Non-invasive prediction of blood lactate response to constant power outputs from incremental exercise tests

We determined the ability of gas exchange analyses during incremental exercise tests (IXT) to predict blood lactate levels associated with a range of constant power output cycle ergometer tests. Twenty-seven healthy young men performed duplicate IXT and four 15-min constant power output tests at intensities ranging from moderate to very severe, before and after a training program. End-exercise blood lactate levels were approximated from superficial venous samples obtained 60 s after each constant power output test. From IXT, the power outputs corresponding to peak oxygen uptake (Wmax) and lactic acidosis threshold (WLAT), were determined. We examined the ability of four measures of exercise intensity to predict blood lactate levels for power outputs above the LAT: (1) power output (W), (2) power difference (W-WLAT), (3) power fraction (W/Wmax) and (4) power difference to delta ratio [(W-WLAT)/(Wmax-WLAT)]. Correlation coefficients were r = 0.38, 0.69, 0.75, and 0.81, respectively. The best linear regression prediction equation was: lactate (mmol.l-1) = 12.2[(W-WLAT)/(Wmax-WLAT)] + 0.7 mmol.l-1. This relationship was not significantly affected by training, despite increased values of LAT and peak oxygen uptake. Normalizing exercise intensity to the range of power outputs between WLAT and Wmax provided an estimate of blood lactate response to constant power outputs with a standard error of the estimate of 1.66 mmol.l-1.