Cycling has many positive health benefits. The low-impact exercise is gentle on your joints and also strengthens your heart and lungs, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. The more you're able to push yourself on the bike, the more your fitness will benefit. Understanding and utilizing a few basic training principles, such as lactate threshold, will help you become a stronger cyclist.
Lactate Threshold
Every time you exercise, lactic acid builds up in your body. When the intensity is low, the body quickly buffers and clears the lactic acid and the concentration of it in the blood remains is low. Lactic acid is a byproduct of anerobic metabolism. When you exercise at a higher intensity, more lactic acid is produced than the can be buffered by the body. An athlete's lactate threshold (LT) is the point at which more lactic acid is produced than can be cleared by the body.
Lactate Threshold and Training
When a cyclist reaches his lactate threshold, he experiences a burning or searing sensation in his muscles. On a physiological level, blood lactate levels are combining with hydrogen ion concentrations making it difficult for the muscles to contract. When training, it's beneficial for a cyclist to know what heart rate corresponds with his LT. Once you know your LT number, you can perform specific training workouts to raise your LT, which allows you to compete at a harder level without the physical consequences of accumulating lactic acid.
LT Test
Most professional cyclists test their LT in a lab, where a blood sample is taken while they pedal. But you can get a good indication of LT by performing this road test. Find a 3-mile route that you can ride nonstop. Warm up with a heart rate monitor for 20 minutes. Then hit the lap button on your heart rate monitor and ride the loop as hard as you can. Hit the lap button and recover for 10 to 20 minutes. Hit the lap button again and ride the loop, going as hard as you can. Hit the lap button and then take the average heart rate of the two rides during the loop. That is your lactate threshold.
Improve Your LT
The best way to improve your lactate threshold is by performing intervals, which teach the body to more effectively buffer lactic acid. Strap on your heart rate monitor and perform steady state intervals. After you warm up, ride for 10 minutes at a steady pace that is a few beats below your lactate threshold. Recover for 10 minutes and then repeat two or three times. Work your way up to 20- and 30-minute efforts with equal recovery time in between.
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