Adaptation of the training heart rate according to the lactate in the steady state

Just as important as starting endurance training at the right heart rate is adapting the heart rate to the success of the training.

The first reaction to a sufficient training stimulus is an increase in the heart’s stroke volume. This allows the heart to offer more blood to the muscles at a given frequency. As a result, you can cover a greater distance at the same heart rate and burn more calories per unit of time.

Many people train at a set running or cycling speed. With this approach, the heart rate will decrease at the same speed of movement. The increase in performance at the same heart rate is an important argument for using the heart rate, not the speed, as a control variable in endurance training.

The training effect on the muscles is noticeable in the form of an increase in muscle blood flow, an increased uptake of oxygen into the muscle cells, an increased utilization of substrate and oxygen in the mitochondria, the power plants of the cells, and in an increased production of muscle protein.

The increased oxygen supply and better utilization of oxygen lead to less lactate being produced at the same heart rate. This results in a “rightward shift of the lactate curve”. Depending on the level of training at the start, the lactate increase may not occur after just a few training sessions at the same heart rate. Now is the time to increase your training heart rate!

So another lactate test? In my opinion, it is sufficient at this point to determine the lactate in the exerciser if they have been exercising at the recommended heart rate for 10 minutes. If there is no further increase in lactate compared to the resting value from the lactate test, the recommended training heart rate should be increased by 5 – 10 beats / min. If necessary, further adjustments can be made by checking the lactate for a second 10 minutes while maintaining the new training heart rate.

The figure above clearly shows that by adapting the training heart rate to the lactate in the steady state, not only can a much more intensive increase in performance be expected, but the lactate also remains within the desired corridor during training. The positive effects of training on the entire organism are maintained

How often should the “mini lactate test” be repeated?

This certainly depends on the training status and the training frequency maintained, as well as the will of the test person: Someone who wants to achieve the highest possible performance quickly will train more frequently. It can therefore be assumed that their performance will increase earlier and that their heart rate can be increased earlier than someone who trains less frequently per week.

In the 3rd illustration from the heart rate-controlled endurance training, the patient was in a very poor initial condition, wanted to improve quickly and trained daily. Her heart rate could be adjusted during weekly tests. In the case of the test subject above, we found that her lactate no longer increased after just 2 weeks of training 3 times a week. Rules for a recommended test frequency cannot yet be derived with certainty.

If the optimum lactate increase is maintained at the same training heart rate after 2 tests and with unchanged training behavior, you have found your optimum training heart rate from a health perspective – at least for a longer period of time. Most people who train over a long period of time also develop a feeling for which load is good for them and which is too low or too high.