Testing, Testing, and Testing - In the Lab and in the Field

Hi Fellas,

As a follow-up to last week's file from Saturday, here are my results from an Lactate Profile and VO2 Max test that I did on Monday, a 10K time trial (on the computrainer) that I did on Monday, and then an outdoor field testing session consisting of 5 second, 5 minute, 20 minute, and 1 minute maximum power. Keep in mind, that now is the ideal time for early season testing - we test now to ensure that your training is being done at the right range - not too hard, and not too easy. Ideally, you should re-test again in 3-6 months. Field tests should be done every 3-6 weeks.

First, here are my results from the lab test on Monday (yes, I took the day off on Sunday before the test):

Basically, my threshold power is at 285 watts, and heart rate of 158 beats/minute. Later on Monday, I did a max effort for the 10K TT that we do at BCSM as part of the PowerMax training sessions. For the TT, I did a 15:27 and averaged 308 watts (108% of threshold - typically folks average 5-15% above LT for a 15-20 minute maximum effort) with an average heart rate of 167 (9 beats above LT). A photo of the file is below, and the actual file can be viewed and downloaded here:

Next, on Wednesday (after another rest day on Tuesday) I did power profile testing with several other elite athletes that I coach, and also with Sarah Hammer (Olympic pursuiter, and former world champion) who was in town for lab testing, bike fit with Andy, and for this testing and consultation with me (including her coach). The results are: peak 5-second = 1515 watts, peak 5-minute 361 watts, peak 20-minute 290 watts, and peak 1-minute 526 watts. The order of testing was 5-seconds first, 5-minutes next, 20-minutes next, and 1-minute last. Overall, the 5-minute power is lower than the lab test would predict (I need to be tougher...), and the 20-minute power was almost exactly what the lab test would predict. The 5-second and 1-minute are more anaerobic in nature, so the typical LT and VO2 max test wouldn't predict those values well - but the Wingate test in the lab would be spot on for those values. Below is a screenshot again, and the actual file can be viewed and downloaded here:

Again, feel free to email at nhenderson@bch.org if you have any questions! Happy riding, Neal