Testing Protocols for Endurance Athletes
Visiting The Finnish Olympic Training Center
In June, I visited the Finnish Olympic Training Center in Helsinki.
My goal was reliable data across my aerobic range for both running and cycling.
My host was Elias Lehtonen, a sports scientist with the center.
Endurance Essentials Protocols
Previously, John Hellemans and I shared our preferred testing protocols.
From Run Benchmarking in Better Thinking About Running:
A sub maximal protocol, the Submax Test, which is used to determine the Green Zone.
A maximal protocol, the Full Profile, which is used to assess an athlete’s entire range.
These tests, with or without lactate analysis, are an essential part of setting zones and tracking improvement over time.
More resources:
A protocol for Max Heart Rate Testing as well as VO2max Testing Protocols can be found inside Training Zone Essentials.
If you prefer Subjective Perception then read John’s case study using a progressive treadmill protocol.
Explaining breakpoints and testing tips => Lactate Testing Essentials.
A seminar on testing, can be found in a YouTube playlist called Lactate Testing & Targeting Endurance Training Zones.
But I didn’t travel all the way to Finland to share protocols.
I went there to learn.
So we used Elias’ preferred protocols and that’s today’s topic.
Elias uses a range of tests depending on the athlete’s profile and their goals.
Run Only Protocol
My son (Axel, 12) was tested with a maximal running protocol using 3-minute steps with a 1 kph step height (8-16 kph).
Axel took himself to 14.1 mmol of lactate and 205 bpm. A strong effort.
For a little guy (44.4 kg, 158.5 cm), his anaerobic capacity was well trained.
Later, Elias explained the training zones indicated by the test. He also gave Axel comfort that it was OK to “back off a little” with his tough stuff. I smiled and said we’d have to see if Axel was capable of backing off.
Blood & Body Composition Profiles
The lab has the ability to test blood markers.
I took advantage and we had a look at my blood profile. My blood profile came back at the upper end of my normal range (157g/l & 46%)
In hindsight, I wished I’d requested a look at my B & D vitamin profiles as well as my Iron/Ferritin status.
Included in the standard protocol is body composition analysis using an InBody 720 machine.
One of the nice things about being at an elite training center is a realistic look at body composition profiles. I am not rational when it comes to my own body composition. I always have a feeling that I could lose a few pounds.1
Elias punched my results into his database and told me I had no upside from trying to get leaner.
From years of experience, I know there is also considerable downside from becoming too lean.
Before making your mind up on “optimal” body composition, see if you can access a lab, or doctor, with access to a wide range of athlete profiles.
Choose your advisor carefully. Over my career, about half of my coaches/doctors had significant biases towards “light is right.” This inevitably reinforced my tendency to be a little too light. My strong drive-to-eat kept me away from health issues.
Multisport Protocols
I received the Full Monty…
Two days of testing.
Day One Bike
Day Two Run.
Submax and Maximal Protocols, each day.
Arrive having had a light breakfast no closer than 2 hours to the test.
Submax test with 5 minute steps from Very Easy to 2nd Threshold.
A break for lunch.
Maximal test with 1 minute steps from Very Easy to Max.
All tests measured heart rate, lactate, respiratory exchange ratios and subjective perception.
The Maximal test sampled lactate at the first and last step.
The Submax test sampled lactate at each step.
I brought my Favero power pedals to use to the lab’s ergometer. Local athletes, can bring in their bikes and test on the lab’s smart trainer.
Benefits of ECG
At 55, I had never had an electrocardiogram. Getting a “clean” test across my maximal run test gave me comfort.
So that’s another thing for you to consider. While I have never experienced heart issues, at the back of my mind, I’ve always wondered if I was missing something.
Running full tilt, hooked to the ceiling with a harness, with an AED nearby… was a safe environment to see what’s up.
Benefits of Metcart Testing
This is where I got my money’s worth.
It gets a little technical, please bear with me.
The use of gas exchange analysis, and the one-minute steps of the maximal test, ensured I got to VO2max.
Long tests might not get you to VO2max.
Not only did I reach VO2max (in both sports) but we have an actual value in liters per minute.
Actual VO2max is a useful measure to compare with power & pace breakpoints.
Outside the lab, we estimate VO2max by the power/pace of the final step of The Full Profile Test. We can crosscheck the final step power/pace using The Six-Minute Test.
By knowing the actual VO2max value, Elias can better interpret the Submax Test.
We considered…
What is actual VO2 at 1st Threshold?
What is actual VO2 at 2nd Threshold?
The five-minute steps of the Submax Test enable us to see actual oxygen uptake across the athlete’s aerobic profile.
We can ask…
What’s the headroom above:
1st Threshold
2nd Threshold
Goal Ironman Power/Pace
Goal 70.3 Power/Pace
This can guide training prescription as well as race strategy.
If you have an athlete (like me) with a relatively undertrained anaerobic capacity then this is an important difference.
With longer step durations, athletes can “flame out” quickly once they pass 2nd Threshold.
The implication of flaming out is my thresholds will appear to be a higher percentage of VO2max than reality.
Using 1-minute steps, I was able to hit 10.0 mmol of lactate on my bike test.
It was my first time in double figures in over a decade.
It showed more “headroom” than I expected.
On my maximal run test, I hit 7.5 mmol at 18 kph.
Less “headroom” than I expected.
My specifics don’t matter for you.
What matters is working with a sports scientist who understands these nuances when interpreting your results.
Analysis
Elias explained how he determined my ventilatory thresholds, my breakpoints and other key findings.
Subsequently, he sent my full data, with ideas for training approach as well as workout examples to address each part of my fitness profile. My run profile had “high” thresholds and my bike profile had “lower” threshold. We will get into the implications of that next week.
Well worth the visit and I’m hoping to get back to Helsinki next year.
Elias Introduces Himself
I studied history at the University of Cambridge and during my studies I started rowing. This lead me into pursuing sporting achievements, but I never quite managed to reach international level in rowing. However, this sparked my interest in exercise physiology and after completing my BA in history, I did a second degree in Biology of Physical activity at the University of Jyväskylä.
I have been coaching endurance athletes in different sports (rowing, cycling, triathlon to mention a few) for the past decade, and for the past five years I have been working as an exercise physiologist at the Helsinki Sports and Exercise Medicine Clinic.
Recently, I have also started my PhD path at the University of Helsinki, focusing on oxygen transport, utilization and the determinants of VO2max in endurance athletes with a focus on acute on chronic effects of environmental factors (altitude, heat) on VO2max and endurance performance.
Those wishing to contact me can email me (elias.lehtonen@hula.fi) or message me via X (@EliasLehtonen).
Back to Table of Contents
See my article Losing Five to Ten.