Elite Aerobic Endurance Performance: Is It Really Related to Lactate Threshold Expressed Relative to Peak Oxygen...

The purpose of this study was to investigate how lactate threshold (LT), expressed as a percentage (LT%) of peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), is related to aerobic endurance performance in a large group of aerobic endurance athletes from 3 demanding aerobic endurance sports.

A total of 292 (212 male and 80 female) aerobic endurance athletes competing in long-distance running, cycling, and cross-country skiing participated in the present study. Based on their competitive history, they were divided into 3 performance-level groups: elite (n = 71), national (n = 158), and regional (n = 63). VO2peak and LT tests were conducted on the same day for all athletes, with similar testing protocols.

In the large group of endurance athletes, LT% did not differ between performance levels (78.9% [6.4%], 79.9% [6.7%], and 80.3% [7.1%] for elite, national, and regional level, respectively). The same nonsignificant difference was observed within males and females as well. VO2peak differed significantly (P < .01) between performance levels (71.1 [6.5], 65.5 [8.0], and 58.1 [6.4] mL·kg-1·min-1 in elite, national, and regional level, respectively). This was also displayed within males and females separately, although not when expressed in liters per minute.

The findings of similar LT% between different performance levels in the large group of endurance athletes challenges the realm of LT% being considered one of the primary determinants of aerobic endurance performance. This study also confirms the importance of VO2peak as a primary predictor of aerobic endurance performance in a large group of aerobic endurance athletes.