Lactate testing:
R500.00 per test
Anyone who is competitive, serious about reaching their potential and willing to take the extra effort that this type of testing involves, can reap the benefits of the feedback that lactate testing provides.
Lactate Testing for Coaches - Why Test?
Since lactate is produced in the muscle and varies according to the effort level, it reflects best what is happening in the muscle. The production of lactate tells us how much the anaerobic system and the aerobic system is involved. So, the amount of lactate in the blood and the corresponding work effort are an indication of how well each of these systems is developed.
Thus, lactate testing provides a clear advantage over other types of testing because it can assess the effectiveness of each of these systems. This is not true with other measures which don't tell you what is happening in the muscles or how each energy system is contributing to exercise. This is the major distinction between a lactate testing system and other testing systems.
It is not only important to develop as much as possible the aerobic and anaerobic systems but they also have to be well balanced in order to produce optimal performance. This balance will differ by sport and by event within each sport. Unless the coach or athlete knows how each system is performing, achieving this balance is at best a guess.
While lactate levels are the best measure of workout intensity, lactate information has until recently been very expensive and difficult to get. It was not available to coaches unless they tested their athletes at an exercise physiology lab. Because of this coaches and sports physiologists have devised other ways to approximate the information that lactate testing provides and using heart rates was one of these methods. Many coaches instruct their athletes to use heart rates as a surrogate for lactate levels to guide their training. However, we will show that heart rates cannot provide the key information necessary to optimize training. And since lactate measures are now relatively inexpensive, they are not only the most effective but also cost-efficient markers that inform the coach about the physical condition of athletes and the effectiveness of their training.
Lactate tests tell the coach:
A. TRAINING OBJECTIVES- "What you need to train" - Appropriate lactate tests will determine the physical conditioning profile of the athlete from an aerobic (endurance) and anaerobic perspective. This profile can be used to detect the conditioning weaknesses that prevent the athlete from performing better in competition. This profile defines the priorities of what the athlete needs to train.
As a consequence, every minute the athlete spends on training is focused on what is really needed. The athlete avoids unnecessary training workouts and therefore minimizes the risk of injuries.
TRAINING INDIVIDUALIZATION - "How each athlete has to train" - Depending upon the athlete's physical conditioning profile, certain types of training sets will be more or less effective. In addition, training volume and training intensity also need to fit with this conditioning profile.
As a consequence, training programs will be adjusted to the athlete's unique metabolic characteristics.
INCREASE TRAINING EFFICIENCY - "What works, or how to make the athlete's training as effective as possible" - Even after individualization of an athlete's training we still have observed differences in training adaptations. This forced us to set up a "steering" process:
o first, measure - there must be a systematic and continuous evaluation of biological adaptation following training. Not only the kind of adaptation that has taken place but also the extent of the adaptation.
o second, modify - after the measurement there must be a modification of training methods if the adaptation doesn't fit with what was expected.
As a consequence, we learn about the training method that works best with that athlete.
A single lactate test provides a lot of important indications for training. However, the ultimate goal of lactate testing requires more subsequent tests, appropriately timed. A regular evaluation of actual training (stimulus) and the lactate test results (response) provide the real benefit of lactate testing and allows the coach or athlete over time to determine each athlete's "best training practices".
