Lactate threshold v ftp

[mikemelbrooks]

I had the chance to get a lactate threshold test as part of research at a local university. It came out at 240 Watts, I must say I felt I could have gone harder. A week later as part of testing I had to hold 90% of lactate threshold for two hours( while taking 200ml fluids at 15min intervals) during this my heart rate increased to just below 140bpm. Followed by trying to hold 360watts for as long as possible.
During the two hours I felt fairly comfortable. So my question is should my FTP be close to my lactate threshold? BTW I am 63 years old and I hit a max heart rate of 170 at the end of the 360watt effort.

[jo.k]

There are two lactate thresholds, LT1 and LT2. Most tests test for LT1, which is the first intensity at which lactate levels starts to rise. This is an intensity far below "FTP" for most cyclists.

The upper threshold, LT2, is the maximum lacate steady-state, i.e. the highest intensity at which lactate can be cleared in the same rate as it is being produced. If you go above this intensity lactate will accumulate. LT2, MLSS and FTP can be used as proxies for each other.

[mikemelbrooks]

There are two lactate thresholds, LT1 and LT2. Most tests test for LT1, which is the first intensity at which lactate levels starts to rise. This is an intensity far below "FTP" for most cyclists.

The upper threshold, LT2, is the maximum lacate steady-state, i.e. the highest intensity at which lactate can be cleared in the same rate as it is being produced. If you go above this intensity lactate will accumulate. LT2, MLSS and FTP can be used as proxies for each other.

Thanks for your reply. Lactate threshold was taken as the point at which my lactate rose above 4 mmol/L .

[Requiem84]

240LT1 would be quite impressive.

If you can hold 360watt (for at least a minute) in a ramp test, most formulas would come up with an FTP of 270watt (360*0,75*). If youre anaerobically strong this test overestimates your FTP.

Using 4mmol/l as FTP is a bit old fashioned. We now know lactacte is highly personal. For some people FTP will be 4mmol/l, for others 6 or more. The best way to determine FTP is to look at your lactacte curve and see where it starts to increase exponentionally. I think they may have underestimated your FTP...

So likely your FTP is between 240 and 270.

Would be interesting to do a 20m maximum effort test (with proper warm-up and a 3m max effort before you start your 20m).

[mikemelbrooks]

240LT1 would be quite impressive.

If you can hold 360watt (for at least a minute) in a ramp test, most formulas would come up with an FTP of 270watt (360*0,75*). If youre anaerobically strong this test overestimates your FTP.

Using 4mmol/l as FTP is a bit old fashioned. We now know lactacte is highly personal. For some people FTP will be 4mmol/l, for others 6 or more. The best way to determine FTP is to look at your lactacte curve and see where it starts to increase exponentionally. I think they may have underestimated your FTP...

So likely your FTP is between 240 and 270.

Would be interesting to do a 20m maximum effort test (with proper warm-up and a 3m max effort before you start your 20m).

I had the same question about lactate tolerance, as I am just one test subject of many due to be tested a figure of 4 was decided on. I have done both ramp tests and 20minute FTP tests and tend to do better on the 20minute test. During the 2hour my heart rate was steady at around 140bpm. My legs still felt ok at the end of the 360watt effort, rather I could not breathe, I don't know if I had kept my cadence the same 90 -95 rpm as during my 2hour whether I would have performed better. I have four more tests to do and I don't know if the fluid I am given will be a carbohydrate or placebo.
There was another lad being tested at the same time, he managed 40mins of the 2 hour effort before bonking hard. I was told I might not make it through the 2hour effort.

[MagicShite]

The best predictor of performance is performance itself.

The only FTP number that matters is the one you can actually do.

Just do an actual time trial test and there you go.

[Requiem84]

The best predictor of performance is performance itself.

The only FTP number that matters is the one you can actually do.

Just do an actual time trial test and there you go.

Yeah but it's difficult to test LT1 in the field.

[mikemelbrooks]

I did the second test on Monday. I did a ramp test the day before at home and it came up with 265ftp (this lines up with my Elite Direto trainer). For the test I connected my Garmin to my Assioma pedals they were reading around 25watts lower than the Wahoo that the university used. The two hour interval seems slightly easier than the first session.
Last week I managed around 90 seconds at 360 watts, this week over4 minutes. I did try not to increase my cadence for the 360watt effort. Again my heart rate reached 170bpm.

[mikemelbrooks]

The best predictor of performance is performance itself.

The only FTP number that matters is the one you can actually do.

Just do an actual time trial test and there you go.

I have five power meters, the trainer at the university seemed to overread. I guess I will have to dual record, to establish which ones agree?