Should we be blood lactate testing cyclists?- Part 2 of 2

The Cycling Performance Club

There’s plenty of information around on how to conduct blood lactate tests with cyclists, but information on why we test blood lactate is often entangled with conflicts of interest. In Part 2 of our blood lactate testing episode, we continue our discussion on whether blood lactate testing is necessary or valuable for training cyclists in 2021 and beyond.

This episode includes alternatives to blood lactate testing, a critical thinking exercise around the claims of blood lactate testing, and our conclusions.

Episode Timestamps:
1:00 Reasons for blood lactate testing
8:30 How much does this measure relate to performance?
13:00 Error involved in blood lactate testing
18:40 Do we ever stop using certain tests?
20:45 What are the alternatives?
30:00 Critical thinking exercise
37:50 Is training in more accurate training zones have a greater benefit?
43:30 Conclusions

Episode References:
Lactate in contemporary biology: a phoenix risen

The maximal metabolic steady state: redefining the ‘gold standard’

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Co-hosts:
Jason Boynton, Ph.D. - sport scientist and cycling coach
boyntoncoaching.com

Cyrus Monk - professional cyclist and cycling coach
cyclistscientist.com

Damian Ruse - professional cycling coach
semiprocycling.com

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