Fitness testing for triathlon – Lab or Field

In recent weeks a number of athletes have asked me about whether they should have a Vo2 max test in the lab so I’ve decided to make this the subject of today’s post.

testing involves a big commitment of mental & physical effort and if you visit a lab a financial one to. So before you decide to go down the testing route you must be able to answer the following questions.
1. Why do I need a fitness test
2. What data is it going to provide me
3. What am I going to do with the data
4. Field test or Lab test

Why do I need a fitness test anyway?
Testing is a good way to get a description of your current fitness level. I get many athletes who say they’ll get fit before they have the test but you might as well just get on with it. At least you’ll know where your fitness is at.

You get to find out if your previous block of training has worked and if you are moving closer to your goal. You can expect fitness to fluctuate throughout the year as you peak for events and then recover. However if you perform the same tests at the same time of year you will also have direct comparisons with previous years. For example if you test every October you’ll be able to measure whether you were fitter at thas start of this winters training than you were at the start of last winter.

Lab test or Field test
I do see the value of lab testing. The data that you get is much more accurate and you can prescribe training zones with pin point precision. However they are expensive. Lets say that the lab quotes you a price of £150 for which you get a test taking 1 hour, a full set of results and also some sort of training prescription.
You will need a test for cycling and running so that’s £300 every time you get tested. In order to get a true picture of whether your training is working it’s advisable to get tested at the following times

1. The start of the winter training programme (October-November) – This test will show you where you are compared to last year, provide data to base the next block of training and set a benchmark upon which to measure the success of the training

2. The start of pre competition training -(March -April) – This test will help you to measure the success of the previous programme, guide the next block of training and set another benchmark

3. Just before your big race of the year – This test will tell you if you have reached your physical goals (If you have reached physical goals, you may not have the race you want but at least you’ll know that your fitness didn’t let you down) and give you confidence for your race
So 3 tests per year for cycling & running will costs you approximately £900

Field tests are not as accurate as a lab tests. BUT, and it is a BIG but, I think that you can get pretty close to working out your training zones with the right tests.
For the majority of triathletes I want them to be in roughly the right zone for training. Physiology is not black and white. For example running at 80% max heart rate may give you maximm benefit (****) for increasing blood volume but if you stray up or down to the next zone (a change of 5% either way) then the benefit then becomes very strong (***).

Many athletes that I come into contact with are not perfect in the following (nutrition, recovery, stretching, technique development, mindset). If they were then maybe it would be important for them to have highly accurate training zones. To get the most out of training it’s just as imprtant to have mastered the smart lifestyle as it is to have accurate training zones
Therefore I think that as long as you can put them in roughly the right zone for training and they pay attention to the other elements there will still be a significant training benefit. And they’ll be saving themselves close to £1000 per year.

So what are the field tests that you can do?
Swimming – A simple 400m Time trial. The finishing time will give you your Vo2 max pace. From this you can work out pacing for other training zones by adding approximately 4s per 100m
Cycling – You will need power to do this test. a 20 minute all out time trial will give you average power when you finish.If you multiply this figure x 0.93 then you have Functional Threshold Power (FTP). This is a very good approximation of the power that you can hold for 1 hour. If you wear a HR monitor then you can also workout your training zones. You will be able to get an e=average HR for the test which is a good estimate of your anaerobic threshold HR and you will also be pretty close to your maximum Hr when you finish.
Running – A 3k Time Trial is a pretty standard field test for ascertaining velocity (running speed) at Vo2 max (vVo2). As with the bike test you will also be pretty close to your maximal heart rate when you cross the line. Calculate your pace per 400m and this will give you vVo2. from there add 4s per 400m and you have paces which reflect 10k, 1/2 marathon etc and the various energy zones that go with them

I now have pacing charts for each of these tests which will help you to work out training zones. In the first instance please email simon@thetriathloncoach.com and I’ll forward them onto you. In the meantime I’m working on a page at our website where you’ll be able to go to download all of the information I’ve made available over the last few months

Hope that clears a few things up but please post comments or questions to the blog if you have any burning issues.

Stay healthy & have fun

P.S.    My 21 week winter base training plan is now available for £160