Garmin Lactic Threshold Test (2024)

FAQs

How good is the Garmin lactate threshold test? ›

In this study, we aimed to compare the running pace and HR at LT estimated by Garmin Fenix 7^® with a standardized graded field test using capillary blood lactate. We found that Fenix 7^® underestimated both pace and HR at LT compared to the field test. The mean difference for pace at LT was 11.96%, and 1.71% for the HR.

Your lactate threshold is that specific level of effort or pace when fatigue accelerates. For a well-trained runner, this usually occurs when they're at about 90% of their maximum heart rate corresponding to a pace somewhere between 10K and half-marathon race pace.

Your device measures your lactate threshold level using heart rate and pace. When exceeding the threshold, fatigue starts to increase at an accelerating rate. Knowing your lactate threshold can help you determine how hard to train or when to push yourself during a race.

Once you're done with the run, estimate your running speed at lactate threshold simply by dividing the distance covered during that time (in meters) by 1,800 seconds (30 minutes). For example, a runner covering 8,000 meters in 30 minutes would have an estimated lactate threshold speed just faster than a 6-minute mile.

A higher lactate threshold is a much better indicator of overall athletic performance compared to VO2 max because it provides insight on how the muscles are utilizing available oxygen.

It is called the aerobic-anaerobic threshold or lactate threshold. So if your endurance is insufficient, your threshold might be 140 BPM or lower. When you have better endurance, your threshold can be at 170 BPM or higher.

Phil Maffetone has proposed the Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF) estimate of lactate threshold heart rate as 180 minus your age in years, with some adjustment for training status.

Lactate threshold is considered to be linked with the fatigue process, since above this exercise intensity, blood lactate is rapidly accumulated and this may reflect increases in muscle acidity and rapid glycogen depletion via anaerobic glycolysis [72].

You have about 30-60 minutes at lactate threshold pace. Fitter runners can hold lactate threshold pace for 60 minutes, whereas less-fit runners can only hold it for about 30 minutes.

What heart rate zone is lactate threshold? ›

Lactate threshold (Zone 4) = 95-102% LTHR (or same heart rate as time trial)

Interval running is a great way to increase your lactate threshold. With interval training, you repeatedly cover a set distance while running at your top speed, surpassing your lactate threshold, before taking a break to recover between runs. For example, you might choose to run 400 metres around a track at top speed.

As with LTHR testing, the more times you do this test the more accurate the results will become since there is a learning curve associated with such an effort. This is best done early in the Base period and then every 4 to 6 weeks thereafter. The more times you do this test the more accurate your FTPw will become.

Presumably, having a higher lactate threshold means an athlete can continue at a high-intensity effort with a longer time to exhaustion. Because of this, many consider LT a great way to predict athletic performance in high-intensity endurance sports.

The best and most accurate way to find your lactate threshold – or the point where your body is producing lactate at a rate greater than it can clear lactate from the blood stream – is through a relatively intense test involving blood draws paired with near maximal exercise, performed in an exercise science lab setting ...

The study found that overall the Garmin Forerunner 245 was off by 5.7% when compared to laboratory measurements. The watch was more accurate in runners who had a VO2 max in the range of 44 – 55 ml/min/kg, with an error of only 4.1%. For runners below or above these values the discrepancy was higher.

Knowing the lactate thresholds allows us to individualize training intensities for the athlete. Athletes who use training intensities based on their physiology ensure that each hour of training is moving them closer to their goal. Another reason to perform a lactate test is to track progress over time.

For performance benefits, research indicates that lactate threshold is the greatest performance indicator for endurance activities. The body is constantly using both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism simultaneously.