It’s a FaCT. Blood lactate analysis using the FaCT protocol is the best way to determine training zones and understand your body better!
I’ve been doing a lot of pre-season physiological testing in the past couple weeks, and want to tell you about how impressed I have been with the data I have been collecting using the FaCT protocol. The Feldmann and Chlebek Test (FaCT) is a sub-maximal exercise test that provides data that can be used for a number of purposes, from setting up a power line, and determining a Lactate Balance Point
The test is pretty simple – you start out at a low intensity, then progresses to fairly difficult. It’ll get pretty tough near the end, but it’s not a maximal test, like a VO2.
One useful part of the test is knowing where your Lactate Balance Point is. I like Lactate Balance Point (LBP) more than “anaerobic threshold” because it’s a better indicator of what is going on in the body. LBP is the intensity that you can maintain wattage, heart rate, and blood lactate level. Above this point, you will have to constantly increase your heart rate to maintain the same wattage (even though you may be below what you believe to be your “anaerobic threshold”). This is why your heart rate is higher at the end of a time trial than at the beginning, even if your speed has stayed the same (or even decreased). LBP is used to calculate what intensities you should be riding at to get different results from your training.
We can use your power line to predict how recovered you are on any given day. Let’s say that you did a very hard workout yesterday, and are planning on doing the Rocket Ride today. You know that if you get out there, it will be tough to stop even if you feel like trash. By comparing your wattage and heart rate to where they should be from your FaCT test, you will be able to see how recovered you are, and if you’re better off avoiding the big group ride.
