title: Criterion and longitudinal validity of a fixed-distance incremental running test for the determination of lactate thresholds in field settings.
abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the criterion validity of 2 lactate thresholds (LTs, intensity corresponding to 1 mmol·L(-1) above baseline; onset of blood lactate accumulation, intensity at 4 mmol·L(-1)) determined with a fixed-distance incremental field test by assessing their correlation with those obtained using a traditional fixed-time laboratory protocol. A second aim was to verify the longitudinal validity by examining the relationships between the changes in LTs obtained with the 2 protocols. To determine the LTs, 12 well-trained male middle and long distance amateur and competitive runners training from 4 to 7 d·wk(-1) (age 25 [5] years, body mass 66 [5] kg, estimated VO(2)max 58.6 [4.9] ml·min(-1)·kg(-1), SD in parentheses) performed in 2 separate sessions an incremental running test on the field starting at 12 km·h(-1) and increasing the speed by 1 km·h(-1) every 1,200 m (FixD test) and an incremental treadmill test in the laboratory starting at 12 km·h(-1) and increasing the speed by 1 km·h(-1) every 6 minutes. The 2 tests were repeated after 6-12 weeks. A nearly perfect relationship was found between the running speeds at LTs determined with the 2 protocols (r = 0.95 [CI95% 0.83-0.99]; p < 0.001). The correlations between longitudinal changes in LTs were very large (0.78 [0.32-0.95; p = 0.006]). The heart rate corresponding to the LTs were not significantly different. This study showed the criterion and longitudinal validity of LTs determined with a protocol consisting of fixed-distance intervals performed in field setting.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Motor Sciences, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: La Torre
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fiorella
authors.forename: Tony M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faina
authors.forename: Clara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mauri
authors.forename: Franco M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Impellizzeri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015308:Anaerobic Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007773:Lactates / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007773:Lactates