by Coach Suzanne | Aug 11, 2009 | Testing
Cycling Threshold Field Test Protocol
20 Minute Protocol
This is a twenty minute field test protocol used to determine your “threshold power” or “threshold heartrate”. Knowing your threshold heartrate will help you both plan workouts as well as measure progress in your training.
Field Test Warmup
(Why you should warmup before testing, training and racing, Sample warmups depending on your fitness level)
10 Minutes easy riding in middle chainring, 10 minutes…just easy spinning, get your legs loose, get your mind loose.
30 second spin up to 100 rpms, recover for 2-3 minutes, repeat once…effort should be light to moderate, easy gears.
30 second effort recover 2-3 minutes, repeat once. 5 minutes easy spinning after that last hard effort and finish within about 5 minutes of the race start.
- Begin 20 minute effort at maximum sustainable effort.
- If needed start slightly below what you think you can sustain, but continue increasing effort without going harder than you can sustain for the duration of the test. You should finish knowing you gave it everything you had.
- Your estimated Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) is 95% of your 20 minute average heart rate for the test.
- 15 minutes easy cool down.
Now you can do some simple math to determine HR training zones, either relative to your LTHR, or as a percentage. These zones are starting points. Each test will have some variation as heart rates can vary from day to day depending on several factors. Taking 95% of your 20 minute average HR is just an estimate for your “true” threshold heart rate which could be determined with a 60 minute time trail.
As long as you maintain the same conditions from test to test, the 20 minute test is excellent for maintaining your current heart rate zones and measuring progress from test to test througout the season. Record in your trianing log your 20 minute heart rate average, the total distance covered for the test and the average speed of the test.
The heart rate is used to determine training zones, and the average speed and distance are used to measure progress from test to test.
Calculating your Heart Rate Zones
| Zone |
% LTHR |
Easy Math |
| Level 1 (Recovery Zone) |
0-68% |
< LTHR – 35 beats |
| Level 2 (Endurance) |
69-83% |
25 – 35 beats below LTHR |
| Level 3 (Tempo) |
84-94% |
15 beats below LTHR up to LTHR |
| Level 4 (Threshold) |
95-105% |
Tested LTHR from time trial |
| Level 5 (VO2) |
>106% |
5-10 beats above LTHR |
Please send comments/corrections to coach AT steelcityendurance DOT com
References: Training and Racing with a Power Meter, Hunter Allen & Andy Coggen; Dr. Phil Skiba, personal communication
by Coach Suzanne | Nov 15, 2006 | Testing
The other day a friend pulled me aside to ask about heart rate training. He is in his mid 30’s and is mostly an ultra distance runner. “When I was running yesterday, I got my heart rate up to 201, is that possible? Should I use that number to figure out what heart rate zone I should be running in?”
He was confused because of the familiar maximum heart rate formula, “220-age=max HR.” This formula is ubiquitous in the fitness world and lay press, and is used to calculate the HR zones for training at different intensities. This training method is unreliable for a variety of reasons.
(more…)
by Coach Suzanne | Nov 2, 2006 | Testing
Lactate Threshold Field Test Protocol
30 Minute Protocol
This is a thirty-minute field test protocol used to determine your “threshold power” or “threshold heart rate”. Knowing your threshold heart rate will help you both plan workouts as well as to measure progress in your training.
Field Test Warmup
(Why you should warmup before testing, training and racing, Sample warmups depending on your fitness level)
10 Minutes easy riding in middle chainring, 10 minutes…just easy spinning, get your legs loose, get your mind loose.
30-second spin up to 100 rpms, recover for 2-3 minutes, repeat once…effort should be light to moderate, easy gears.
30-second effort, recover 2-3 minutes, repeat once. 5 minutes easy spinning after that last hard effort and finish within about 5 minutes of the race start.
- The 30 minute TT begins.
- At 10 minutes into the test, hit the ‘Lap’ button on your heart rate monitor, to get the average heart rate over the final 20 minutes of the test.
- The average for the final 20 minutes is your Lactate Threshold or LT.
- You should finish knowing you gave it everything you had.
- 15 minutes easy cooldown.
Now you can do some simple math to determine HR training zones, either relative to your LTHR, or as a percentage. These zones are not hard and fast. Some authors recommend taking an additional 3-5% off of these zones for a 30minute time trial. You can do a 60 minute time trial taking your average HR for the last 30 minutes to get a more accurate lactate threshold heart rate
Calculating your Heart Rate Zones
| Zone |
% LTHR |
Easy Math |
| Zone 1 (Recovery Zone) |
65-85% |
< LTHR – 35 beats |
| Zone 2 (Extensive Endurance) |
85-90% |
25 – 35 beats below LTHR |
| Zone 3 (Intensive Endurance) |
90-95% |
15 beats below LTHR up to LTHR |
| Zone 4 -5a (Lactate Threshold |
95-102% |
Tested LTHR from time trial |
| Zone 5b/5c (Power Training) |
102-110% |
5-10 beats above LTHR |
Using the Training Zones
Now that you know your training zones, what do you do with them?Workout, of course!Any training that should be working on your aerobic base needs to be done in zones 1-2, no higher.
Training in zones 3-5 begins to recruit anaerobic or fast-twitch fibers which detracts from the building and training of your oxidative pathways
Training in zones 4 and above is needed in order to create speed, improve lactate clearance and increase the amount of time near your lactate threshold at which you can
References: Triathlete’s Training Bible, Joe Friel; D3 Multisport, Mike Ricci
