title: The talk test as a marker of exercise training intensity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Correlative data have suggested that the Talk Test (TT) may be a surrogate of the ventilatory threshold (VT). This study examined manipulations of either the VT or exercise protocol to test the hypothesis that the TT and VT are related in a robust way, adequate for exercise prescription.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy young adults participated in 4 independent series of experiments designed to decrease (blood donation) or increase (training) VT, or to systematically vary the exercise intensity above and below VT. These interventions were matched to responses of the TT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The changes in the exercise intensity at VT and at the last positive stage of the TT matched each other following both blood donation and training. When exercise intensity was varied above and below VT, the predicted ability to speak was well matched to observations of the TT. Predictive errors biased toward passing the TT when exercise intensity was greater than VT. The time required for the result of TT to become negative when exercise intensity was more than VT, decreased with increasing intensity but averaged more than the 2 minutes that has been used in previous studies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms the robust relationship between VT and the TT during various interventions and suggests that the TT is suitable for exercise prescription.
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of Wisconsin La Crosse, La Crosse, WI 54601, USA. foster.carl@uwlax.edu
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Porcari
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paulson
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Smaczny
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Webber
authors.forename: Scott T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Doberstein
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Udermann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001782:Blood Donors; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods*; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption; D010806:Physical Education and Training; D010807:Physical Endurance; D013060:Speech