Hi Gordo, Do you have any recommendation for a Pmax test for runners? It could be a field test rather than the lab one. I have access to a LAB, but not all my athletes can do the LAB.
I believe it could be also speed/pace Instead of power focused test.
I use your submax test frequently (6x 10 mins. gradually), but for some athletes I would like to test the "max" too. I use for some also the critical speed 6 min. test. Thanks for an advice. Tomas
You can set the test up for duration, or distance. I tend to use duration when testing on a treadmill and distance when using a track outside.
What you're going to do is test all the way from Very Easy (low Zone 1) through to Very Hard (Zone 5). Give some thought to where the steps will fall (tips in the chapter) so you get a look into where you expect each zone to be.
Give it a read and feel free to follow up. It's a useful test and the five-minute step protocol is used widely.
Hi Gordo, Thank you for detailed response. I forgot this test completely :-)
As a coach I cooperate with a local LAB in the Czech Republic and we provide the treadmill test (including ECG) in 4 min. protocol including lactate analysis, but we end the test after the interval when the athlete reaches/crosses 4 mmol in order to set LT1 and LT2; it takes usually 6 - 8 gradual intervals. We do nor run "max effort" test.
Anyway, thank you for the reminder and great content which I like to use when explaining my athletes the basics and long term development.
I use also for myself field handheld lactate device (Scout) mostly for tempo and interval sessions.
One of the best field tests I like is the short uphill race: it is usually ca. 2 miles long, about 7 % incline mostly forest paths. These races are quite competitive so one must run full gas at least some parts of the race. I am still able to reach 175 beats in my 57 😊(my LT2 is about 162 maybe a bit higher).
Thanks again and good luck with training, coaching, writing and family. Tomas
Hey Gordo, I just did some 3min intervals. Do you reach max HR on a 3min interval, or should you even? I'm about 10 beats off, and I'm wondering if the Central Governor is taking over the show...Certainly feels hard, but is it really?
If you're not within 85-90% of LT1 power then try a session where you lower the HIIT target a bit and see if you still get the VO2 Max feeling by the end of rep 3 and most of rep 4.
For me, the challenge of the active recovery was an interesting part of the set and gives me useful info about my clearance rate.
I have a training day sometimes with "supra-threshold" 6mins just above FTP, followed by below LT1. A bit more palatable than the VO2max ones. Interestingly, I did a course by Mike Boyle, and he was showing how they did intervals for team sports. I was surprised to see they actually stopped activity altogether in between hard intervals, until their HR reached a predefined level. Then they hit the next hard interval. This was on a treadmill...
Hi Gordo, Do you have any recommendation for a Pmax test for runners? It could be a field test rather than the lab one. I have access to a LAB, but not all my athletes can do the LAB.
I believe it could be also speed/pace Instead of power focused test.
I use your submax test frequently (6x 10 mins. gradually), but for some athletes I would like to test the "max" too. I use for some also the critical speed 6 min. test. Thanks for an advice. Tomas
Hi Tomas -
Between the Submax and Six-Minute tests is the Full Profile Test.
You will find it in the Run Chapter: https://feelthebyrn.substack.com/p/better-thinking-about-running
It's also mentioned in the Zones and Lactate Testing chapters but the outline you'll want for a runner is in the Run Chapter.
See: Run Benchmarking: https://feelthebyrn.substack.com/i/139341397/run-benchmarking
Specifically: The Full Profile Test: https://feelthebyrn.substack.com/i/139341397/the-full-profile-test
You can set the test up for duration, or distance. I tend to use duration when testing on a treadmill and distance when using a track outside.
What you're going to do is test all the way from Very Easy (low Zone 1) through to Very Hard (Zone 5). Give some thought to where the steps will fall (tips in the chapter) so you get a look into where you expect each zone to be.
Give it a read and feel free to follow up. It's a useful test and the five-minute step protocol is used widely.
g
Hi Gordo, Thank you for detailed response. I forgot this test completely :-)
As a coach I cooperate with a local LAB in the Czech Republic and we provide the treadmill test (including ECG) in 4 min. protocol including lactate analysis, but we end the test after the interval when the athlete reaches/crosses 4 mmol in order to set LT1 and LT2; it takes usually 6 - 8 gradual intervals. We do nor run "max effort" test.
Anyway, thank you for the reminder and great content which I like to use when explaining my athletes the basics and long term development.
I use also for myself field handheld lactate device (Scout) mostly for tempo and interval sessions.
One of the best field tests I like is the short uphill race: it is usually ca. 2 miles long, about 7 % incline mostly forest paths. These races are quite competitive so one must run full gas at least some parts of the race. I am still able to reach 175 beats in my 57 😊(my LT2 is about 162 maybe a bit higher).
Thanks again and good luck with training, coaching, writing and family. Tomas
The uphill TT sounds like a tough session.
G
Hey Gordo, I just did some 3min intervals. Do you reach max HR on a 3min interval, or should you even? I'm about 10 beats off, and I'm wondering if the Central Governor is taking over the show...Certainly feels hard, but is it really?
It depends on the day. Even with a best effort three-minute effort, I might end up 5-8 bpm below max.
I like to use power/pace for my Z3/4/5 intervals as HR has a big lag, and RPE has a smaller lag.
G
I was at roughly 125% FTP, yes I prefer to use power too. But I always feel like I could have gone harder. But maybe that’s fine……
Will try the 8min rests instead of 4/4….thnx.
I found it effective to make the session more tolerable mentally
„Overs and unders“ are my personal nemesis
Yes that is a def. Issue 😂 also maybe easier on total recovery
If you're not within 85-90% of LT1 power then try a session where you lower the HIIT target a bit and see if you still get the VO2 Max feeling by the end of rep 3 and most of rep 4.
For me, the challenge of the active recovery was an interesting part of the set and gives me useful info about my clearance rate.
g
I have a training day sometimes with "supra-threshold" 6mins just above FTP, followed by below LT1. A bit more palatable than the VO2max ones. Interestingly, I did a course by Mike Boyle, and he was showing how they did intervals for team sports. I was surprised to see they actually stopped activity altogether in between hard intervals, until their HR reached a predefined level. Then they hit the next hard interval. This was on a treadmill...
Thanks for the great info! So, for the SIT…how many reps for each set would you recommend??
Each SIT set is eight minutes long alternate 30 seconds on / 90 seconds off.
Use two sets with 25 minutes top of Zone 1 between.
G