I mentioned here in previous posts that I took the CardioPoint metabolic testing at Lifetime Fitness to help determine my anaerobic threshold and my heart rate training zones. After that test, I was completely baffled by the results, which seemed to tell me that my anaerobic threshold was extremely high, higher than I've been able to actually push it. And my heart rate zones were so high that I was killing myself just to stay in Zone 1. That didn't seem right, but metabolic testing is supposed to be the best way to get the most accurate results. (Truthfully, the New Leaf Testing system that Lifetime uses is supposed to be pretty accurate. Even better would be to draw a small amount of blood throughout the test to determine blood lactate levels at various intensities, but the oxygen / carbon dioxide measurements should be fairly reliable).
I decided to just do a test myself instead. This is called a threshold test, and basically involves a steady, all-out effort for 20-minutes, and taking your average heart rate over that time. Then, you punch that number into a calculator and it tells you your zones. This is a test you can just do yourself, but since I'm a Spinervals fan, I decided to use the Spinervals video specifically designed for this test, Spinervals 27.0 - Threshold Test and Suffer Fest. This is an overall 1-hour workout with some pretty high-intensity warmups, followed by the 20-minute test. The warmups themselves were pretty killer, and Coach Troy keeps pushing you harder to make sure you've put a little hurt into the legs before the test. When it was time for the 20-minute test, I hit the lap button on my Garmin Edge 500, and started pushing. Throughout the test, I was basically keeping a pretty steady 85 cadence, with my heart rate climbing pretty continuously. My max heart rate for the whole test was 177, which is extremely high for me. The idea is that at the end of the test, if you have anything left in the tank, you didn't work hard enough. Once I suffered through the 20-minute test, I hit the lap button again to record the results for that 20-minute section.
After loading my ride into Garmin Connect, I could pull all the data off my computer. I think I could have just checked on the bike computer itself, but it's so much easier to just view the results in Garmin Connect. Looking at my results, I could see that my average heart rate during the 20-minute effort was 169. I punched this number into the calculator over at LW Coaching, and it spits out my heart rate zones. If I had a power meter, it would also give me threshold power, but I don't have one of those (yet). Here are the results I got.
Coach Troy recommends taking this test every 6-8 weeks to compare the results. Anaerobic threshold is a good indicator of your overall level of fitness, and can be increased with the right kinds of training. As your AT increases, the percentage of fat burning vs carbohydrate burning is increased. You have a lot more energy stored at fat than as carbohydrates, so the idea is to train your body to burn more fat at higher levels of intensity, which will allow you to maintain those higher intensities for longer periods of time, critical for endurance athletes.
I haven't discussed this threshold test with the Lifetime folks yet (obviously, since I just finished it about 20 minutes ago), but I have talked about how I didn't necessarily trust the results of the testing, and they offered to test me again. So, I'm going back on Saturday for another round to see if the results are any different. Who knows, maybe the mask wasn't tight enough or something. Or maybe the test was right, and my body is screwy. That's certainly possible. Either way, I'm going to spend more time talking with them about the results, to make sure I understand everything completely.
Speaking of test results, I also got back the results of my Stress and Resilience Test. I turned in my paperwork to the folks at Lifetime, and they are supposed to be getting back to me to discuss my results. There was a quick summary on the last page that made it sounds like my DHEA and Cortisol levels were fine. We'll see what they say at my consultation.
Food:
- Breakfast: Fruit / protein smoothie
- Lunch: Disaster! My favorite cheesesteak place was closed! No idea what happened! Didn't look like they closed for good, it just seemed like no one showed up today. Chairs on the tables and the lights off. Crazy. But really annoying on my "10-lb cheesesteak day". I decided to go to Subway instead. Not as exciting of a celebration for losing another 10 pounds. Damn. Had a 12-inch steak and cheese that wasn't even close to being as good as Cheesesteak Connection. Also a bag of Fritos and a Coke. So disappointed.
- Dinner: Chicken wrap.
Exercise:
- 60 minutes on the trainer. Spinervals 27.0 - Threshold Test and Suffer Fest. Pretty tough workout. Strava report HERE.
Today's weigh-in: 195.2
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