Your muscles produce lactate, or lactic acid, when working. Under normal circumstances such as walking or light exercise, your body absorbs the lactate. The point at which your muscles produce more lactic acid than your body can cope with is your lactate threshold. The threshold is a key marker for athletes such as cyclists, as it indicates the effort level where you start to fatigue. Because finding your lactate threshold means pushing your body harder, you should get clearance from a doctor if you're not used to exercising.
Step 1
Mount a static exercise bike. Set the bike to a moderate difficulty. Check the revs per minute gauge on the bike computer. You need a setting where you can comfortably continue at 90 RPM without struggling too hard or slipping in the pedals. Do not change the setting for the duration of the test.
Step 2
Ride for around 5 to 10 minutes at a moderate speed to prepare for the timed test and warm your muscles up for the exercise, according to doctors from the University of New Mexico.
Step 3
Cycle for 30 minutes non-stop on the machine. Cycle at the highest rate you can manage without tiring yourself out too soon.
Step 4
Press the "lap" button on your heat rate monitor at the 10-minute point of your cycle.
Step 5
Stop riding at 30 minutes. Collect the average speed from the bike computer, or by dividing the distance by 30 and multiplying by 60 to get your miles per hour. This number is your cycling lactate threshold in terms of average speed.
Step 6
Read the average heart rate for the last 20 minutes of the ride from the heart rate monitor. This figure represents your heart rate at your lactate threshold.
Tips and Warnings
- If you don't have an exercise bike, you can use an outdoor bike. However, make sure you pick a clear route that you can repeat when necessary. Repeat the exercise several times over a few weeks to determine a more reliable base for your lactate threshold for cycling. Try measuring your lactate threshold every few months to note improvement in your stamina and fitness.
- If you start to feel faint or fatigued, stop exercising. If you experience any chest pains or numbness, stop exercising right away and contact a doctor. This method does not give an exact reading for your lactate threshold. You need blood tests in a controlled laboratory environment for exact measurements.
Things You'll Need
- Cycling machine
- Stopwatch
- Heart rate monitor
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