Coach or lab for a professional test?

tigerocket

I have been looking at the Cycling Weekly Health and Fitness guide, it says i need to establish my heart rate training zones but i don;t have an indoor trainer that measures speed and/or power.

the article recomends going "to a lab or coach for a professional test. any ideas where i would find one of these, preferable near south london,


cheers

Bronzie

You can determine your maximum heart rate (and hence your heart rate training zones) yourself:
http://www.timetrialtraining.co.uk/S6Ma ... eTests.htm

Getting a full sports test done in a lab is very interesting, but it might not tell you much more than you already knew. I did a VO2 Max test through a friend at Brunel University as part of some research he was doing - very interesting to get my results (my VO2 max was 55), but it probably didn't tell me anything really significant about my physiology. My suggested training zones were very similar to those I obtained based on my own knowledge of my MHR.

Possibly only really of benefit as part of a structed coached training regime, where the tests are carried out at several points during the season to judge progress. But not much use to the average Joe without someone to interpret the data for you.

tigerocket

nice one thanks, i think i can contruct one of those tables and that should do the job.

I would like to go for some proper analysis but like you say i might not be any wiser by the end of it.

Bronzie

tigerocket wrote:

I would like to go for some proper analysis but like you say i might not be any wiser by the end of it.

Then don't let me put you off - as I say I got a lot of interesting details from my test - the summary of my report might have been "don't give up the day job"

Some details of testing facilities here:
http://www.triathletes-uk.org/info/testing.html

Klassiker

Hi,

I've never done a VO2max test, so I can't advise you on how useful that would be. I have done several lactate step-tests / lactate threshold tests and find the results very useful for determining training zones.

In case the terminology isn't clear, I am talking about the kind of test where you ride on a type of calibrated turbo-trainer which can be set to offer a certain resistance in Watts. You start pedalling at say 80W and after three minutes the tester takes a blood sample from your earlobe, measures the lactate level and notes your pulse rate. Then he ups the resistance by 20W, you keep on pedalling ath the same rate and he repeats the measurements after a further three minutes. This carries on until you are approaching your maximum. You do not need to reach your maximum pulse for the results to be valid, and due to the accumulated fatigue it would be extremely stressful anyway.

Afterwards, the trainer generates a curve with power output on the horizontal axis and lactate level on the vertical axis. Superimposed on this is your pulse/power curve (approx. linear). From this data the tester caculates your "lactate threshold" and your training-zone limits expressed in beats per minute and Watts.

For me, there are three main advantages of doing such a test.
First, depending on your general state of fitness and the kind of training you have been doing previously, your zones might be significantly different to those predicted by the %xMHR method.
Second, an experienced tester or coach can give you advice based on the results as to how you should tailor your training. Are you doing too much or too little training in a given zone?
Third, if you repeat the test during the course of the season you will be able to see the progress you are making, and more importantly, understand why.

So, this is in my opinion the kind of test you should be looking for, and you certainly will be wiser after doing it. Sorry I can't help with your original question though, as I don't live in London.

Try to get a recommendation from someone you trust, or talk to the people conducting the test before you sign up for it, just to get an idea how knowledgeable they are about cycling and how they go about doing the test. The first time you meet them, they need to be able to get a good idea of your likely performance just by talking to you about your training and racing ability. Interpretation of the results is also important. Pressure to process as many test-subjects as possible (e.g. when the test-session is fully- or over-booked) can result in poor tests. I have had experience of tests where the starting power-level was too high and the steps too large. It makes the test nice and short and they don't need to test as many blood samples, but you are left with a curve with maybe six data points on it, which is not going to give the most reliable results.

adh038

A sickening promotion here but...

I work in the physiology/human performance lab at Kingston University. We offer tests designed to prescribe training zones etc as part of our consultancy arm so feel free to contact us on 0208 547 2000 (ask for extension 62677).

A little hint - If you have time, you could volunteer for one of our studies and get the tests for free. There is one major cycling based study at the moment!