat on the strip when I was trying to do it all on my own.

As far as time between testing, it will depend quite a bit on your fitness level. The elites described above are obviously much closer to maxing out their potential, so those changes will come slower. Someone that has never really done much volume (or has been doing their volume at too high an intensity, as was the case with me) will have much more rapid changes. I tested roughly every ten days when I first started testing, and was able to go up about 3-5 watts a week on my SS at first before it started to improve slower. This is partly because I had to start SOOO low. The first month, I had to stay at a 2k+37 split in order to actually stay below 2mmol. Someone who is aerobically fitter will have a flatter improvement curve and won't need to test as often. After two years, I'm able to go much harder on my SS and only test every couple of months, and it seems to be working just fine. I also have a much better idea of the feel and HR that put me in the correct zones, so I'm seeing much less variance in my lactate numbers when I do test.

[sandor]

The problem you face with self testing is that you will be covered in sweat and it will be very difficult to get an accurate and non-contaminated reading. A very good german coach that knows more about this stuff than I could ever possibly know tested elite lwts at 210, 250, 290 and 310-330 watt 7 min steps (you would only do the 4th step if 290 was under about 3.5). He tested every 6-8 weeks. Frankly, this is enough. If you really want to test during pieces, get someone who knows how to get a clean sample do it for you. Otherwise, you will be dealing with questionable if not completely useless numbers. But, if you get a good and reliable test every 6-8 weeks, that is enough.

This is all true, though if you're only testing to try to make sure you're doing your SS at the correct intensity you will be less sweaty. It helps to have a partner to help test though. Personally, I have my wife insert the strip into the tester and hand me the lancet and an alcohol wipe. I'm able to get pretty good readings off of my own pinky after wiping it with the alcohol, but I had lots of issues with getting my sweat on the strip when I was trying to do it all on my own.

As far as time between testing, it will depend quite a bit on your fitness level. The elites described above are obviously much closer to maxing out their potential, so those changes will come slower. Someone that has never really done much volume (or has been doing their volume at too high an intensity, as was the case with me) will have much more rapid changes. I tested roughly every ten days when I first started testing, and was able to go up about 3-5 watts a week on my SS at first before it started to improve slower. This is partly because I had to start SOOO low. The first month, I had to stay at a 2k+37 split in order to actually stay below 2mmol. Someone who is aerobically fitter will have a flatter improvement curve and won't need to test as often. After two years, I'm able to go much harder on my SS and only test every couple of months, and it seems to be working just fine. I also have a much better idea of the feel and HR that put me in the correct zones, so I'm seeing much less variance in my lactate numbers when I do test.

latex/nitrile gloves would be your best friend.

i have never had an issue testing myself when i prick a finger (ear is a different story)

alcohol the finger (left hand)
put on glove (right hand)
get out strip & load (gloved hand)
open 2x2 gauze
prick finger (left hand)
wipe first drop with 2x2
2nd drop goes in the strip
wipe with alcohol
start erging/rowing again

in the boat it is a bit more difficult, especially if the current/wind is kicking up

[Stelph]

Why not prick yourself every once in a while in between 20 minute blocks to make sure your in the right zone?

If you're confident that your first reading was accurate, it shouldn't change between SS pieces done at the same rating and wattage, so it's redundant. If you're actually at SS, it means you're clearing lactate at roughly the same rate it's accumulating ("steady state" comes from "maximal lactate steady state"), and that will hold true for a long time. That being said, I've also had better luck getting reliable readings after 30 minutes than 20, as someone said above.

I would disagree, often in the past I have done 3 x 20min ergs and have tested at below 2mmol in the first test to then later see values over 2mmol at the end, this makes sense to me as I can easily see how a time aspect would come into fitness, ie your muscles can function at 200 watts at sub 2mmol but that after a set amount of time (40mins say) muscle fatigue means you are unable to process the lactate and so levels spike - that's why once you are able to do the 2mmol workout completely you can either increase the wattage or increase the time at the same wattage

Personally i test at the end of the workout to make sure I'm still below 2mmol, and may test 20-30mins in if I have just stepped up the wattage to see that I am still sub 2mmol

[Stelph]

The problem you face with self testing is that you will be covered in sweat and it will be very difficult to get an accurate and non-contaminated reading. A very good german coach that knows more about this stuff than I could ever possibly know tested elite lwts at 210, 250, 290 and 310-330 watt 7 min steps (you would only do the 4th step if 290 was under about 3.5). He tested every 6-8 weeks. Frankly, this is enough. If you really want to test during pieces, get someone who knows how to get a clean sample do it for you. Otherwise, you will be dealing with questionable if not completely useless numbers. But, if you get a good and reliable test every 6-8 weeks, that is enough.

GB currently do "random" lactate tests during their aerobic workouts to make sure they are at the below 2mmol workout in the way that's described here, as Sandor says it's harder to self test but with the correct procedure of cleaning beforehand it's quite possible for a 2mmol workout - I would agree that it's not possible to self test for a step test, too much sweat and exhaustion

[bloomp]

Look, it doesn't matter if it takes you a minute or two to get the sample area prepped and then do the test. If you were indeed at a steady state pace, you'll see the same value as otherwise. If you weren't paced properly, you'll find out because in that rest your active muscle will be flushing more lactate and the value will increase. Take your time to clean the area and you'll get a good sample. The extra 60" of rest isn't going to impact the gains of the session.

[SDsweep]

Why not prick yourself every once in a while in between 20 minute blocks to make sure your in the right zone?

If you're confident that your first reading was accurate, it shouldn't change between SS pieces done at the same rating and wattage, so it's redundant. If you're actually at SS, it means you're clearing lactate at roughly the same rate it's accumulating ("steady state" comes from "maximal lactate steady state"), and that will hold true for a long time. That being said, I've also had better luck getting reliable readings after 30 minutes than 20, as someone said above.

I would disagree, often in the past I have done 3 x 20min ergs and have tested at below 2mmol in the first test to then later see values over 2mmol at the end, this makes sense to me as I can easily see how a time aspect would come into fitness, ie your muscles can function at 200 watts at sub 2mmol but that after a set amount of time (40mins say) muscle fatigue means you are unable to process the lactate and so levels spike - that's why once you are able to do the 2mmol workout completely you can either increase the wattage or increase the time at the same wattage

Personally i test at the end of the workout to make sure I'm still below 2mmol, and may test 20-30mins in if I have just stepped up the wattage to see that I am still sub 2mmol

This is what I meant about having better luck with 30 minutes than 20. I'd had the same experience with doing 3x20 and getting something like 1.8/2.2/2.4. However, when I switched to testing after 30 minutes, provided I was under 2mmol on the first, I would be for all three 30-min pieces. This goes back to the aerobic fitness component. Less aerobically fit people would have a shorter period of time where they're able to still be producing low levels of lactate. Once they become fit, this is probably less of an issue.