Comparison of maximal lactate steady state with anaerobic threshold determined by various methods based on graded exercise test with 3-minute stages in elite cyclists

Kamila Płoszczyca; Dominik Jazic; Zofia Piotrowicz; Małgorzata Chalimoniuk; Józef Langfort; Miłosz Czuba

doi:10.1186/s13102-020-00219-3

Comparison of maximal lactate steady state with anaerobic threshold determined by various methods based on graded exercise test with 3-minute stages in elite cyclists

BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2020 Nov 17;12(1):70. doi: 10.1186/s13102-020-00219-3.

Authors

Kamila Płoszczyca¹, Dominik Jazic², Zofia Piotrowicz³, Małgorzata Chalimoniuk³, Józef Langfort³, Miłosz Czuba^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Kinesiology, Institute of Sport, Trylogii 2/16, 01-982, Warsaw, Poland. kamila.ploszczyca@insp.waw.pl.
² Department of Sports Theory, The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education, Katowice, Poland.
³ Faculty of Health Sciences, Jan Dlugosz University, Czestochowa, Poland.

Abstract

Background: The maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) is defined as the highest workload that can be maintained for a longer period of time without continued blood lactate (LA) accumulation. MLSS is one of the physiological indicators of aerobic performance. However, determination of MLSS requires the performance of a series of constant-intensity tests during multiple laboratory visits. Therefore, attempts are made to determine MLSS indirectly by means of anaerobic threshold (AT) evaluated during a single graded exercise test (GXT) until volitional exhaustion. The aim of our study was to verify whether AT determined by maximal deviation (D_max), modified maximal deviation (ModD_max), baseline LA concentration + 1 mmol/l (+ 1 mmol/l), individual anaerobic threshold (IAT), onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA_4mmol/l) and V-slope methods based on GXT with 3-min stages provide valid estimates of MLSS in elite cyclists.

Methods: Twelve elite male cyclists (71.3 ± 3.6 ml/kg/min) completed GXT (the increase by 40 W every 3 min) to establish the AT (by D_max, ModD_max, + 1 mmol/l, IAT, OBLA_4mmol/l and V-slope methods). Next, a series of 30-min constant-load tests to determine MLSS was performed. Agreement between the MLSS and workload (WR) at AT was evaluated using the Bland-Altman method.

Results: The analysis revealed a very high (r_s > 0.90, p < 0.001) correlation between WR_MLSS and WR_Dmax and WR_IAT. The other AT methods were highly (r_s > 0.70) correlated with MLSS except for OBLA_4mmol/l (r_s = 0.67). The Bland-Altman analysis revealed the highest agreement with MLSS for the D_max, IAT and + 1 mmol/l methods. Mean difference between WR_MLSS and WR_Dmax, WR_IAT and WR_+1mmol/l was 1.7 ± 3.9 W, 4.3 ± 7.9 W and 6.7 ± 17.2 W, respectively. Furthermore, the WR_Dmax and WR_IAT had the lowest limits of agreement with the WR_MLSS. The ModD_max and OBLA_4mmol/l methods overestimated MLSS by 31.7 ± 18.5 W and 43.3 ± 17.8 W, respectively. The V-slope method underestimated MLSS by 36.2 ± 10.9 W.

Conclusions: The AT determined by D_max and IAT methods based on the cycling GXT with 3-min stages provides a high agreement with the MLSS in elite cyclists. Despite the high correlation with MLSS and low mean difference, the AT determined by + 1 mmol/l method may highly overestimate or underestimate MLSS in individual subjects. The individual MLSS cannot be properly estimated by V-slope, ModD_max and OBLA_4mmol/l methods.

Keywords: Anaerobic threshold; Blood lactate; Cycling; Endurance performance; Exercise testing; Maximal lactate steady state.