title: Anaerobic threshold: the concept and methods of measurement.
abstract: The anaerobic threshold (AnT) is defined as the highest sustained intensity of exercise for which measurement of oxygen uptake can account for the entire energy requirement. At the AnT, the rate at which lactate appears in the blood will be equal to the rate of its disappearance. Although inadequate oxygen delivery may facilitate lactic acid production, there is no evidence that lactic acid production above the AnT results from inadequate oxygen delivery. There are many reasons for trying to quantify this intensity of exercise, including assessment of cardiovascular or pulmonary health, evaluation of training programs, and categorization of the intensity of exercise as mild, moderate, or intense. Several tests have been developed to determine the intensity of exercise associated with AnT: maximal lactate steady state, lactate minimum test, lactate threshold, OBLA, individual anaerobic threshold, and ventilatory threshold. Each approach permits an estimate of the intensity of exercise associated with AnT, but also has consistent and predictable error depending on protocol and the criteria used to identify the appropriate intensity of exercise. These tests are valuable, but when used to predict AnT, the term that describes the approach taken should be used to refer to the intensity that has been identified, rather than to refer to this intensity as the AnT.
authors.affiliation: Human Performance Laboratory, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4.
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Svedahl
authors.forename: Brian R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: MacIntosh
mesh_terms: D015308:Anaerobic Threshold; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005943:Gluconeogenesis; D006019:Glycolysis; D006801:Humans; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D012119:Respiration
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid