“How can testing help me?”

After chatting with many of you the number one question that was posed turned out to be, “How can this(lactate threshold testing) help me with my training and race performance?”  For many of you out there who might be asking the same question let me answer that for you as well: The lactate threshold testing is designed for two different reasons.  The first reason is to provide you with customized training ranges for your workouts.  The training ranges that are created based off of your test allow you to train more consistently and more accurately.  This increased accuracy in your training allows you to get more benefit from your structured workouts and more importantly make the most out of the limited time you have available.  Secondly testing adds consistency to your results.  Field tests can be performed to help out with training ranges, however, lab testing does one thing that field testing can not do and that is take out many of the variables.  The controlled environment of the lab allows for much more consistency between testing and gives you a more realistic measure of where your fitness actually is.  The testing also helps to reduce the overall affect that fatigue or mental fortitude (depending on the day) can have on your results by utilizing the blood samples that are taken.